BEST DECADE for Ferrari ???

What's the best decade for Ferrari? That's like asking what was the best decade for poetry.

If you're talking about Ferrari, the man, it wouldn't be the decade he died, or the decade his son died. For Enzo, by all the reports, I'd guess that the most fun he had was battling against the GT40s with the P3/P4.

If you're talking about Ferrari the legend, it would probably be the decade that the hype went industrial full court press under Fiat: mid '70s to mid '80s.

If you're talking about Ferrari road cars, you could argue either the '80s, when they made the first Ferraris that were really usable as daily drivers, or now, when they're making the best cars so far. (But stay tuned ...)

If you're talking about rolling art, it would have to be the mid '50s to the mid '60s, when every machine was a rare original.

And if you're asking what Ferrari goes with a '72 cabernais ... (With or without Armani?)

"Hello Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms? What wine goes with an Uzi?" "Well, what are you smoking?"

Best decade for Ferrari? What are you smoking?

 

Waht am I smoking? I do not know by now, but damn is good .
Ciao
Eugenio

 

I was following you until the 00's and then you lost me by saying that the exclusive and rich were gone.

Modern Ferraris are the most expensive, on an inflation adjusted basis, Ferraris ever produced. And that is taking list prices. Add in the premium to get immediate delivery on a new car and they are more for the rich than ever.

While the iconic Ferraris of the 60's have gotten very expensive, there still are many models from that decade that are much lower in price than the current models.

The only good thing is that the much higher production volumes today means that nearly every model Ferrari produced in the 00's will have steep depreciation curves and will become more affordable as used cars.

From a performance and user friendliness aspect, the 2000's are the "best" Ferraris hands down.

However I think that at least 50% of the pleasure from owning a Ferrari is the emotional reaction that they cause and the cars from the 2000's are quite a bit lower for me compared to the cars from the 60's. That's probably just because I'm a baby boomer old fart!

John

 

1957 - 1971: From the California and the SWB to the Daytona.

After that, the company evolved (inevitably!) from the labour of love of one man to the labour of money of one big multinational corporation; hence A/C, power steering, fewer cylinders, automatic boxes, polution and safety constraints, high production runs, higher prices, unlimited merchandising, and now parking aids. Have they put in cupholders yet?

With the highest respect for other views and tastes, in my personal and very humble opinion a Ferrari road car is a twelve cylinder, carburated, front engined machine built by a small, independent firm controlled by one legendary man. For me, 90% of the pleasure is in the emotion that comes from driving one of those. I couldn't care less if they overheat, brake like sh.., require new points every six months, or provide an experience comparable to a Finnish sauna.

What came afterwards went in my opinion from the awesomely good (like the F40 OR 288GTO), to the dismal (like the you know what), but it was never quite the same...

Cheers,

Julio (yes, I am an old boomer. And I intend no offence)

P.S. There are quite a few cars in that category (pre 71 V12's) with prices that are comparable or lower than most moderns. Maintenance and repairs can also be in my experience more accesible and affordable.

 

I think all decades were special in there own right and its perhaps a bit unfair to compare cars in differant decades.....

For me thought the 70's and 80's......365 GTB/4, 288 GTO, F40.....

 

2000s- dominant in F1, competitive (in GTS or GT) at Le Mans, sales higher than ever, can do nothing wrong, and featuring the best supercar in the world (Enzo).

What's gone wrong in the 2000s for Ferrari?

 

Ugly styling.

 

Enzo would have said 2010s.

 

The 80's, when Ferrari cars on the road were miles ahead of any other car, Ferrari's were superstars.

in the 90's the NSX took away a lot of steam from the 348 in the World Automotive Press.

in the 2000's Lambo caught-up and its a 50/50 for many buyers in this class now.

But in the 80's FERRARI WAS KING! Miami Vice and Magnum PI brought Ferrari from a little car company that was a rich-mans secret to a World Wide phenomena.




.

 

another vote for "nothing speacial styling"

Ferrari is heading down a path of less unique or bold styling that blends more-and-more with the likes of Supra, Porsche, Eclipse, Tiburon.

You couldn't say that in the 80's



.

 

Even though Ferrari was all about racing I can only say that the 60s defined beautiful Ferrari road cars.

206 Dino
250 gto
250 swb
250 Lusso
275 gtb
365 gtb/4

to name a few

 

lmao thats true

 

Gotta say the 80's
BB series
400 series
288 GTO, F40
308 to 328
Testarossa hits the market in 85

Some of the most recognized ferrari's ever built came from the 80's.

 

From Ferrari's standpoint it must be this decade. Look at all the 360's and 430's they will sell. The most cars sold quicker ever and then the 12's with the new 599. They must have record profits and except for the last 2 years, they owned Formula one racing.

 

i noticed you didn't mention the 612 in today's lineup?

i'm from the 80's MTV generation. Reganomics and the "me" decade. greed was good and ferraris were better. i'll take the testarossa, 328 GTS and F40 over the technically superior ferraris of today.

among all the advancements of traction control, stability control, "automatic" F1 gearboxes, ferrari lost some of it's purity as a sportscar. give me a mid engined ferrari with no power steering and a 5-speed steel gated shifter and i'm in heaven.

just my $0.02

joe

 

There is also alot more 1st generation wealth, today. We have more millionaires today then ever before, lots of easy money out there if you have some motivation and half a brain

 

Ha. Enzo is more like the ugliest supercar in the world.