First and most recent magical Ferrari moment | FerrariChat

First and most recent magical Ferrari moment

Discussion in 'Ferrari Discussion (not model specific)' started by EnzoItaly, Dec 6, 2019.

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  1. EnzoItaly

    EnzoItaly Formula Junior

    Sep 29, 2016
    263
    My first magical Ferrari moment was when I was about 6 years old: I was waiting with my mum at the entrance of the school of my sister, to pick her up... when a guy in his thirties showed up with his red Testarossa... when I friendly approached the spectacular refined red beast... he opened the passenger window so I could inspect the interior as well... the unique design, the colours and the combination of the smell of the hot engine and the leather are burned into my memory forever... apparently the next year one of the most common words I spoke as a kid was Testarossa. After more than 30 years I still get excited about that moment!

    The most recent magical experience was 2 weeks ago when I took the 456 for a spin... the engine was hot as I approached a nice winding country lane, the sun was shining, the road dry... so I put ‘the pedal to the metal’... at that perfect moment, enjoying the scenery and the raw experience, the shift click and glorious engine music... a 10 year old kid dropped his jaw and was visibly totally thrilled... that made my day!

    I would be thrilled to hear about your first and most recent magical Ferrari moment!!
     
  2. vincep99

    vincep99 Formula 3
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Jun 8, 2009
    1,929
    Nice write-up!

    I am a bit atypical: I did not know a thing about Ferraris. My wife and I were in Bologna to visit the Ducati factory and since we had time to spare in the afternoon we went to Maranello. The first magical moment was looking at the Testarossa on display. Suffice it to say my laptop was in use 24/7 (well, maybe not that much) until I found one.
     
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  3. imahorse

    imahorse F1 Rookie
    Silver Subscribed

    Nov 25, 2017
    2,648
    WI
    Full Name:
    Dustin
    My first was about 15 years ago when I was in junior high. We were allowed to leave school for lunch and would walk a block to this grocery store. When we were coming down a hill this yellow Ferrari pulled away. I remembered the rims had stars on them and thought it was an F50 for a while but looking back, the odds of one of those driving in Green Lake, Wisconsin are virtually impossible. Not sure what it was. I still wonder to this day. Either way, us kids freaked out. It was so exciting. We told everyone we ran into about it. Ferraris are very rare here. I can recall seeing 10 or less in traffic.

    Most recent was driving through an area between Lake Winnebago and Lake Michigan known as the holy land for all of the religious groups settling there from Germany. It is the most Hilly area nearby with very little traffic. The buildings, towns and churches are all quite old and very interesting. It also happens to be the area surrounding Road America. It is a new experience everytime I cruise through there. Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
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  4. EnzoItaly

    EnzoItaly Formula Junior

    Sep 29, 2016
    263
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  5. spirot

    spirot F1 World Champ

    Dec 12, 2005
    14,501
    Atlanta
    Full Name:
    Tom Spiro
    Hmm... my true magical moment was at Watkins Glen in about 1974-75 down town WG... walking to a restaurant with my mom and dad and we saw the 330 GTC parked on the street with two guys standing there asking if it was my dads car - as the keys were left inside. My dad said no, and we walked on. finished dinner and came back and finally the owner showed up and was showing the car and we started to look. "would you like to sit in side?" the guy asked me. "Ok" I said ... first time ever in a Ferrari. it was Silver with steel pressed wheels and gray/ black interior. smelled like gas/ oil leather... can remember that smell to this day.

    latest Ferrari moment - taking my new to me 599 for a run to the drug store... just leaving it in 2nd gear with the windows down... what an awesome sound.
     
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  6. Rosso328

    Rosso328 F1 Veteran
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    Dec 11, 2006
    6,795
    Central FL
    Full Name:
    Paul
    I had seen Ferrari’s in magazines, but the first time I saw one in person was - not certain - late 70’s, probably 78 or 79. I stood next to one at a car dealer in Calgary, AB, and the thing I remember most vividly was thinking “Holy crap! It’s so small!”

    Fast forward to 1986 and I was a starving college student in Toronto renting a room in a run down old house in an up and coming neighborhood. The houses up and down the street were being torn down and replaced with McMansions. One day I walked out my front door on the way to school and in the driveway of the McMansion directly across the street was a Boxer. Red and black. Amber lenses up front. I was smitten. I stood and stared for who knows how long. There was no one outside with it, and I didn’t go across and knock on the door, but I still remember that. I shook myself out of it and headed to the subway, but told myself “Some day...”
     
