I was presented with the opportunity to attend an event at the Ferrari Showroom on Park Avenue last Tuesday night. The event was hosted by Wide World of Cars, who invited 15 or so of their clients…which coincidentally matched their ‘08 allocation for the car. Those clients were each entitled to bring a guest - which was the only reason I was there. After an hour of rubbing elbows with some muckety-mucks and indulging in some Ferrari related conversations which included a chat with a an elderly overweight man telling me that he thought the ride of his new 599 felt twitchy, and seemed far more excited about how easy it was to hook up his ipod and bluetooth gizmos, and another eccentric Swedish stock broker discussing the array of flamboyant color combinations he was pondering for his Scuderia.
But who am I to judge. Maybe they’d look cool in Sweden.
The President and CEO of Ferrari North America, Maurizio Parlato, looking molto Italiano in tight pants, a red sweater, a well-tailored sport coat and a scarf, came to put an end to the chit chat, pull the veil off the car and give a run down of the Scuderia’s advances over the standard F430. Some of which include: Schumi was tightly tied to the development of the car, it contains the F1 Superfast Transmission that shifts gears in 60 milliseconds (as fast as the 2004 Formula 1 race car), the E-diff2 integrated with the gearbox really puts the power down exiting the corners, the motor makes 510 hp up from 483, torque is up a meager 3ft/lbs to a still meager 346ft/lbs, but the the torque curve is flatter…which is said to add a touch more grunt in the lower revs. They’ve put the Scuderia on a 180lb diet, trimming it from 3196 pounds to 2976. That’s most of what I remember, anyway.
I spent a little time examining Ferrari’s newest street legal track weapon and was astounded by the amount of carbon fiber. It’s carbon fiber overkill to the Nth degree. Gone are the signature red crackle finish valve covers, replaced with…you guessed it…carbon fiber. Actually, I think everything I saw in the engine bay was carbon fiber. It is quite possible they tried to build the engine entirely out of carbon fiber too. When you sit in the car you realize the cockpit, like the engine bay, is equally overwhelmed by carbon fiber. The door panels & sills: carbon fiber, the Seat backs: carbon fiber, dash accents: carbon fiber, paddle shift: carbon fiber, side mirrors: carbon, and the list goes on. All of the fiber undoubtedly helps to shed weight faster than Dan Marino on NutriSystem, and what is not carbon fiber and is Alcantara Suede…or what they call "black technical fabric." Sitting in the car you get the feeling the car has only one purpose…and that is to carve up asphalt on closed circuits. There are no floor mats, and the radio is optional…as is the "black technical fabric" wrapped roll bar. The seats were firm - with supportive bolsters - but I wouldn’t count on them to provide the same support a good set of Recaro SPG’s do, however they do come equipped with prancing horse embroidered 4 point harnesses.
Unfortunately, they didn’t fire the beast up and let it sing at its 8500 rpm redline, but I imagine it would have scared the neighbors. With this car, Ferrari has designed a what is slated to be the most outrageous road going track toy on the market. Its power to weight ratio helps Ferrari’s best drivers sling it around Fiorano circuit faster than the Enzo.
What left me a bit deflated from the experience was seeing and meeting some of these Ferrari customers with confirmed allocations for this car who have never driven on a track, nor had any intention to. They want the car (and want it first) because in their circles it is not good enough just to have the newest Ferrari creation. They demand to have it before their peers. Where these individuals fall on the allocation list seems to have become their social barometer.
I was talking with one of the dealers hosting the event, and had a discussion about one of their biggest clients who is not interested in having the car, and it was a relief for them because, if he were, they would have had to give him the first slot. These people are successful enough to buy these cars and park them in their 6 or 60 (seriously) car garages next to their other exotics…until that one sunny day when they might take it out for a spin - like a bottle of fine Bordeaux that sits in a cellar next to all the other fine bottles until the right company comes over to dust it off.
It was a privilege to be at the event, and I thank my host for the invitation. My issue remains that these very sucessful and talented people certainly had the means but did not seem to have the passion for this car’s purpose and I feared that most would never truly get to experience its greatness. For me, it would be different. I love to drive, and I love to drive fast and challenge limits of what these kind of machines are capable of. If I could ever afford one, the first thing I’d do is fit it with R-compound rubber and take it to the track see what it takes to break it loose - on each of its electronic settings (before locking it on "RACE"). Sure, mine might sit in my garage until a sunny day, but when the clouds break there’s only one place I’d want to be with this car.
