Is the "baby" F-car or new "Dino" really comming?

Just rumors at this point.

I personally don't see the logic of a "cheap" Ferrari. They're selling everything they can build as it is at who knows what margins. Why build something that would tarnish the brand? Something that would compete price-wise with Porsche? What greater insult could there be?

Furthermore, that is Maserati's market.

Unless, and this is a big unless, they plan to take Maserati down-market and establish an entirely new brand between $100-150K.

Still, this should be Maserati's territory and automobile type.

 

I disagree. Maserati has a very negative image in the States. If a car buyer remembers the brand at all, it's in association with the Biturbo. People spending 100K+ on a car want a nameplate that has a positive connotation -- Porsche or Aston Martin for example. The current front engined V8 Maserati is a great car, but nobody's buying them and those who do are taking a beating in depreciation.

For the front V8 to be a market success, it's going to have to carry the Prancing Horse. I don't believe it will dilute the brand all that much, because even if they double production with the thing, that's only an additional 4000 cars worldwide per year. That's likely 2000-3000 in the States, and not something that will be seen on every street corner and tote-the-note car lot.

 

Now Masi is out, a Dino will come to fill the void.

 

There's a name brand with absolutely no image at all outside of the diehards.

This thing, if they build it, will have a Ferrari nameplate. It doesn't make sense to do anything else.

 

I think a big part of the Masar's poor sales in the US has been due to the transmission. Every test report I've read and I mean every one has just slamed the trans. I believe they made a big mistake going with the f1 trans in a sport coupe. The trans in my AMG works great in manual mode but... if you just want to pick up some milk, put it in auto and it's smooth as could be.
Darrell

 

Same can be said (swapping name with styling) about the 612. Most don't even know its based of a classic fcar...doesn't mean Ferrari didn't build it and sell it.

 

There's never any real info untill a few months before launch.since it's based on a cancelled Maser it should be in year or so at the most.Maybe 06 Frankfurt autoshow.

 

Build, yes.

Sell? A few

Classic is not always equal to good, and classic-inspired can sometimes (612) be a bad mistake. I just can't see them trying to push a nameplate that hasn't been in use for almost 30 years

 

Well it's the market in which Ferrari will be able to capitalise on at the expense of Porsche and others. I don't think it will tarnish 'Ferrari' brand as it's still going to be expensive compared to there rivals.
It's a good marketing idea, I guess.

 

I agree, if they had badged Masers as Ferraris, they wold have sold a lot better. As it is, the masers are competing with BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar, etc but cost a lot more with dubious reliability. The Maser package and price point never made any sense to me from a marketing standpoint.

If a new, smaller model does come, Dino or otherwise, I think it will 1. be sportier than Masers, 2. be styled by Pininfarina, 3. not use the Maser 4.2 V8, 4. priced about 125K.

The big question is where will they be built since Ferrari is already capacity constrained and they are not going to sunstitute 125K cars for 200K cars.

Dave

 

The Maser has not been cancelled. Apparently, there is going to be an SL styled Maser spyder designed by Pinninfarina which will be available in Europe in approx. 1 year. Apparently it is a work of art. Maserati still is one of the most respected badges in the business, and if they produce a gorgeous car they will not have trouble selling it (i.e look at the quattroporte). There is a market for a high end Italian sport GT with more luxury than the F430. Also, there is less of a stigma associated with owning a Maserati than a Ferrari (my opinion)

 

There was an additional issue for Maserati's struggles. For the first few model years Maserati did not have a factory sponsored lease deal and since the resale value was unknown (meaning 3rd party leasing companies assumed the worse possible depreciation) they could only be purchased for cash or on a bank loan. Since a majority of high end luxury coupes and sedans are sold on lease, it was a huge problem.

 

WHAT! Less of a stigma owning Ferrari than a Maserati? What is your source of info.

