[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by DocG

Sorry for the large multiquote, but:

1)I had an opportunity to drive a few 911s in Australia a few years back. The owner who works for my dad is an avid 911 collector and is the kind of guy who will rather spend on his cars and starve than have one of those beauties die on him.

Anyway bottom line, amongst all the Porsches I drove, and they were about 7 generations, don't remember all, but the one that struck me as the best was undoubtedly the 1986 911 turbo. And the only reason that it made such a huge impact on me was that I felt scared whilst behind the wheel, I didn't know how to tame the beast being so inexperienced, and the lack of all the electronic gizmos made it worse. But damn that was the most fun I had had in a long, long time! That razor thin line between being in control and loosing it is what most of the uber rich desire, and hence this has to drive the limits further away.


Case in point who here doesn't want to own a 300SL gullwing. It was also nicknamed the widowmaker due to the number of people who died behind the wheel. That adds to its value! The fact that it's dangerous.

Hi DocG,

That's very interesting! Could you tell me more about the gentleman who works for your dad? I'd like to know more about his collection! I'm sorry I'm going terribly OT here but it would be nice to know the 911s that he has!

The '86 Porsche 911 Turbo that you drove is a 930! One of the hairiest, craziest 911s! The handling is quite scary and only if you're a really really good driver would it reward you! It would however, bite back pretty hard if you're not careful while cornering hard!

P.S. The widowmaker is the nickname that's normally given to the 911 for it's twitchy, unpredictable handling characteristics! It would kill you!

Originally Posted by quattroa4

exactly sir !!!! couldnt agree more than this . so true . ferraris have lost their zeal and looks long way back . F355 was the last one of real good emotional ferrari. after that its just a gizmo game , nothing to write home about .

It's rather unfortunate, but true! And please, don't 'Sir' me! I'm just 20!

[AyAn!]

Well from the '86 911 Turbo,which fishtailed like a boat,to today's 997 Type 2 Turbo with its magnetorheological engine mounts which makes high speed cornering a breeze,Porsches or supercars in general have changed.For the better,atleast on paper.

Manufactures today lock horns in a never ending quest for power and perfection,achieved though cold and calculated techo-wizardy! But what they are losing out is the emotional and passion quotient,the very essence of a supercar.All matter today are power,electronics and acceleration figures.Heck a supercar ain't
perfect!

From my perspective as a car enthusiast,I don't really care if my supercar doesn't lap the 'Ring faster than a GT-R or has a few horses less than a comparable Ferrari.As long as it is reasonably fast,good-looking,simple and a decent handler with minimal electronics I'll love it more than the stalwarts amongst modern supercars.And yes it should have that overall character,and a bit of quirkiness to boot!

A supercar doesn't drive you.You drive a drive a supercar.

[ishotmydog]

character this, character that.

i love the way this car looks, can i have one please?

[DocG]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

That's very interesting! Could you tell me more about the gentleman who works for your dad? I'd like to know more about his collection! I'm sorry I'm going terribly OT here but it would be nice to know the 911s that he has!

P.S. The widowmaker is the nickname that's normally given to the 911 for it's twitchy, unpredictable handling characteristics! It would kill you! The 300SL gullwing also had this name, and I think it preceeded the 911s right.

Yeah I've shot him a mail to get some details on his collection, it's a bit hazy in my memory. But he has a ton of porsches, the one I remember are the 86 and the 2003/2004 it was a 911 turbo, an autobox. I felt so comfortable driving that. It was fast, but so civilized, I like that as a daily driver, but if I had to choose only one, then it would have to be the 1986 for sure. The same owner gifted me an old Jag that we keep in Aus, it doesn't run, and I cant figure out how to bring it to India. He's got the 04 Land cruiser, an old Jeep wrangler or something along those lines, and a Merc A and C class for his 2 daughters.

I remember that my hair stood on end and my mouth was dry after that drive. It was amazing, the brakes sucked, the seats sucked, the dash was oldschool, the steering wheel was ok, I don't think it had airbags etc...etc...
But I loved it!

