And Then There Were But 10 . . .
“One day,” most car enthusiasts have mused for nearly seven decades, “I will own a Ferrari.”
Anyone who watches the headlines touting collectible-car price trends could be convinced that such a goal is now completely out of reach for all save trust-fund babies and hedge-fund managers, because the rarest and best Ferraris have been tearing the roofs off the auction tents. At this writing, a 1962 Ferrari 250GTO holds top honors, hammering at a Bonham’s auction in 2014 for $34.65 million (before commission). And just this month, RM Sotheby’s sold a 1956 290 MM Scaglietti Spyder for more than $28 million. Time to forget that dream? Not so fast.
These rarities disguise the reality that plenty of Ferraris still sell for prices within reach of determined wage slaves, some for much less than half the list price of the most affordable new 2016 Ferrari, the $202,723 California T. For anyone who can pile up new-Corvette money, an experienced Ferrari remains an option.
Until recently, booming prices concentrated on Enzo-era cars, the ones built before the company founder’s death in 1988. Even so, a determined shopper can find affordable cars built while Il Commendatore strode around Maranello, still trying to puzzle out how Ford had stolen his racing team’s ownership of Le Mans.
Herewith, then, 10 collectible Ferraris that have yet to see their values inflated beyond all reason, four of them “Enzo-era” models. Few may measure up as blue-chip investments, but that’s not what inspires those youthful aspirations, is it?
Notes: Most prices cited here come from Hagerty Insurance's valuation tool, with some cross-checking against the Sports Car Market Pocket Price Guide and recent auction results. You can also skim those sources to see a few more Ferraris still within reach.)
Ferrari Dino 308GT4
Some dismiss this as a Ferrari at all, and we get the argument that earlier Dinos were “lesser” cars that didn’t merit the prancing pony badge—later 308s, though, got that badge and sold right alongside the GTB and GTS cars as the company gave up on the idea of having a sub-Ferrari brand. Officially, U.S. sales of the GT4 didn’t start until the ’75 model year.
Several distinctions may draw serious collectors: Designed at Bertone rather than Pininfarina, with Ferrari’s first roadgoing V-8 (a four-cam 3.0-liter fed by four Weber carbs), transversely mounted amidships, the GT4 had 2+2 seating, so it’ll carry more luggage than can a GTB and might even accommodate a tiny human. The V-8 was rated at 240 horsepower in the earliest GT4s, while struggles to meet emissions laws saw this strangled down to 205 horses in later model years (through 1980). Catalytic converters came in 1976 and choked off some of the quad-cam V-8’s throaty roar, so we’d hunt down the earliest GT4 we could. (Or one of the interesting 2.0-liter V-8 models sold in Italy.)
Hagerty pegs a concours quality GT4 at $88,700 while an average example might be found for under $50,000. A steep rise in the past 18 months—faster than the growth of most stock indices—suggests the big money is catching on to this one, so now’s the time.
Ferrari 400i
We’ve called this one a “black sheep” of Ferraris for two reasons: It was the first Ferrari with an (optional) automatic transmission (early cars had a Borg-Warner unit, later ones used GM’s Turbo-Hydramatic 400), and despite that feature, it was never officially imported to the U.S. It succeeded the 365 GT/4.
A 2+2 with similar bodywork, under the hood the 400i packs a 4.8-liter V-12 making 310 horsepower and employing Bosch fuel injection. Built in this form from ’79 to ’85, it evolved into the 412 with an extra 10 cc in each cylinder. This era saw a thriving “gray market” for European-spec cars brought up to federal safety and emissions standards by independent importers, so the cars aren’t unknown in America.
Hagerty says the ’82 in this photo, in average condition, might trade for as little as $25,200 while a perfect one approaches $40,000. That’s a lot of Ferrari for the money, plus you can be like Tom Cruise in Rain Man.
Ferrari 308GTSi
The 308—in Berlinetta (GTB) and Spyder (GTS, really more a Targa) forms—stayed in production from 1975 to 1989, evolving into the similar 328 for the last four years of that span. It makes many think first of TV’s Magnum, P.I. and the generation that grew up in that era is now very active in the collector-car arena, so prices are rising rapidly. Fortunately, they started very low so large percentage gains don’t yet result in silly money values—this was really the first high-volume production Ferrari, so they’re in plentiful supply.
The mid-mounted V-8 is essentially the same as in the Dino GT4's, a 3.0-liter quad-cam, first with Weber carbs and then fuel injection from the early 1980s. Four-valve heads came in ’83 with the designation QV (quattrovalvole). Then the 328 brought another 200 cc of displacement and 270 horsepower.
This ’82 308 GTS our intrepid reporters spotted at the 2015 Quail Gathering looks like a Grade A car that might fetch more than $72,000 (coincidentally, what an 328GTB sold for new in 1988), while ordinary “good” condition 308s sell in the $40,000 to $50,000 range. The coupes are actually rarer than the open-top models.
Maintenance? Stay atop the need for regular and expensive timing-belt changes—age degradation is as much a concern as mileage here—and the rest is manageable if you stay ahead of things, doing preventative work before it becomes expensive damage.
Ferrari Testarossa
The "redhead” Testarossa (one word, to distinguish from the 1960’s Testa Rossa that now costs millions; see one here) replaced the 512BB (Boxer Berlinetta) in 1985, and became the poster car exotic for the late 1980s. Miami Vice fans know this mid-engine 380-hp extrovert as the car Ferrari gave to the TV producers on the condition they stop making fake ones.
Ferrari built 7000 units through 1991 when it introduced the 512TR, really an evolution of the car most notable for lowering the flat-12 engine in the chassis to improve handling, and then the 512M (for modificata) with less weight, more power, and fixed headlamps in place of the pop-up ones. Prices on these later 512 versions have been soaring of late—they’re faster, better cars with the same look. The older, original Testarossas, though, those built when Enzo Ferrari himself still occupied the house/office adjacent to the Fiorano test track, have yet to realize those momentous gains.
An average-condition car can still be had for $112,000 to $120,000 while a top-flight example commands another $20,000 to $25,000. They’re gaining value but on a more gradual upward slope than the 512TR and M have in the past year.
Ferrari 348ts
"Give us some Testarossa flare in the V-8 price class," Ferrari customers implored, and the 348 was Maranello’s response. Built from ’89 to ’95, the 348’s bent eight displaced 3.4 liters, generated 300 horsepower, and sat amidships in bodywork that our Patrick Bedard said “looks like a bright red heat exchanger, flaunting enough slots and vents and scoops and grilles to cool
the entire Italian Air Force.” He wasn’t much a fan, writing our 1990 comparison test from which this photo came and in which the 348 placed fourth—besting only the Lotus Esprit and slotting behind the winning Acura NSX, