Which general direction do you feel Ferrari should pursue (poll)?

I'm very much in the same boat. I don't know if I'd call any of the current lineup bland, necessarily, but - and maybe this makes me old (at 45) - I miss the days of the 355 being "high-tech" because it put out the highest bhp/liter of any normally aspirated production car up to that point.

Such is direction and evolution of car design, nothing we can do. Ferrari isn't going to deliberately take a performance step backwards, ever. If that means using latest greatest tech, that's the direction it's going.

 

Ferrari is NOT A CAR Company.

They ARE an ENGINE Company.

An ICE ENGINE Company.


Once they LOSE THAT, it is ONLY SHEET METAL that will separate a Ferrari from a Trabant.

The number of people here that don't 'Get That,' is astounding.


Ferrari Motors 'MADE IN CHINA.'

I CANT WAIT.

 

When I was 12 years old a Ferrari passed me while I was walking on the sidewalk. I don't know what model it was. What I remember was the sound. This was 1957.

I started noticing the raves Ferraris got in all the car mags. I decided some day I will own a Ferrari. Bought my first Fcar in May of 2000. It was an F355 GTS. One of the best sounding Ferraris ever made. Then I added a Tubi exhaust. People in the Ferrari Club used to follow me around on club events just so they could hear the engine exhaust music.

My next Fcar was a 360 Spider with a Tubi exhaust.

Now I have a 458 Spider. I had the dealer pull the lines to the baffles so they stay open all the time. The sound is amazing. Even with the top up I can put the rear window down so I can hear the engine/exhaust music rain or shine, night or day, cold or hot.

In short the sound of a Ferrari is VERY important to me me. The newer turbos just don't do it for me. A front/mid engine V12 just doesn't handle on curvy mountain roads like a rear/mid engine car does. So far the best Ferrari for me that I have found is the 458 Spider.

The 458 is plenty fast for me. It even scares me some times. I like that. I love this car.

 

My 'China' comment was PURE SARCASM and even they can wind an electric motor CHEAPER than one can be wound in Maranello.

I would, in deferemce to ENZO, FOLD the (Street Car part) of the Company and CLOSE the Gates FOR EVER, BEFORE I would 'Go FERRARI Electric.'


PERFORMANCE IS NOT EVERYTHING.


GENERIC, NOT AIMED AT YOU!!!

[If it (PERFORMANCE) was EVERYTHING, someone else would be NAILING Your Wife FOR YOU ... AT YOUR REQUEST.]


Dinosaurs, the GREATEST Beings to EVER inhabit the earth, went extinct too.


Ferrari's time is coming ...

... AS IT SHOULD.

 

Winner.

I don't much care so long as they keep building great cars. There is no voting option for that so I have not voted.

 

If they think the SF90 has 'spaceship looks' they better go for Modern Vintage i guess.

But they will build whatever produces more $$$.However with the ramp up in prices generally they will be facing some very stiff competition undercutting them (no not just the likes of C8) .

I voted MV ,yep i'm old fashioned

 

Of course. However I love all Ferraris, well at least all those I have been in or driven. I wasn't always a Ferrari fan. I certainly never had any aspirations about buying one. My aim in life was to own a 60's Mustang (a 70's Mach 1 at first).
Thing is I like 60's Ferraris right through to current. I'd love a 458 or 488 but equally a 288GTO. Spoilt for choice. You see to me they have been doing it since they began. I genuinely have no preference.

However if you are forcing my hand then purely down to keeping shareholders happy, modern or Latest Tech. Why? Because they have to keep with Porsche, Lamborghini, Aston Martin and definitely McLaren, who in my opinion are their biggest competition and are very high tech. Unfortunately that includes an SUV.

You've made me vote now

 

Sorry Rob.

Absolutely NO DISS intended.


Just sometimes people lose sight of what makes something 'Right.'

Something that just TOTALLY captures the human heart and soul and creates a NEW (then) definition of being ALIVE.

ICE Engines belong IN CARS.

One can put anything they damn well please IN 'TRANSPORTION.'

NO ONE should ever confuse the two.



IF you pull the ICE Motor outta a Ferrari and replace it with an electric from China, what do you have left but a lousey 2-Bit horsey badge?

Ferrari farms-out the body and interior design already and has for MANY Years, so once the ICE is GONE ...

There is literally NOTHING LEFT.




Just a 'HOT BUTTON' Issue for some reason for this old kogger.

