With the prices of F430's being $75K over sticker, that brings them close to F40 price range. So, which one would you buy and WHY??? Rick
That's not a serious question is it Rick? You'd never trade your F40 for anything as unremarkable as a series production car, would you? The F40 is a limited production ((1300 total, less than 200 US models) supercar and the last car that Enzo oversaw. The F430 is a production series car slated by Ferrari to be the highest volume Ferrrari ever. A good car to be sure but in the context of Ferrari, an ordinary current day, high volume car. There will never be anything rare about F430's. There's no question that F430 pricing will begin to abate and soon will be back to MSRP, or below once the following year model is released. F40's are moving upwards and they will always be a supercar.
Yes it is a serious question, and NO, I have no plans to sell the F40. I hope I die before that happens. But there is a F430 vs. Z06 thread and after reading a lot of it, I thought I would see what the other side of the coin looks like. Are the people posting driven by cost, love of Ferraris, investment or comfort. It may also be interesting to see the different responses in the 2 sections. Yea, I'ld like a new Z06, a Stradale and a 550. But I need a bigger garage first! Rick
I'd honestly have to say that if you had the choice of either the Ferrari F40 or the Ferrari F430 and you took the F430, you weren't a 'true' Ferrari fan or a fan of cars in general. The F40 isn't something for the common man.. it's rough, raw and you got to have a real love of not only Ferraris but of the whole aspect of 'racer for the road'. Which is what the F40 embodies perfectly. The F430, is the civilized man's F40. It's got the performance, but you don't lose any of that home-style comfort that you'd expect from your everyday vehicle. Electronic-assists so you don't make errors, etc. The choice between the two is clearly the F40.
I've driven both. Without them being side by side, or on a track or something I wouldn't put money on the real performance comparison, but by the seat of the pants feel, performance wise and (by far) the grin factor there is no comparison. F40 by a country mile.
Even though the 430 is right now the fastest accelerating Ferrari for sale (not counting the FXX) it is still considered the entry level one. In the 80's and early 90's the F40 was considered the absolute pinnacle of Ferrari engineering. Undoubtedly u should choose one over an f430.
Well, you are really asking a question that is just opinion driven. I mean, both cars do many things better than the other. You have to make the decision if you want a civilized, daily driveable exotic, or if you want a balls out street legal, brutal race car. F430: Yes: Refined, comfortable, classy, fast and a wonderful performer No: Will be common in a year or two, not that fast, depreciation F40: Yes: Very Fast, Very Exotic, the guy next door doesn't have one, no creature comforts No: Maintanence, no creature comforts, loud, uncomfortable The thing is, if you are solely making your decision on price, than I would stick with the F40, I only see these cars staying where they are or going up in value, while the 430 will ofcourse be more than its sticker price for quite a while, but will depreciate over time before it may or may not go up in value. As we all know the 355 has depreciated quite a bit, and now the 360 is in its shadow. Even though we can give you our opinion, mine being THE F40, you need to decide what you want. Good Luck! ALEXPAPAS: The F40 is by no means a Limited Production Ferrari, although there were only 213 units brought to the US, there were 1,315 made worldwide. This is part of the reason why the F40 hasn't reached the half million and higher price at auction. There are just too many of them. The 288 GTO at 272 units worldwide is a much rarer vehicle yet it too doesn't reach the value it should because it only appeals to the fer that like the wolf in sheep's clothing kind of thing. Although, I don't think any Ferrari should be called a sheep. Maybe a prarie dog lol. The hasn't been any real "limited" production Ferrari's over the last 25 years besides the 288 if you can condsider it limited at 272 units, the 512 BB LM at 25 units, the F50 at 349 units wasn't even that limited. As Ferrari enthusiasts for many years have said, Ferrari has yet to make another limited production car since the '60's and '70's and that many of the cars from the 80's, 90's and today will have that same type of demand that the classics have. However, there will always be more than two people wanting some of the more recent vehicles and that will help keep the prices high enough to make their value greater than the more mainstream counterparts.
Actually it was 1,311 world wide Personally i would never think twice about my choice, The Ferrari F40 without a doubt.
id take the f430, but it would depend on what you are planning to do. If you are a person that likes to drive - say, often, on city streets or whatever, then an f40 is certainly the wrong move. Having made a f50 -> 360 I am much, much happier. other bonuses: - overall modern-ness. f1 paddle shifts are fun. easy-to-view dash. - warranty. maintenance costs on f40 = $$ - parts availability. I dont like waiting 3-6 months for that exotic part from who-knows-where. - overall driveability. it is nice to be able to wake up in the morning and go, "gee what a nice day, lets take the 360". prevoiusly it would be "gee, what a nice day, let me think of the roads i will be taking, where i will be able to park".
for an investment or something i would keep a long time, no doubt the f40..it will creep up in value, whereas the 430 will only go down over time....however,as a car to use on the street, put miles on , and use as fun tranportation, its a no brainer...the 430 is very fast, comfortable, very easy to drive, actually higher reving and normally aspirated,....it would be my choice for a daily driver or a long trip...for a sunday wild ride and collector car. ..it has to be the f40, which is supercar....
this comparo makes a lot of sense, since I realized the 430 is more powerful than a F40 it never ceases to amaze me does that mean 20 years from now the entry level Ferrari will outperform the mighty Enzo?
Gee did you happen to see the top speed runs in another thread? The F40 was the fastest car tested. If you were in a 430 you would be so far behind you couldn't read the plate! Long live the V8 torque king!
Do you have a link to it? And was it a Euro F40? The U.S. cars ONLY go 194mph due to the 2.90 rear end gear vs. the 2.72 for the Euro car.
Rick - I just realized you posted the same question in both Modern and Super. Were you testing to see if the different groups gave you different answers? http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=72824 http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=72825
Yes I was. And over there some people did pick the F430. As most people in this section know, I do own an F40. A modified one at that It is a beasts beast. I was looking to see why people buy F cars. I guess I should have included a poll because I think about 90+% picked the F40. It also seemed that the people that could afford either car did pick the F430. I still think an F430 would be faster around a track, but no where near as fun to drive..... The Top Gear show on the F40 was great.
By far the F40 will hold it's value better and is a much more "Raw" car, but I am 6'2" and 250 Lbs. I will have to go with the F430 because I don't fit well in John's F40, but it is a blast to ride in. Driving may take a bit more comfort, and that car just doesn't have it. I say I would still buy the F430, but I would really like to have both!!
Look, the F40 is a racing car with street approval. But the F40 is from an other generation of cars as the F430. The F430 is a very beautiful fast sports car. Further you could go with the F430 very fast at the racing circuit. The F430 is up to date at the technical side. The F1gear from the F430 is great - no comparision to the Modena. I think it is not a view about the price. It is a philosophy. The F40 has all drawbacks of a racing car when you go with it in the rush hour through a city. So, it is not a Ferrari for "every day". It is the car for sunday morning or for a race circuit. If this is you intension - the F40 is the right car for you. If not - take the F430F1. In my opinion the F40 is THE FERRARI of the modernity. The reincarnation this the ENZO.