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  7. Ianjoub

    Ianjoub Formula Junior

    Dec 22, 2019
    899
    Homosassa, FL USA
    Full Name:
    Ian Joubert
    Mine are all post ownership ones. So many people from kids to old folks will yell, or wave, or thumbs up, or be taking cell phone videos while driving..... I never get out of the car or back into it in a parking lot without a conversation with someone.

    Maybe this will subside at some point. I am in a rural area, not too much money here, and I daily drive mine.
     
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  8. EastMemphis

    EastMemphis Formula 3
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    May 25, 2019
    1,719
    Memphis, TN
    Full Name:
    John
    Nothing special. Driving down a city road and the car up one and to the left slams on the brakes for no obvious reason, sending the car next to me into a panic. I downshifted into third while flooring it and was out range in a split second. It just felt so satisfying. Gated 360 Spider...
     
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  9. jjtjr

    jjtjr Formula Junior

    Aug 29, 2016
    668
    Vermont
    Full Name:
    john truskowski
    For me it wasn't so much a sight as it was a sound. I was 20 or so yrs old and crossing the street downtown on a sunny summer day, seeing a red "sportscar" up the road but still far enough away, I crossed and went on my way. Then I heard that sound that captivated me, as it went by. We don't see many Ferraris around here, but as it went by and I could hear that sound I could see the shield on the fender and knew it was the real deal. To this day I do not know exactly what model it was, maybe a 308 or a 328. 30 years later a 355 sits in my garage, and it is still that sound that comes from those cars that gets me. Looks too! ;)
     
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  10. Gatorrari

    Gatorrari F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Feb 27, 2004
    15,924
    Georgia
    Full Name:
    Jim Pernikoff
    First magical Ferrari moment? Hearing John Surtees' 312 accelerate out of the Portier corner at Monaco in "Grand Prix". Followed by the first time I drove my 328 in 2004, minutes before buying it!

    Most recent magical Ferrari moment? Sitting in Bud Moeller's F2003-GA at Road Atlanta in 2018, the day before Marc Gene got in the car and shattered the absolute track record by 5 seconds!

    Honorable mention? At the first "Rides to Remember" event here in Atlanta (the event had a different name then), giving a ride to a young fellow who was dying of cancer. I didn't know how bad his situation was until his mother approached me at the following year's event to tell me that he hadn't made it.....
     
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  11. simon klein

    simon klein Two Time F1 World Champ
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Feb 25, 2009
    28,802
    North Qld
    Full Name:
    simon klein
    #11 simon klein, Feb 9, 2020
    Last edited: Feb 9, 2020
    My first hands on experience was when I went to Ray Helm's (all Aussies know God!) house to look at an Espada,as you do.....back in about 1997
    It was unregistered but Ray said take it for a drive,I know the cops around here it should be ok!!
    I didn't so he said well lets go for a drive in my 'other' car.
    Under the tarp,car cover and 2 blankets was his lovely S2 330GT 2+2.
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/fcaqueensland/7909693252/sizes/z/in/set-72157631357567974/

    So we went for a burn around the block.......I was gone,had to get a front engine V12 with carbs and ended up with this....ten years later.

    Image Unavailable, Please Login

    Which just finished a 1200 mile drive through New South Wales and South East Queensland on Friday just gone.
     
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  12. BT

    BT F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa

    Mar 21, 2005
    15,291
    FL / GA
    Full Name:
    Bill Tracy
    I would say my first magical Ferrari experience was when I was about 10-11 years old, my dad would pick me up form the Greyhound station when I would visit for the weekend, and he arrived in a yellow GT4. That was pretty awesome. I woul dnot say anything during my 348 ownership time was magical, but my last magical moment would be when I was at Road Atlanta when Marc Gene set the lap record there last year or so in a retired 2004 F1 car. I also happened to watch Tony Kanaan drive that same car in 2008 or so down in Homestead for the Ferrari challenge weekend. Watching him still accelerating where every other driver was hard on the brakes was amazing. I reminded Tony of that day when I was his parade lap driver in my Honda S2000 two years ago at the Grand Prix of Alabama.
     
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  13. vrsurgeon

    vrsurgeon F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Dec 13, 2009
    15,875
    Charleston, SC
    Full Name:
    Curt
    For me it was seeing a black Mondial in a garage in some junkyard outside of Poughkeepsie NY. I was majorly into the 928 at the time and it was the first car that I thought.. "I could give up my 928 for this!" It was so unexpected to find the beauty in some barn.. I had dreams of blasting down the Taghkanic Parkway in a red Mondi after that at the end of a summer day..