Any way, super OT here,

But the last few lines pretty much sum up the regal feel of the old school of cars, why people today value the classics and vintages so much. There is a point where all the gadgetry takes over, making the driver-car relationship less meaningful. What most enthusiasts really want is that "man and machine working in synch feeling". Sadly while this existed in the older cars, the current day models have gadgetry engineering to keep people safe, but emulate this . I remember Jezza saying this at the end of the Romania episode. "I have the traction control on the setting that allows some slip, but not a lot" Something like that.

Originally Posted by ishotmydog

character this, character that.

i love the way this car looks, can i have one please?

I love that, back to the basics.

Cheers

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by DocG

Yeah I've shot him a mail to get some details on his collection...


...Something like that.

Cheers

That's great! Thanks for taking the effort! Much appreciated!

Anyway, we're going terribly OT so let's get back to the 'new' Enzo. It's just a rendering so let's just hope it wouldn't look like this! I'm sure Ferrari wouldn't call it the 'new' Enzo. I wonder what they would christen it!

[AyAn!]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

Anyway, we're going terribly OT so let's get back to the 'new' Enzo. It's just a rendering so let's just hope it wouldn't look like this! I'm sure Ferrari wouldn't call it the 'new' Enzo. I wonder what they would christen it!

Lets hope so! The rendering's got too many rough edges to be called a Ferrari.
F70 would be apt I guess!

[DicKy]

The car looks a stunner ,
but i agree with all you guyz in that ferrari is going too much tech laden.
the 456 italia.Given the fact that the tranny is faster than what a human can do,but still a supercar should have a manual for that "feel"

[Rotorhead]

This ferrari is an absolute stunner with oodles of character and lean agressive stance. Absolutely love this and to think its aiming to beat the mighty bugatti veyron..we have history in making here if at it manages to do that.

[vagu]

interesting interesting .old vs new . cool vs tech

dont you guys think that we are behaving in the same way a horseman would have behaved when he first saw a car some 110 years ago.again he being a purist must have said " Mann i like dont like this technical wizardry , i like it simple the man and the horse"

i know too much technology is the evil here but i think companies are doing everything to retain that character of yore. that is why u traction control off swtich and jeremey also said in some episode that ferrari engg have managed to kept out the all the technical stuff getting in the way of driving.

[Turbo Head]

I simply amazing, anything which has prancing horse is always interesting anyways and this one is no exception. Though I would keep myself away from the endless argument i.e. new vs old

[arjunrudra]

Here are some new pictures and facts on the 2012 F70.
Source:AutoCarIndia.

Ferrari will not make widespread use of carbonfibre in its production road cars until it better understands the material’s long-term reliability, according to company boss Amedeo Felisa.
“We will only use carbonfibre on very special cars which have a very low rate of production and which are not for everyday use, such as the new Enzo,” he said in an exclusive interview with Autocar.
Ferrari has used carbonfibre in such cars as the F50 and Enzo, but Felisa says it is not yet ready to use it across its model range. This puts it at odds with McLaren, whose MP4-12C supercar has a carbon tub. Mercedes is also committed to using carbonfibre in its cars from 2012, as is BMW from 2013.
“The fact is that nobody today has a real understanding of what happens if you damage a carbonfibre structure,” says Felisa. “After 20 or 30 years of use, who knows what state a carbonfibre structure will be in? Only the airplane industry has a long-term understanding of using carbonfibre, and there the usage is very different. Unless you have a really big accident, it is possible to repair a Ferrari today, and we don’t want to lose that.”
Felisa also hinted that the new Ferrari Enzo will be powered by a direct-injection twin-turbo V8 when it is launched in 2012. Reports had long suggested the new Enzo would be powered by either a V8 or direct-injection twin-turbo V6. However, Felisa has ruled out a six-cylinder engine.
“There are no plans for a six-cylinder engine today,” Felisa said. “Ferrari will not build a six-cylinder engine until customer attitudes towards smaller engines change.
“The perception today is that the number of cylinders equates to the possibilities of the car. That is why we are developing hybrid technology that can be applied to our V8 and V10 cars. Hybrid means we can protect the V12".