Pulling Power (10th Oct)

[nevpugh308]

LMAO .... did anyone see it last night ?

Basically (for those that didn't see) they had numerous kitted up MR2's made to "look" like 355's. Their owners were banging on about how good they were, how everyone thought they were real Ferrari's etc etc.

Two things struck me.

1. One guy had spent 25k on his MR2. You could buy a nice REAL 308GTB for that money !! (or, buy a nice GT4 for 15k and spend the rest on running costs)

2. They parked this thing in the middle of a square and asked the public for opinions. Not one person (that they showed) knew it wasn't real (oh, how I wish *I'D* been there !). But that aside, even if it was a real 355 sat there, it was amazing peoples misconceptions about 355's in this case, but Ferrari's in general .... for example quotes such as "it's worth 150k" and "brand new you can buy them for 140k"

The whole article gave me a good giggle though

[nevpugh308]

quote:
his MR2 version was just as good and quick but didnt cost anything like the same amount

This kind of thing REALLY annoys me ... coz now, every numpty who read that article will believe that an MR2 is as fast/good as a 355, and it just spreads misconception and misinformation !

Also it means that every nonce in an XR3i or Nova will "have a go" the next time they see a Ferrari (any Ferrari) coz last week they beat an MR2 ...

Actually, saying that, it does work both ways. We all know that, whilst fast enough to be fun, 308's aren't the epitome of speed any more (bless 'em, they are nearly 30 years old in design !). But I hardly get any people "trying it on" with me in the 308, whereas with my previous car (tuned Nissan 200SX) everyone and their dog wanted a piece of me (yeah, yeah, I know, ignore them ... but it gets tiring after a while)

Occasionally "misknowledge" of Ferraris can be amusing .... I once had a garage attendant come running out of the shop in a panic coz I was stood there calmly putting LRP in my 22 year old 308GTS ... she was panicing coz she thought it was a new Ferrari ! (i.e. with cats)

[nevpugh308]

quote:
Bless her........ At least she tried.
Which is more than can be said for most

Absolutely ! She seemed quite crestfallen when I gently explained ....

Funny enough, this was on the journey home after picking up the car, having just bought her ... that's why it sticks in the memory so

[nevpugh308]

quote:
And what a beautiful car she is Nev.

Thankyou You've just made my day

Actually, she's remarkably easy to live with. She doesn't do a huge amount of mileage being a pampered toy, but she's done plenty of long runs (for example 350 miles round mid and north Wales in a day)

Pretty comfy inside (once you're in, a little bit of a limbo act to get inside). Excellent driving position for my 5'9" average frame, though some complain about Italian "monkey" syndrome, but I guess these must be bigger/taller people than myself. The GTS works really well in that the roof stores behind the seats, and you barely get any draft or ruffing of hair (what's left of it ) ... you can hold a civilised conversation easily up to 100mph (with the windows up), after that it gets a bit noisy. The boot isn't the biggest, but it can actually hold quite a lot, it's just a funny shape. You can fit lots in there, just dont put anything meltable (e.g. chocolate) in the boot (it's next to the engine bay/over the exhaust !). I can fit a full weeks shopping from Tesco's into the boot no problem. I personally love the interior, all 70's switch gear and dials ... !

Driving wise she's lovely .... on the down side, VERY heavy .... no power steering so at low speeds it's heavy as hell (lightens up beautifully when on the move though) and the clutch is a right work out for the left leg. But it's numpty easy to heal and toe, and the click-click of the gear shift through the open metal gate is fantastic, and very addictive ! The suspension is one of the 308's greatest assets ... suprisingly supple and not at all crashy (speed bumps are not a problem with this car), but it holds the road superbly well, even with 70's technology Michelin XWX's (some people like to upgrade to modern rubber, I like the old "bulging sidewalls" of the older tyres ... suits the car very well). She'll give my Westfield a run for it's money round the twisties, but when she does decide to let go she's very very communicative (understeer) and easy to bring back under control. This car really does flatter your driving skills (not that I'm not a superb driver anyway, of course ! )

Dont buy a GTSi, and some people prefer the later (slightly more 80's looking) QV's, but for me you've got to have an early carb model. Okay, so they're a bit more grumpy when starting from cold if the car has been left a week or two (fine after the first 20 seconds) but wind that window down, and the sound of the quadruple weber 40DCNF carbs sucking through that air intake just inches from your right ear is music to a petrolhead's ears !

Reliability wise she's been pretty good (touch wood). In 2 years driving and about 5000 miles my only faults have been : faulty speedo sensor (100 quid, easy replace), 2 knackered old heat shields (200 quid), slow leccy windows (strip, clean, replace grease, 0 quid), misfire (bit of crud blocking a jet, 120 quid for labour), misfire no.2 when cold only (HT lead starting to break down, 50 quid) ..... plus servicing costs of course (every 3000 miles or 1 year), but I do most of my own servicing (shyed away from doing the tappets coz they're shimmed .... 150 quid)

Booting it (erm, a common occurrance, ahem !) I get 15mpg, the best I've ever got was 21mpg. Typically I get 15mpg

Performance wise, not the fastest thing on the road any more (0-60 in early 6's according to mfr) but the way she's geared all the power comes in later on .... the 0-60 sprint isn't fantastic compared to modern supercars, but you get going above 80 and you're laughing, she just keeps on pulling. Will outrun most contemporary Porsches above 100 easily, from my experience (um, where speed limits allow OF COURSE ! ) But pure out and out speed isn't what this car is about, of course. Go buy an R500 or something if you want that.

Oh, and you do tend to look up at everything, even Minis !