 

I didn't vote because I didn't see an option that fits. I would like to see them pursue the modern and latest tech, but doing so using ICE engines. To me, simply saying latest tech, is too much pure EV stuff, and that's not my thing. I don't think the pure modern vintage is a viable way either, as they will simply be left in the dust, and quickly feel artificial and dated. I would love to see a car like the 812 treated like the SF90. Basically a big power hybrid front engined V12 supercar that is not LaF price point and rarity. I would like it to sport a lot of the interior features of the SF90, because that stuff is nice. If I want vintage, I can go drive a 250 GT/E.

 

To me,this has little to do with modern tech vs. vintage modern. This is more a thing relating to anything they do and an overall direction no matter what they do. As a Ferrari tifosi, and a lover of exotic sportscars, this is one of the worst and saddening things I have ever heard from a car company. The fact alone that this is premise of how the Roma was conceived, means it's not a true blood Ferrari. People made fun of the Cali and called it the Maserati Kalifornia etc. but I think it retained the Ferrari soul and is a real Ferrari. I can't say the same for the Roma, and the proof lies within that quote. If any car Ferrari has ever made, deserves to be called a fake Ferrari, it's the Roma. If you take away what creates the excitement, sense of occasion and to an extent, fear, you take away what makes it a Ferrari. I think anybody who has tried to floor an 812 knows exactly what I'm on about. Scary but fun, and truly addicting. FCA can keep their Maserati Roma.
If the Roma is equates to modern tech, I think I will prefer a Model T.

 

I think the span is too great, because things can easily be mixed and matched. Just because Ferrari uses modern things, does it not mean they need to use a space age fabric interior. Even with modern tech, I think both Ferrari and the general exotic owner will want nice leather etc. I really don't see that going anywhere. They may offer an vegan solution for those who will want that, but so what. I don't feel that the leather interior is at risk.

I think they can combine the classic dash with modern tech. I do like classic gauges, but to be honest, Ferrari has not had the best instrument clusters in all cars. Every time I find myself in a 458 with a yellow tach, it's the same game of not being able to see it "at the end of the tunnel". I like what Koenigsegg and Pagani is doing though. But if we are talking "classic" Ferrari instruments like a Testarossa, 550 or 308, I'd have to say no thanks. Because by today's standards, and by the standards of some of the vintage dashes, that looks like the dials from an 80's Camry. Currently I think Koenigsegg makes the best modern instrument cluster, and that would be a great way to head. That's to me at least, the best of both worlds - and you can easily include some mechanical aspects of vintage cars. I really like the Lusso because to me, it's a fun combination of both. Yes, the SF90 takes it a bit too far in some ways with the "nostalgia". I hate the H-pattern button layout. That's just odd and makes no sense, but I do think there's something nice about the rest.

So when we say 812 replacement, I like the idea of a classic looking dash, but with modern tech implemented. I don't like the Roma dash, but not due to the tech, but rather because it lacks excitement and is so generic that if might as well could have been fitted to a Panamera or Alfa. Not sure if they tried to make it a throwback to the 550 due to the shape, but they failed if so.

 

I think Aston is doing great things having various projects: the multi-million dollar continuations of $$ cars, the hypercars, modern GTs and now manual Vantage, etc.

As I understand Porsche's best sellers are now the SUVs but I also appreciate that they've been offering various manuals and driver focused cars like the Spyder.

 

my take: adapt or die.

the following company started out as...
IBM - time clock and type writer company.
Nintendo - playing card company
Amazon - online book store
Avon - door to door book sale
3M - mining company.

you know who didn't adapt?
Kodak - Developed and owns many patents to digital camera. Didn't want to lose the film side of business and didn't see a reason to go in a different direction. ask a millenial what if they have heard of the word "Kodachrome".
Toy R Us - Didn't want to go online.
Block Buster - DVD by mail? what a stupid idea.
I can go on....

(edit)
a little closer to home:
Porsche - not an SUV company.


If Ferrari wishes to remain relevant in the coming years. They have to adapt and change.

 

I wholly understand your points.*

Dont get me wrong, 'New TECH' is by-in-large, a Good Thing. Usually a Very Good Thing ...

But SOMETIMES it COMPLETELY DESTROYS the Essence of its Origins.


As I said,

IF I OWNED Ferrari and

I HAD TO GET Rid of the ICE,

I'D SHUT THE DOORS.

On the Road Cars.

THE. END.

Ferrari is NOT a 'Transportation' Company.

It IS a WHOLE-LIFE EXPERIENCE Company. IT (did) challenges ALL Five Senses.

