beat the Ferrari

[jhugh]

Here's another dead horse I like to flog - Porsche vs. Ferrari. From the armchair, of course, as I have no Ferrari experience and very little Porsche experience.

These are my four favorite Ferrari models:

365 GTB/4 Daytona
512 BB
288 GTO
355 coupe

A fun way to put the question... in the case of each Ferrari model above, what year & model Porsche 911 do you think it would take to narrowly beat the Ferrari ON THE TRACK? ..assuming similarly skilled drivers and well set-up, more or less stock cars, naturally. No fair bringing BB2 into the fray!

Cheers,

[ZAMIRZ]

Hmm, I'll take a stab at this.....

The Daytona.......not an excellent track car, V12 up front makes it front-heavy. I've ridden in one, and they plow at the limit. However, the power is insane for a 1970s car. I'd say a 930 turbo would be able to hang/beat it on the track.

The 512BB is pretty quick, but I'd say a 930 turbo should be able to hang and a 964RS could probably beat it around a track.

288GTO is nuts, no naturally aspirated road-legal Porsche (short of a 996 GT3) could hang with this sucker, no way no how. Although I've never ridden in a 288GTO, I did have a chance to ride in an F40 and that has the same powerplant.....the car is just a brute. I'd say all AWD turbocharged Porsches could probably give it a nice run with the 993 and 996 feeding it taillights. 993/996 GT2s would have no problem with it.

I've witnessed a street race between a 355 coupe and 993TT, the 993 beat it with ease. I think a 3.6 turbo S could probably beat the 355 around a road course if driven properly.

It's funny, you and I share nearly the same exact taste in Ferraris except I'd slot the F40 in there instead of the 512BB. A yellow Daytona, red F40, red 288 gto and silver 355 Berlinetta would my ideal italian stable.

later,

amir (excellent post by the way, I'm curious to read others impressions)

[masraum]

I don't know, the old Ferrari's were amazingly beautiful, the new 550 and 575 are pretty cool too

[Paul Thomas]

Amir is right about the 288. This is one of my all time favorite cars, next to my own car, of course. The 288 is a Turbo car though and would have to put up against a turbo Porsche of the same era and displacement. HMM...956 sounds about right.

Paul

[Stuttgart951]

All I know about Ferrari is that the old V12's are the only engine on the planet that sound better than an air cooled flat 6.

[bell]

a friend down the street has a bb512......man i love that car, but the gto is spooky fast

[kepperly]

lOOKS LIKE YOU ARE A BORED YUPPIE, DO YOU OWN A PORSCHE?

KEITH EPPERLY

[targa911S]

I didn't know we could use the "F" word on this site ;-)>

[bell]

Originally posted by kepperly
lOOKS LIKE YOU ARE A BORED YUPPIE, DO YOU OWN A PORSCHE?

KEITH EPPERLY

i'm standing up for MY not being a yuppie...........although i'm not sure who you dirrected that at
ferrari's are fun, but realistically........the fact that you can't run the piss out of them and have it last 100,000 miles without taking a second mortgage makes them garage queens in my book.
my .07

[Rob McKibbon]

Originally posted by kepperly
lOOKS LIKE YOU ARE A BORED YUPPIE, DO YOU OWN A PORSCHE?

KEITH EPPERLY

Keith,
Considering everyone who posted before you DOES own a Porsche, who you calling Yuppie???

[Don Plumley]

I gotta admit, Ferraris always turn my head. Back when I started Porsche hunting, I momentarily considered getting a Mondial - they are about $25K, usually have about 25K miles and are creampuffs. Then I read about the maintenance costs and the killer was how much bodywork costs - all hand fitted panels. It's a simple rule: If you have to ask, you can't afford it.

On Monster Garage last night Wayne Newton drives up in a Daytona Spider - what a gorgeous car! Ever since Gumball Rally and the Spider racing the Cobra on the streets of NY to the LA River I've been a fan.

Edit: Here's a link to an .avi with Raul Julia and the great quote,"the first rule of Italian driving" from ferrariclub.com

[GSpreeman]

I was sitting in my 911 right behind a Ferrari convertible and everyone who walked by stopped to look at the Ferrari...just mere glances at my car.

[jhugh]

Yes Keith, I must be a bored yuppie... Young Urban Professional, right? And I was certainly bored this afternoon in the office. So sue me! Of course I own a 911, and I love my car. I say I don't have much Porsche experience because I've only had my car for two years, though by now I think I've turned every nut in the thing. But I've wanted a Ferrari forever. Ever since I could frickin speak I could tell anyone who asked what the best car in the world was - a Ferrari. For now, though, the 911 is a much better car than any Ferrari I could afford (308, 328, Mondial). The Daytona is the ultimate, isn't it?

One reason I'm glad to have a Porsche, man - the relative cost of repairs. When I rebuilt my motor, I had the cams reground to C2 spec by Mr. Elgin for, what.. $200, I think? In the bookstore the other night I was browsing through an issue of Forza (the Ferrari mag) in which there was an article discussing alternative cam grinds for the 308. Seems you can really free up some ponies in that car with higher lift/longer duration. Anyway, the featured guy's regrind prices STARTED at $1600. Granted there are four cams and two more cylinders in that thing, but Jezusss!

[reed930]

Originally posted by Don Plumley
On Monster Garage last night Wayne Newton drives up in a Daytona Spider - what a gorgeous car!

I saw that too. But, did you happen to notice the 1" wide whitewalls on the car. They looked like 78 series Firestone radials.

[yelcab1]

Since this was started as an arm-chair comparison, meaning the cars actually don't move, well then, any Ferrari is going to beat a Porsche in the "looks good" department.

When the cars start to move, well then, any V-12 Ferrari Italian beast will beat any Porsche in the "sounds-good" department.

At speeds, those seriously driven Ferraris do hang in there really tight with porsches.

Reliability wise, the germans win.

[Don Plumley]

Chris - no, I guess I didn't. How Vegas. Anyway, it's an awsome car and it even makes Wayne Newton look cool.

[JEB]

Gumball - what a great car guy movie. I love the first rule of Italian driving scene.

Jeb
'79 930

[cegerer]

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that this completely stock street Porsche could cover your list:





Curt

[jpachard]

Curt, What a fantastic picture!!! At my home track too!!! You don't happen to have a high rez version of that? For me, the GT1 is the pinnacle of 911 development. I'll post my picture I have from this year's Daytona race. The Gunnar GT1 was pitted right next to us.

CHeers, James

[masraum]

yeah, higher res would be good so I can crop it a tad and then stretch it to fit 1600x1200