F8 or Speciale? | Page 3 | FerrariChat

F8 or Speciale?

Discussion in '458 Italia/488/F8' started by ekosan, Mar 8, 2020.

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  1. SECRET

    SECRET Formula Junior
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    May 19, 2007
    934
    Congratulations! When are you bringing the Speciale home?
     
  2. Lukeylikey

    Lukeylikey F1 Rookie
    Silver Subscribed

    Mar 3, 2012
    3,053
    UK
    I see the OP has already made a decision but it’s an interesting question. I understand the appeal of the Speciale - we have had ours from new and done so many amazing trips in it (last one was the MM in 2019 talking it over 13k miles). It is a wonderful car and I hope we never need to sell it.

    I had a CS before it, which I fell in love with straight away - our first ‘hardcore’ Ferrari and what a cracker it was. I sort of wanted to keep such a great car long-term but didn’t. In the end, the lure of a new Speciale allocation and getting more money than I paid for the CS proved too tempting.

    We did a factory atelier and factory collection on the Speciale whereas I was the eighth owner of the CS and though it was a very similar spec to what I would have chosen, I didn’t choose it. That and the fact there were other owners before me meant that I sold a much loved car and have barely given it a second thought since. Whereas the new car that we ‘created’ and have lived with would now be very very difficult to part with.

    Buying a brand new Ferrari and doing the whole thing - TM/atelier etc. - is such a privileged experience. It adds to the ownership of the car immeasurably. Some aren’t bothered, in which case there is only one choice - the wonderful used Speciale. If the drama of choosing, waiting, waiting, waiting, then owning means something to you, the difference between the cars (which are all wonderful in their own way) is not as large as the difference between the experience of buying a new one and a used one.

    Our 488 Spider was the first Ferrari we bought from new and have also sold. It was a great car for what we used it for and we put 9k miles on it. It’s gone, now replaced by a Pista Spider, but we haven’t forgotten it. And someone will always be benefiting from the choices we thought carefully about at the atelier.

    You will still likely lose money on the Speciale. It may not be a ‘forever’ car for you and it was obviously someone else who decided it should be the way it is. To choose the F8, a car that you will lose more money on than the Speciale (probably), is not a completely dumb choice. You get to choose what it looks like inside and out and it will always live its life like that - either in your garage or someone else’s. And if you fall in love with it, not just as a car but as an object to own, and decide to keep it, the depreciation is irrelevant but the story you write with it won’t be. I think that’s why many people still like to go to the expense of choosing and owning from new. Some of our cars will form a small but meaningful collection over time - with our stories firmly linked to the cars’. The rest will come and go but still be remembered fondly because we were there when they started. A bit lyrical perhaps, but then emotion is the best reason to own any of these expensive toys!
     
    Thecadster, Ash Patel, LVP488 and 6 others like this.
  3. Rory breaker

    Rory breaker Formula Junior

    Apr 17, 2017
    269
    Well said. I have not gone through the TM process, can understand from your description how it brings you closer to the car, emotionally. Good point.
    I’d go Speciale, personally, as a forever car. Can’t ever see not wanting a modded 458, if Speciale even better, in the garage. A car that belongs.
     
    Clay512TR and Lukeylikey like this.
  4. SECRET

    SECRET Formula Junior
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    May 19, 2007
    934
    Ah these were perhaps the words we all were searching for.

    While speccing a car can be as quick as just choosing a few options + colors, it can also be as wonderful and experience as @Lukeylikey described. I still think the choice of owning the Speciale then speccing an F8 is a great one, still plenty of time to still do it.

    Having just received my Pista, I wholeheartedly agree with @Lukeylikey's thoughts. I can point to every little detail on the Pista and recall exactly my thoughts and feelings going into those [design] choices. There is something amazing about the idea that it will hopefully live-on as a beloved car in your garage or in someone else's in the future.
     
    Lukeylikey likes this.
  5. uhn2000

    uhn2000 Formula 3

    Oct 15, 2011
    2,108
    Toronto
    Full Name:
    Joe
    This is such a crazy interesting, thread, I just picked up my first Speciale and drove it to my office. I have both an incoming Pista and F8... will give my thoughts later. So hard to really split hairs at this point, I guess it depends what you like. I find speccing cars to be very fun and being the first owner is always so special.. its really a toss up to be frank. BUT my favourite cars are not the ones I built, they are the wild ones that I bought second hand that I would never do to begin with but worked out nice in flesh. So its really hard to give an answer, BUT if you buy the right Speciale you could engine it cost free and move into an F8.

    Everyone keeps saying the last of this and the last of that.. all I keep seeing is Ferrari killing it, each one better and better.. the new stuff is seriously mind boggling fun and fast.
     

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