So, for the the guy who told me his 599 felt twitchy, I felt the need to remind him that Ferrari has a well decorated history of winning races and all of that same research, development and technology is being poured directly into their road going cars. Alas, I knew it would fall on deaf ears. These cars are not twitchy, they are extremely precise, and exactly as they should be. So to Mr. Twitchy and his friends, I say talk to your Merc or Bentley dealer, leave the cars you’re not qualified to drive for the people who are, and please spare me the banter about the blue tooth attributes.
(This is Team Polizei Master Pilot/31:04 Transcon Record Run Veteran David Maher’s first blog submission, and I couldn’t be happier to see him in print rather than sitting beside me in a moving car. ;-} Maher, PLEASE send us more. - Alex Roy)
Nice write up there David. I wonder how many of the guests there had even heard of Team Polizei?
It is a disappointment to think that most Scuderias will never see the inside of a race track. But I also think that’s a side effect of the dealers.
Wide World tends to cater to the less adventurous and the more, shall we say, “silly”. Folks who would rather put the car on display in a museum then thrash it through a few good laps at the Glen. Folks like you describe who are very nice people, but forget the part where the Scuderia can out perform the last Ferrari super car.
The dealer that I’m “on the list” with tends to cater to the more hard core driver. I know that 2 of their customers (including myself) will be more than happy to put the beastie on the track — and will — when they start to make deliveries in the spring.
And when we do, you bet there will be lots and lots of video… and if you’re in town when we do, you’ll be invited to come, too, to show you that not all Ferrari owners are created equal. Some actually know how to drive.
“Any Ferrari owners here? Raise your hands. You’re all a bunch of wankers.”
- Shane Slevin
The same issue can be applied to any non-Ferrari product;
Horrible skiers sporting brand new Volkls on the bunny slope, golfers using Callaway’s who can’t keep their balls on the fairway, musicians who couldn’t play their way out of a wet paper bag using a self-tuning Les Paul guitar, a ninety year old billionaire married to a sexaholic porn star…
Whatever. Money talks, and if you can afford it you get to have it, no matter how much better someone else is at racing, skiing, golfing, music, or boning.
Unfortunately, complaining about it sounds like jealousy… and I’m one jealous bastard.
They were great people, most with great stories too. I felt priveledged to be there. Glad you will put yours to use, Emil. I’d expect nothing less!! I hope there are lots more like you. In fact, the the guy I attended the event with is a track junkie as well and has great intentions for his…and he was not one of the ones concerned with where he was on the list, just wants to have the car to be able to drive it. - And me too - green with envy!
If it’s any consolation, there are a few people out there who will drive these cars the way they are supposed to be driven. My dad had a 360 stradale and we went to Marinello to pick it up. Luckily in Italy they don’t have speed limits if you are driving a Ferrari. We drove that car above 180 for minutes at a time several times. He even left it in europe for a year and went back several times to drive because it sucks driving in the States. Once he did get it here, he tracked it quite a bit. Hopefully he will do the same with a Scuderia.
Well written David. It’s certainly entertaining to listen to you tell a story from a perspective that most of us know and share. I always get a kick out of hearing people talk about the status the emblem on their car brings them, while I smittenly think to myself the emblem and model designation on the car tells me what kind of driving tool your working with. And for this resson I love that there are people such as Emil and Dan’s dad out there that use these machines as they are meant. At the same time it’s great to people like Mr. Twitchy taking a share of such rare cars, because these are the cars a few decades from now will still be in pristine condition. As much as I love to really drive my car, I also love switching on the SPEED channel or ESPN to see classic car auctions and some the heritage of these amazing machines as they were decades ago when new. Lord knows I will never be the one to keep any of those machine perfect should I be lucky enough to own one, but I also feel we need the Capt. Twitchy’s to realize that the passion for cars dates to before our time…. That being said, I’m going to laugh at Twitchy and keep driving a little harder than most.
Nice article! I like it!
Cars are meant for driving. It’s an absolute shame to put one of these in a garage and never take it out to push it to its limits. If I ever meet one of these overly rich people who buy one of these for a garage ornament, I swear I’m going to put him in the passenger seat of his own Ferrari and give him a taste of what it was designed for.
That said, the most important part of any car is the driver. And even a wanker’s car, with the right driver, is a thing of beauty.
I had a chance to talk to one marketing guy in Ferrari factory and he said quite worringly that this kind of attitude as described in this article is becoming a problem because Lambos and Ferraris are nowadays being bought rather by footballers and rich lawyers than true racing fans or gearheads. This is a very probable image problem for the future when selling as much cars as possible to lawyers and stock-brokers starts working in disadvantage for the company because less and less Ferraris are seen on racetracks and lawyers start buying cars that can be seen on racetracks so all the chicks would think they are racers… Posers!
