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Today I have been in 2 Ferraris

I’ve driven a Testarosa round a track, more of a grand tourer really. Not that fast low down, I think they have around 390bhp but are quite heavy.

Testarosa is a Grand Tourer and was always meant to be one. They made about 10,000 of them too... Lovely to look at though!

I respect lads that try to run 30 to 40 year old stuff but really, it's the stuff from 10-20 years ago that's where the fun is still at with some level of reliability. Although you might have a chance with a well sorted/modified air cooled Porsche..and I mean well sorted and I suggest modified as all the cork sniffers have ruined prices on unmolested cars so what the hell.
 
In my time I’ve owned 2 Fiat Abarths back in the day in the 1960’s a 595SS based on a 500 and then a 1000 TC based on a 600. The Achilles heel I used to find were the points !!!
Late 1987 I was in contact with Richard Crump a huge Italian car collector/ dealer and wrote books on 1930’s Alfa Romeo and pre war Maserati’s. He had a rolling Fiat Abarth with 850 TC Nuremberg car 600 based car but with a Fiat 850 standard engine the car had been imported from America. I managed to find an A112 Abarth engine Tony Castle Miller and Geoff Divey, had just started their garage business in Middle Barton.
They picked up the car and over the next few months it was restored, I went to Euro Disney in 1992 on a Classic car rally when Euro Disney was opened to the public. Previously in 1991 I went on the RAC Norwich Union rally, both times the car ran faultlessly thanks to electronic ignition!
At the same time I had a Caterham 7 which I foolishly sold both cars to fund the 308, in hindsight a big mistake.

Regards,

Martin
 
Testarosa is a Grand Tourer and was always meant to be one. They made about 10,000 of them too... Lovely to look at though!

I respect lads that try to run 30 to 40 year old stuff but really, it's the stuff from 10-20 years ago that's where the fun is still at with some level of reliability. Although you might have a chance with a well sorted/modified air cooled Porsche..and I mean well sorted and I suggest modified as all the cork sniffers have ruined prices on unmolested cars so what the hell.
Values of 911s have started to soften, I would like an 80s model as they just look so cool, never driven one though. Think the other half will end up with one when she retires but probably a more recent 997.
 
Values of 911s have started to soften, I would like an 80s model as they just look so cool, never driven one though. Think the other half will end up with one when she retires but probably a more recent 997.

Have a drive in one. Pedal offset in RHD cars and floor hinged clutch pedal might make the decision for you...
 
The first one was a Testarossa. The seats are for garden gnomes and the headrests dig into my lower back. The engine squeals at low revs and the interior panelling reminded me of British Leyland.

The 348 Targa started pissing water on both our legs in a downpour, he even had two towels stashed away to manage the situation.

The classic Ferrari dream is completely shattered. They were not even that fast.
It tends to be forgotten that Enzo Ferrari's passion in life was racing - he only made road cars to get the money to go racing (IIRC, his old friend Luigi Chinetti, Ferrari agent in North America, persuaded him down this route). The cars were often beautiful (well, they were Italian), but terribly badly made (ditto), but Enzo didn't care, as wealthy customers often had several, so that they'd have something to drive while the other one got fixed. They were often noisy and uncomfortable, and both impractical and expensive to repair - the panels were often hand-beaten, so that no two were exactly alike. And they were often aluminium and bolted directly to steel chassis, with the resulting massive electrochemical corrosion. I believe that things improved when Fiat (finally) took a controlling interest in the company (it had been quietly sponsoring Ferrari for years, as it saw Ferrari as standard bearer for the Italian car industry) and took over the road car business completely, leaving the old man to run his beloved racing team for the rest of his days.
 
The Grand Tour put a Testarossa and A Countach around their track, the Testarossa was slower than a Focus ST, the Countach not much better. They are terrible compared with modern cars. I think newer Fezzas are OK but plenty of YouTube vids of folks spending a fortune trying to run older ones on a budget generally unsuccessfully.

I did have a chance at getting a cheap 308 a few years back but was strongly advised not to by every car trade contact I have. I heeded the advice.

I don't care what they say, there are very, very few cars I'd really, really love to have, but the LP400 is one of them. A wonderfully pure, unadorned, design. But their 70's cool now comes, unsurprisingly, with an extraordinary price tag. All later versions of the Countach look ghastly in comparison.
 
Had a few laps around Blyton Park in an Audi R8, a F430 and a Maserati Granturismo pre- lockdown which was good fun. The Ferrari was like a big go-kart with a more poke and a little more grip than the R8 but the latter you could have sat in and driven for hours - such an easy drive. No surprise that dynamically the Maser was no comparison as it's a heavy beast and was down on power but, looks aside, it was a real disappointment.
 
Values of 911s have started to soften, I would like an 80s model as they just look so cool, never driven one though. Think the other half will end up with one when she retires but probably a more recent 997.
My other half has a 997. Nice, good, but I never look back at it when I get out of it. A guards red late 80s one with a whale tail grabs my attention every time.
 
My other half has a 997. Nice, good, but I never look back at it when I get out of it. A guards red late 80s one with a whale tail grabs my attention every time.

I really didn’t want such a shouty car that stunk of 1980s traders and their brightly coloured braces!
 
My other half has a 997. Nice, good, but I never look back at it when I get out of it. A guards red late 80s one with a whale tail grabs my attention every time.

I was out with a crew including this early 80's one. He'd bought it 5 years ago and it broke down bringing it over from England to NI.

It helps if you're handy with a spanner. At least get a sit in one. Quirky for sure.... agricultural to drive (ducks for cover)

qkrqTL1.jpg
 
I was out with a crew including this early 80's one. He'd bought it 5 years ago and it broke down bringing it over from England to NI.

It helps if you're handy with a spanner. At least get a sit in one. Quirky for sure.... agricultural to drive (ducks for cover)

qkrqTL1.jpg
If it feels agricultural that is a shame. A 205 gti or Mx5 from the same era feel nimble and taught to me. Maybe only cars under 1000kg can stand the test of time.
 
If it feels agricultural that is a shame. A 205 gti or Mx5 from the same era feel nimble and taught to me. Maybe only cars under 1000kg can stand the test of time.

Definitely a unique drive and that's the whole point. I would love one but it couldn't be my only fun car.
I do suspect lots that paid big money for them just have them sitting in garages and barely driven.
 


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