    The other time was in med school when I was taking the bus from the parking lot to the school and we were negotiating traffic. I looked out the left side of the bus and saw this sumptuous Ferrari (I didn't know what model it even WAS!) in the opposite lane in traffic with the woman who was driving smiling, grinning, from ear to ear. It was a fleeting moment, but the curves in traffic just drew my eye. I didn't know at that time it was a 360 or that just a few years later I would have one in my own garage.
     
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  14. Mimmo Blue

    Mimmo Blue Formula Junior

    Apr 17, 2018
    322
    Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada
    Full Name:
    Dom
    #14 Mimmo Blue, Feb 14, 2020
    Last edited: Feb 14, 2020
    My First Ferrari experience was in 1972. I was 9 years old.
    I went with my parents to Italy. My mom was born about 20km away from Maranello. One of my cousins also lives in Maranello about 2km from the factory.
    We drove to my cousins house in my uncle's fiat, 4 of us in the car.
    As we were driving my uncle pointed out the race track where Ferrari tested their cars.
    You were able to see sections of the track through the chain link fence and shrubs that separated the track from the road.
    We were driving along and all of a sudden my uncle made a hard left and we drove through a double chain link gate that was wide open. There was a guy standing there and he just waved to us. My Uncle stopped and said "Here we can get a better view from this point".
    All of a sudden he takes off and we were driving on the track!
    I can still hear my mother screaming at him. "Non si po fare!!!!!" (You can't do this)
    My Uncle laughed and said "no it's allowed. The gate was open."
    My mom was still screaming at him. "What if another car comes we will be killed!"
    My Uncle then explained that when the gate was open it was allowed. When Ferrari was using the track, they would lock the gate.
    We did 2 laps that day. We probably only reached 80 miles an hour that day, but to me at 9 years old it felt like 200mph.
    I always dreamed of going to do that myself when I was old enough.
    In the 1983 my parents went back. I remember talking to my cousin on the phone and telling him I now had my license and wanted to drive on the track. He started laughing and said that it wasn't allowed any more.
    So i did what any 20 year old would do, and stayed home and had fun, the house to myself for 2 months.
    When my parents returned I asked if they went in the track. They said no we couldn't but my cousin's friend was a plant manager so he took them into the factory for a private tour.
    Damn I missed it!!!
    My mom did bring me back a keychain that I told her I would save until I got my own Ferrari.
    35 years later my dream came true. The day my car arrived , I dug up that key chain and the first thing I did was drive my car to the retirement home where my mother was living and showed her the keychain. She was 93 years old but recognized it and said isn't that the one I brought you from Italy? I said yes come outside I need to show you something. Well she obviously didn't recognize what a 360 looked like but instantly pointed to the shields on the fender.
    The smile on her face. That was my magical moment. She passed away the next month. I will never forget that smile that day and her words. "They still make the most beautiful cars"
     
  15. tantumaude

    tantumaude Formula Junior
    Silver Subscribed

    Mar 3, 2016
    929
    Burlington, Canada
    Full Name:
    Mat
    I was 11 years old in 2003. Early July, I was in Vienna with my dad for a conference of some sort. Walking by the Intercontinental, there was a beautiful brand-new blue 456M parked at the front door. I stared for a few minutes, absolutely in love.

    13 years almost to the day later, I flew to Vancouver, took the bus to the docks and then walked 4km to see my own (nearly-)new 456.

    The chills down my spine were unreal.


    Did a massive burnout for my uncle and cousin just before putting it in storage in November. They'd never seen a Ferrari before. Their smile was infectious.
     
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  16. EnzoItaly

    EnzoItaly Formula Junior

    Sep 29, 2016
    263
    Interesting: the Mondial is a really sexy car in the metal, though on the majority of the Mondial pictures I don’t really like them.

    I’ve always been a fan of the 928... but would never want to own one.

    Did you own a 928 in the end... or changed those magical experiences your focus towards Ferrari?
     
  17. EnzoItaly

    EnzoItaly Formula Junior

    Sep 29, 2016
    263
    Mimmo blue, thanks for sharing your wonderful story: I thoroughly enjoyed reading it (3 times )!!! Your mum must have been very proud of you!

    I hope you’re still enjoying the 360?

    (I got a big Ferrari sign as a gift from my dad at a local car fair when I was about 10 years old. More than 25 years later I showed it to him... hanging next to the F... his huge grin gave me a very satisfying feeling )
     
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  18. vrsurgeon

    vrsurgeon F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Dec 13, 2009
    15,875
    Charleston, SC
    Full Name:
    Curt
    I owned my 928 for 18 years. I want to say I bought her AFTER this by 3-4 years. She was a really good car, got me through the student years. But two things happened. 1) I got this gorgeous italian empress that stole the garage and my heart (yes I said I would love my 928 forever).. and then 2) The 928 one spring day decided to start and then run for 10 seconds and then quit. I tried everything. I redid the top plenum, I replaced the fuel pump, fuel injection components, battery, etc. etc. (you know if you have a 928 everything gets replaced) But she didn't want to run. I got so fed up I said "**** it!" and sold her to a guy in Florida that already had 2.