(I’m a Ferrari owner and fan myself and I really take it to track as often as possible. Couldn’t imagine having it any other way…)
Sigh….
I knew this..I just hate to see it come true. Ive been looking forward to the Scuderia since I bought my Stradale. Ive followed all the news releases. I went to the Ferrari factory and asked about the car. Ive raced open wheel cars. Ive raced in 2 Professional series. Ive raced in the Ferrari Challenge. I’ve tracked my Stradale.
Do you think I will get a Scuderia? No. I want one. I can afford one. Ive bought several cars from “my” Ferrari dealer..but thats not enough. Im being pushed aside by the richer (perhaps older/elderly) masses who only want to park and show the car. Im not sure who to blame here..Ferrari? the dealer? myself? don’t know…
I understand the appeal of owning a ferrari, and even to have the standard 430 for the pruposes of grocery getting or a short spirited drive from time to time is ok with me, but the scuderia in particular is designed specially for the track, so to own a Scuderia just because it is the latest car out - doesn’t sit too well with me.
Nothing has changed since Enzo started selling street cars to finance his racing habit. Enzo has also been quoted as having said “I build cars for young men that only old men can afford”.
Sure, back in the day, a few drivers picked one up and took it straight to the track and entered it successfully in competition. A lot more were picked up by weathly individuals who had no aspirations to racing their prized possesion. Some were purchased by or gifts to celebrities, stars and the like — the most memorable being Ingrid Bergman.
As a Ferrari owner, I can tell you that there are only 4 reasons why anyone spends the exhorbitant amount of money for ownership:
1) Marque cachet. No brand comes anywhere close to the mystique and allure of a Ferrari. Tell someone about your $130k Porsche GT3, and eyebrows barely raise. If someone sees you in a Ferrari they strain their necks with “Who is that ??” written all over their faces. They expect to recognize a hollywood movie star, celebrity rock star or sporting legend step out. Sure, they’re disappointed when it’s “only you”. For some, the amount of attention can be a negative thing. I know someone that went from a spider back to a coupe because the amount of the attention in the spider was just too much.
2) It’s expensive. The rich want what they’ve been told they can’t have. Wait ?? No, I want it NOW! Ferrari control their market very well, following Enzo’s doctrine “build one less than you can sell”. Depreciation is virtually non-existant, with premiums of $100-$200k over MSRP quite common for the “latest’n'greatest”. Weatlthy people usually got to be that way because of fiscal responsibility, so finding out that Ferrari ownership has a very low total cost-of-ownership (due to near-zero depreciation, or even appreciation) makes the brand very appealing.
3) Ne plus ultra performance. This is the thing that attracts the track fanatics. The incredible sound of a Ferrari V8 at 8,500rpm at WOT is enough to make a grown man giddy. It never gets old - to tire of it is to be tired of life. The reality though is that there are better performing cars for less money. Long, boring arguments exist on the ‘net debating whether the Corvette ZO6 or Nissan GT-R is faster. It’s irrelevant; it’s not that any given Ferrari model is, or is not, faster than any other car sold at that time — it’s the fact that it combines stunning performance with all the other 3 factors.
4) Rolling artwork. This is highly subjective, but Ferraris have always been the most gorgeous mobile pieces of art that you can buy. Every time I open the garage and see my car there my heart skips a beat. No other car does that to me the way a Ferrari does. The reason that the 1962 Ferrari 250GTO is worth $10-17M (if you can find someone to part with theirs) is not because of its performance. Sure, in 1962 is was extremely competitive, but the reason it’s worth serious coin today, is again because of the allure, mystique, heritage/provenance but most of all because of its staggering beauty.
No other brand offers the combination of these reasons. I’ve tracked every Ferrari I’ve owned — I’ve span out a couple of times because I’ve pushed it hard and beyond my capabilities “ran out of talent”. I’m getting a 430 Scuderia next year, and I am very much looking forward to tracking that car too. But, if all I wanted was to track a car, I’d get a Radical, an Ariel Atom or an Exige S 240. I like to think that as long as I live I would like to keep a prancing horse in my garage. At some point I will be too old to be tracking cars to not be a liability to myself or others .. but as long as I can drive on public roads, well then I’d be proud to be Mr. Twitchy … and I wouldn’t lose any sleep over knowing that my car wasn’t being tracked anymore.
Well said, and I agree with most of your points. However if you want a new 430, my suggestion is to skip the S and go with the regular 430 if it is never to see a track. The 430 S is a track vehicle with street capability, and shame on those who buy one with no intent of ever stretching its legs on a circuit.