2007 Ferrari 599 Fiorano |
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2007 Maserati Quattroporte |
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1928 Alfa Romeo 6c 1500 |
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1938 Alfa Romeo 8c 2900 |
While driving the new Ferrari 599 Fiorano, I recalled a recent conversation. Subject: What’s the best car ever built? My dinner companions that night, at the Little River Inn, were the drivers on the recent California Mille. Motoring journalist David E. Davis, Jr., and Road & Track’s John Lamm were two of them.
They helped us decide that there had to be two selections; one for the pre-World War II years, and one post-war. We picked the 1938 Alfa Romeo 8c 2900, and any one of the many front-engined V-12 Ferraris of the late 50’s-early 60’s.
The Alfa Romeo came from Milano; the Ferraris from Modena, only a hundred miles away. There’s always been cross-fertilization in the Italian motor industry, with many engineering talents over the years moving from one company to another, but always within the Milano-Modena-Torino triangle. Torino is the home of Fiat, which now owns Ferrari and Alfa Romeo.
The Italian skill with metals and art forms goes way back. As applied to automobiles, the 1928 Alfa Romeo 6c1500, designed by Vittorio Jano and raced by Enzo Ferrari(yes, that Ferrari), is a handy place to start the story. This little jewel of a car led to the 8c2900, which packed more beauty, performance and soul into a single car than any other culture could manage. Those pre-war Alfas command six and seven figure price tags when, on a rare occasion, one becomes available. Ferrari V-12s sell in the same range.
With that perspective, the $300,000 price of Ferrari’s latest, the 599 Fiorano looks like a bargain. But in fact, you can’t just go in and buy one – demand far exceeds supply and the free-market price is about $200,000 over the sticker price. Ferrari hates that, so they give preference to previous customers who buy the cars to use rather than to resell.
The 599 sums up the Italian gift, evident in all those older Alfa Romeos and Ferraris, for incorporating an absolute automotive purity into each car.
Other producers have turned out expensive cars that have been bought by heads of state, captains of industry, bootleggers, pimps, gangsters, and others who didn’t know much about cars, but needed to make a splashy appearance. The Italians always built cars to drive, for people who drove with vigor. The qualities they built into their cars set them apart from competitors, and account for the high prices they command from appreciative collectors.
The subject order in a book published by Ferrari about this 599 tells it all:
- Section 1: The V-12 engine and its sound
- Section 2: The transmission, and its relationship to Ferrari Formula One Race Cars
- Section 3: Suspension, brakes and chassis
- Section 4: The Manettino – more about that later
- Section 5: Architecture, Chassis & Safety
- Section 6: Styling and Aerodynamic Efficiency
- Last: Interior and Equipment
Look at the copy describing any other expensive car and you’ll notice the order of subjects reversed! Plus – no manettino.
The Manettino is a 5-position switch on the steering wheel that electronically programs all the car’s systems for five progressively more aggressive driving styles. Suspension, gear changing, engine behavior and traction are all programmed for a range of conditions, from icy roads to a dry race track. The setting is chosen by the driver, not sensed for you.
Ferrari only makes about 5,000 cars per year (vs. 8 million Toyotas). Many readers of this publication probably wouldn’t like to drive this Ferrari 599. But if you’re a person who lives and breathes cars, if you love to drive, are mechanically sensitive and involved with your car, then you’re only $300,000 away from dreamland.
First, you sit in the car and get acclimated. When you drive it, you don’t go fast right away. You need to know what to expect from a 620 horsepower car, that will reach 205 mph, grip the road tightly, and stop on demand, all with little apparent, although audible effort. There’s no wind noise, so you can hear the engine. There’s air conditioning and a Bose sound system, cosseting leather. You won’t find any interior wood trim – that’s so British, non-functional and anti-mechanical.
You can feel the road and hear the engine, but it’s neither too noisy nor harsh riding. Mostly you sense the distillation of at least 80 years of sensitive automotive creation in this totally original package.
A bargain!
Maserati Quattroporte
A few years ago, Fiat/Ferrari acquired the Maserati company, which sorely needed new money, new management, and new direction.
Ferrari’s giving it all three. Their aim is to make Maserati as significant a brand name as Ferrari is. If you carefully inspect the newest Maserati Quattroporte (4-door) you’ll see that they are succeeding. You can do that at Maserati of San Francisco, right next to the Ferrari showroom in Mill Valley. Arguably the most beautiful four door car in the world today, the Maserati offers a charming alternative to the German trio that dominates the world market for quality cars (Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and BMW).
At around $120,000, the Maserati is “affordable”, only a tiny step up from the most costly Germans. The range of exterior colors and interior leathers makes selecting your ideal car a bit of a task, but certainly a pleasant one.
Like the Ferrari, as good as the Maserati is to look at, it’s intended to be driven, which you really should do if you’re looking at cars in this category.
Did the 1931 Plymouth Go 1000 Miles?
In a word, no. But it certainly would have if we had paid attention to the radiator. Everything was fine for 100 miles, but then we hit 90 degree weather. End of drive. Maybe next year.
