Chris L

Been lucky enough to drive a 430 F1 Spider and 355 recently. The 430 is a truely incredible machine - the noise alone is worth the asking price! And it is certainly a very quick car, by anyone's standards. Would I have one? Oh yes

DaveMiddleton

May be of great interest BUT I have to investigate the "stigma" of going Independent after all other previous services have been by Main Dealers!

RRH

Although the cost of servicing within the dealer network is frightening; my 456 had £18k spent on it by its previous owner in the 12 months before I bought it- and it only had done 27,000 miles!!!

RoShamBo

iTrader: (1)

The 360 does not do 0-100 in 9.1 secs. The Ferrari boys on Pistonheads have discussed this and even the die-hard 360 drivers conceed this.
Autocar tested a 360 at launch and achieved some remarkable 0-100 / 0-60 times that just have not been repeated since. Debate rages as o this car being "fettled" to achieve such numbers. No-one seems to be able to repeat these numbers with a standard car.

The way a car "feels" in its acceleration - ie Turbo giving you a rush of power compared to linear delivery of a V8 aside, a 996TT is a faster car in a straight line and "round the twisties" it may be slightly heavier, but a TT remember has over 400lbs torque compared to a 360's 275-ish. Thats quite a difference & you really notice it mid-range where the Turbo seems effortless & the 360 you have to wring its neck - but that, perhaps, is all the fun !

LG John

So what are the more realistic figures for a 360 then? This seems to be the case with all Ferrari's - I remember when it was touted around that the 355 was considerably slower than its paper stats suggested. Now its the 360's turn? I suppose the 430 is next?

Matteeboy

The 355 I drove several times felt quite pokey to me but in a Honda like "need to thrash it to death" sort of way.

No I'm a "grown up" I feel the need for plenty of torque from a low revs as possible.
High revving thrashy engines make me reach for the paracetamol and a nice Horlicks...

Aztec Performance Ltd

iTrader: (234)

The figures quoted for Ferrari always seem a little optimistic, for whatever reason.

Anybody has had experience of both will say the 911 t is quicker.

From my experience of seeing these on the drag strip (Low 13s high 12s 1/4mile) and comparing one on the road to my sub 340bhp Impreza (rolling starts from 70-80mph) I would say they aren't that fast for what they are (mine was repeatedly quicker from rolling starts and would be far quicker from standing start).

Does look and sound rather though

Matteeboy

***reality check***

Calling Ferraris "slow"

LOL!!!

LG John

Official - every childhood dream shattered in this thread

RRH

yep, largely by those who have no real experience of said marque.

that said, the 911 is faster, better put together, and yes I'd probably rather have a 911 turbo than a 360 / 430 if I were priveleged enough to have the choice- or should I say the heart would say one thing, the head the other.

Ferrari's make you feel special like no other car I've ever experienced.

Matteeboy

Whereas Kias make you feel "special needs"

RRH

You do feel like you've had value for money though- whereas the ferrari often makes you think 'why did i buy this' as the electric window switch falls out every time you close the passenger door too hard (and did the same on my last 456 too, and the 550 I looked at last weekend).

I bet the Kia doesn't do that

You do forget the Italian build quality as soon as you turn the key though

RoShamBo

iTrader: (1)

More than likely.

My mate just went from a 996TT to an Exige, mainly for financial reasons (much cheaper to run/fix/service etc.)
He loves the Exige more than the TT. Its a lot slower BUT he says every journey is an event, is special.
Its also Krypton green with black viper stripes so attracts a lot of attention and all of it good.
All the above makes up for the fact its 5-6 secs slower to 100 or whatever, he actually doesn't care like he thought he would.
Some would say bits dropping off is character - often I think something the TT lacks. It never goes wrong, it pretty much drives itself with all the electronic assistance & 4WD etc and it just does everything bloody well - quite boring really !

Matteeboy

Indeed the 355 I had "use of" did feel very flimsy indeed - the sort of stuff you'd send a "normal" car back for but it sounded great.
Dad's 308 GT4 (ages ago) also broke down constantly and his mates 328GTS spun at Goodwood without hitting anything and was a write off - The chassis bent!!

Don't quite get this "it's quick but boring" thing - is it just an excuse.
The most thrilling and fastest A to B car I drove is sometimes described as "clinical" (Evo FQ360) but to me it was just driving heaven.
Not driven a 997T but to me, it's the perfect car - compact, well made, superb brakes and super super quick.

blot

With the geometry set up correctly,the sun shining, an empty road and good company the 360 is a dream to drive & sounds utterly gorgeous, the more you push on the more amazing the performance feels. The interior and cabin is a very nice place to spend several hours

With a crap set up, wet roads and anything other than a light right foot it can be potentially lethal.

It always felt like a special occasion when driving one, which is how I think it should feel with a car like that.

997TT is also a great car, but not sure I got the same sense of occasion driving one.