    One day though, I'll rent/borrow/maybe even buy a Mondial and film me driving down the Taghkanic Parkway by bear mountain at the end of the day. Just like I dreamed I would driving back to college. Or maybe... I'll just take my 360 and film that instead. :)
     
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  19. EnzoItaly

    EnzoItaly Formula Junior

    Sep 29, 2016
    263
    Amazing, thanks for sharing!!
    I can imagine how impressive a new 456 looks in its natural habitat (in front of a posh hotel after a continent-crushing blast ).

    You’re very very fortunate to drive a 456 at your age.
    (I remember the first time I drove a 456... I felt one with the car... it was a surreal experience... it was like the car understood what I wanted... the smallest input generated exactly the precise action I was expecting... breathtaking... on top of that the smell of the Connolly leather... and the utterly glorious music, the V12 symphony... ‘a live dream’)
     
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  20. A348W

    A348W Formula 3

    Jun 28, 2017
    1,741
    North Wiltshire, UK
    Seeing one of my first Ferraris , a Boxer at some alpine pass when I was about 15-16 on a coach trip. We just didn’t have them in Ottawa then!

    latest; last Friday, making a gtc4lusso step out around a roundabout on a very wet test drive! That’s how you get the sales man to be quiet !!!!!! What a beast of a car!
     
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  21. Baracus250GT

    Baracus250GT Karting

    Sep 14, 2004
    108
    UK
    Full Name:
    Mark
    Wow, what a lovely story. I read this out loud to my “better half” and actually have tears in my eyes now. That never happens to me!!! Gosh......
     
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  22. MalcQV

    MalcQV F1 Rookie

    Oct 11, 2004
    3,292
    Manchester, UK
    Full Name:
    Malc Holden
    My first real Ferrari episode was just 2001. I went to a local independent near where i worked to view a Mondial. Whilst I was not going to buy it, it was the first one I had seen close up. I had never really been a fan of Ferraris at all until I decided for my 40th I was having one.
    I was like a kid in a sweet shop. After that the day I put a deposit on my first Ferrari a Mondial. That took almost 4 years from that first look.

    Recently... last night looking at my 360 in the garage.
     
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  23. Way2fast

    Way2fast Formula 3

    May 24, 2006
    2,207
    Santa Barbara County
    Full Name:
    Sam
    #23 Way2fast, Feb 18, 2020
    Last edited: Feb 18, 2020
    Fantastic story. The key chain brought back a fantastic memory.
    In 1989 I told my nextdoor neighbor (who owned 8 Ferraris at the time) that I was going to Italy. He tells me I should go to the Ferrari Factory and ask for Luigi Chinetti. I don't write it down but make a mental note. I presume he must work there. We decide to drive to Maranello. We enter a building by the front gate. There is a room with 3 old Ferraris and a counter with bulletproof glass and a Gentleman behind it who does not speak English. I realize they have no tours, so I tell them I am looking for Luigi Chinetti ( not knowing he was the first importer of Ferraris into USA and Enzo's best friend). The man looks and says no one by that name works here. Maybe I remembered the name wrong. I said I was not sure of the first name but the last name was Chinetti. He gets on the phone and then points to a phone on the wall by the cars that ring. The Gentleman on the phone speaks a little English and says the name, Luigi Chenetti and I respond yes.
    The Gentleman then comes down (he was director of public relations) and starts taking us on a tour of the factory. There were F40s being painted on one line and tractors being painted on the other line. He shows us around for 90 minutes and then sits down with us. With his broken English, we realize that he thinks we are personal friends of Chinetti (which is why he showed us around). He then gives us brochures for the 328 and Testarossa and a Key Chain with the shield on it.
    When we came back I gave my neighbor the brochures. He couldn't believe we were given a tour. He tells me you cannot get brochures at a dealership and shows me how they are numbered on the back.
    That key chain spent 18 yrs in my draw until I purchased my 430 spider in 2007 and still has the key on it today

    Sent from my SM-T580 using Tapatalk
     
  24. MalcQV

    MalcQV F1 Rookie

    Oct 11, 2004
    3,292
    Manchester, UK
    Full Name:
    Malc Holden
    That is nice.
     

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