NO EV can EVER DO THAT.

END the Ferrari EXPERIENCE ... END the Company. Be Kind and Kill it. 'Survival' ain't Everything. We did kill buggy-whip companies as we killed that Experience.


Like the Shelby Mustang, Camero, Charger ... I would have NEVER REMADE Them. Those Remakes, better performance or not, are Nothing But Pure HERESY. The 'Original Essence' Loooong Gone.

An F14 Tomcat BEATS THE SNOT OUT of a P51 Mustang on EVERY PERFORMANCE LEVEL. BUT a P51 DESTROYS an F14 on the EXPERIENCE LEVEL of the observer. The P51 somehow 'speaks' to our Lizard Brain, ALL of our senses, in a way even the SR71, the GREATEST Air-Breather Ever Made, CAN NOT.

Anyone ever stood next the tracks when a Steam Locomotive went by? Even a Diesel-Electric clobbers the snot outta a purely Electric. Which DRAWS Crowds?


IF one has never EXPERIENCED a Steam Locomotive or a P51,

Perhaps this analogy may work ...


From a Purely RELATIONSHIP Perspective, for Ease of Life, being GAY/LEZ makes the most damn sense. One would MUCH EASIER and BETTER UNDERSTAND one's life partner throughout the life of the partnership. That stands to reason as both have the same 'basic wiring.' There may very well be fewer divorces due to that. Fewer Broken Families. Kids are no issue as New TECH has simple 'fixes' for that. Marrying/Partnering with the Opposite Sex makes NO Logical sense from the purely 'Relationship' perspective. Certainly Not anymore. Purposefully Partnering w/Bat-S**t Crazy (either Opposite Sex) is a recipe for Disaster.

But even if this 'train of thought' became the excepted NORM Planet-Wide, this kid AIN'T 'Getting-On-Board.' Even though the Love I have for a couple of (same sex) Army Buddies rivals the Love I have for my (Opposite Sex) Wife. I'd take a bullet for ALL of them, even Wifey. Yet, I will not 'Upgrade' to the 'New Tech.' It just ain't happening.



It doesn't happen often, but ...

SOMETIMES,

The Original Inventor ...

Gets it RIGHT,

The FIRST TIME.




* - Like the 'UPGRADE' to Color Film. Color took (much of) the ART OUT of Photography. Anyone who's worked in B&W knows EXACTLY what I'm talking about. The 'Composition' element remains true in Color, but that is about it. To create a Piece of ART in B&W is BEYOND pains-takingly DIFFICULT, MANY levels ABOVE Color Photography.

If one takes a class (or many) and 'studies' photography W/O spending some serious time studying Ansel Adams, find a new teacher.


Would one actually try to 'upgrade' and Pass-Off a Michael Angelo to the modern public? Computerized machines TODAY can do it all BETTER than he ever did, so Why NOT?


Driverless road cars are here. Diverless F1, anyone? Why NOT? Think of the LOWER Ticket Prices when you don't have to accommodate, pay or design cars around DRIVERS anymore. Think of the Supifying INCREASE in car Performance then possible!!! Think of the number of Arguments and BANS in the F1 Sub-Forum THAT will save! Thru 'New Tech,' Driverless F1 IS COMING ... to a racetrack Near YOU. And SOONER than you think. After all, it IS called 'FORMULA 1' and NOT 'DRIVER 1.' The DRIVER is no longer a 'Necessary EVIL,' that never brought anything to The FORMULA in the first place.


The more you take the Human OUT of the Equation, the MORE you DESTROY the EXPERIENCE and ... the MORE you destroy the HUMAN.




Just this old dinosaur's thoughts on being and feeling ALIVE. And I NEVER felt More ALIVE than in the 1960's thru early 1980's IN America.

In a perverse way, I am looking forward to being dead 'soon.' From MY POV, dying is not necessarily a 'Bad Thing.' New Tech on Old Things, has RUINED much of what it has touched.

New Tech by its very nature, DENIES Sensory Input to one or more of the Five Senses REQUIRED for the WHOLE Human Experience.

I, perhaps the ONLY one here, HATE Catalitic Converters. They Eliminated a huge part of the input into the Senses of Smell and Taste. Fuel Injection Eliminated a large part of the Input into Sense of Hearing. All the 'Driver's Aids' have severly negated the necessity of the Sense of Feel (Touch). The TOTAL PERFORMANCE CAR EXPERIENCE has been Humanistically Downgraded by these Upgrades. And NOT 'Just a little bit.'