 

Just an opinion. The maser is more understated with much less of a "bling"effect. If bling is what you want, Ferrari or worse Lambo is the way to go.

 

I hope it comes out. Like the previous posts, its just a rumor at this point. I know Autocar magazine had some drawings of what it may look like (the future dino).. I would get one...

 

I would say Lambo is bling. Ferrari is pure poetry in motion.Maserati is for the discerning buyer.Then again I am a little impartial.

 

I hope what ever comes out, if at all, will have the same grace as the Dino.
As it is one of the best that Ferrari ever made!

 

First off, nobody can say for sure...it's upto the "Power That Be"...or however that saying goes...

But for what it's worth, I've seen the same thing happen with the Hummer line. GM bought the name and started producing the H2, it was a phenominal hit...they couldn't make 'em fast enough. The H2 isn't even near the same as the H1 (no gear-driven hubs, CTIS, seat-in-frame chassis, etc)...BUT for anyone who ever dreamed of owning an exotic and a name that's associated with being the ultimate offroad vehicle....the H2 fit the bill and sold like mad.

Some kind of new Dino....it could happen. The designers at Ferrari would design it, it would have lots of Ferrari parts, be influenced by Ferrari, built in the Maserati portion of the factory, etc, etc, etc.

Ferrari would still sell every model Ferrari they built AND every model of the new Dino they built as well. Some kind of entry-level Ferrari for $90k - $130k....it'd sell faster then a fire through a dry forest on a windy day. Think of an Elise, 15% larger in size, a nice Ferrari flat-crank engine stuffed in it, dial in some Dino resemblence: DONE!!!! Wtf, I'd buy one for the weekend home.

The only thing better then making LOTS OF MONEY is making even MORE MONEY. Anyways, it's all about the dollar, and who says Italians can't be both passionate & greedy at the same time?

 

Using Hummer's case is a good example when they introduced H2 but I'm not sure whether the same success would be said about H3 introduction. They might have just overdone it!

 

There is no '06 Frankfurt auto show. Frankfurt and Paris alternate every year- the 06 show will be in Paris, as Frankfurt just ended a couple of weeks ago.

Gio P

 

Just to throw some reality in the equation, what makes anyone think that Ferrari can build, market and service cars that can compete with Porsche, Jag, BMW, Mercedes, Corvette?

That's what they tried with the Maserati Coupe/spyder.

It's not a bad car but the only way you're going to get sufficient sales volume to make a go of it is if you can compete in that market place. That being said, for the non enthusiast buyer it has to be able to be serviced easily with a great leasing program. They don't care about heritage as much bling and ease of use. It's the non enthusiast sale that's going to generate the volumes consistently.

It also has to be manufactured by someone that knows about higher volumes. Neither Ferrari or Maserati know diddly squat about this segment of the market. Oh yeah, they have Fiat to lean on for advice. Get out the crutches.

I agree that putting the Ferrari badge may help the image but most people don't think of a Ferrari as an everyday car with terrific service outlets in a lot of locations.

I think it would be terrific if Ferrari had a more reasonably priced line of cars but I don' think it will make a discernible dent in the BMW, Jag, Mercedes, Porsche market. That probably means it will be a flop as Ferrari can't produce cars nearly as economically.

Bob

 

If Ferrari does make one, I don't think the intent will be to compete with high volume makers. The rumors are of production #'s in the 4-5K unit range/year. If other marques lose any sales at all, they won't notice. I think a new "Dino" would target another niche entirely. There are a lot of frustrated would be new Ferrari buyers out there because of lack of supply and/or price. There is also a potential pool of buyers who like the older, smaller Ferraris and a new small one may very well appeal to them. So far, I love my 430, but I think I would like it better if it were about 80-90% as big as it is.

Dave

 

If they do that then they'll have to charge more than they did for the Maserati which was a financial loser for them.

This was probably one of the reasons the new line for Maserati was cancelled. The production expenses were still going to be too high.

Bob S.