It has been quite some time since my heart, ALL Five Senses, My ENTIRE Being, was stirred enough to bring a tear to my eye. It happens more and more infrequently.


An ICE-Powered Ferrari and ONLY an ICE-Powered one, can and does keep some, a little, but very necessary, bit of that feeling of being ALIVE ... ALIVE.





YMMV ...

 

I love the old Ferrari's. Otherwise I would not buy one. There are a lot of things one can buy for that much money.
Having said that, the market does not care want you and I want. The market wants a "better" product. Ferrari can stay the course and become irrelevant. They can also adapt and survive.
If they don't change, the GenXers and millenials will fondly remember the brand 20-30 years from now. They will speak wistfully of the good memories, just like me and my coworkers when reminisce about Woolsworth, LPs, running to the drug stores to get our 4x6 photos, Be kind please rewind, etc.

 

Ferrari has always been about being the latest and greatest sports and GT car manufacturer, so I voted Latest Tech. But they can obviously also make nods to their great heritage, as the Monza and now the Roma prove. The problem is with us, not Ferrari, and the problem isn't new. Some in a previous generation of Ferrari owners weren't interested in anything after the 275's, just like now some of us aren't interested in any of the V8's after the 360 and F430 manuals. Others will probably think the F8 is the last of the era, and they'll draw the line there. But new owners will join us old guys, and they will be in awe of the performance possibilities of hybrids. And, to be frank, it's the new money owners who drive Ferrari forward, not us old farts with ten to thirty year old cars.

Though I am now in a position to be able to buy a CPO Roma in a few years, so I'm not a complete stick in the mud. And I am very interested to see how the FUV turns out.

And can we get over the manual obsession? If you want one, get an older car. 360's and 430's are at the edge of where a manual makes sense, IMO. I'm far from silky smooth with my 360 after two years and 10,000 miles in it! I can't imagine a 458 or anything after with a manual (But EAG is trying to make one). Even the Ford Raptor I just bought has paddle shift (And ten speeds so a LOT of shifting!).

 

Actually something I forgot to mention is the Porsche Classic programs. It seems like they do a lot more for resale than Classiche. The local dealer is one of their "Classic Centre" dealers and has had 'showroom condition' 911 3.2, 930, 964, 993 and even 356 cars. All restored to factory specs by Porsche's partners and certified. Quite remarkable IMO. Prices were high, but it seems like these were cars you could buy and drive straight to Pebble Beach to show.

I wonder if Ferrari could do similar things with Boxers, Testarossas, etc. and make money?

 

Ferrari needs to follow racing and winning and trickle down that technology into its cars. That said, Ferrari needs to get serious about sports car racing again and run team efforts full time in IMSA.

 

I didn't vote unfortunately because I don't see it as a binary choice. Most of the posts are big on passion (fully get that) but short on objective assessment of the massive headwinds facing Ferrari (and others) and how that is affecting strategy. FWIW here's my opinions:

1. Unlike any major sector I can think of, automakers are facing a perfect storm. Autonomous, electric and connected mobility, government emission regulations, Gen Z and Millennial attitudes and behaviour towards car ownership, purchase behaviour among current segments and effect of new business models....to name a few.

2. What is Ferrari without an engine? But if the company doesn't consider likely scenarios, it's done as many urban areas will move to zero emission zones in time. The US will stand strong but the rest of the world will change, or begin to tighten the screw. It's already happening.

3. So Ferrari, IMO, will evolve into a luxury lifestyle brand with its roots in a rich auto history. It's already moving in that direction. For die-hard boomers, it's bad n sad, but we're on a conveyor belt called life and our vote is degrading everyday. Ferrari in 35 years will be as strong as ever but "ETS'' (Emotion Transportation Solutions) will represent only part of its revenue.

4. The future multi-millionaires will own mansions with 12+ car garages on private road circuits. With specialist service centres. This will be the ultimate status symbol, like thoroughbred racehorses today. Ironic.

5. The garages will be full of the cars we know and love. 288 GTO, F40, F50 etc etc. Parts n stuff will be super rare but hey, nothing good comes cheap. Not when status is being judged.

6. Ferrari will remain very close to this segment as it will be the core of its brand heritage (point 3 above).

7. Ferrari will do whatever is necessary to ensure its future is bright. They need to navigate the perfect storm successfully.

 

Found the poll choices lacking. Would vote for fire the current design team, lower production numbers and model releases and keep the NA V12. Also, no laptops on the dashboard - ever.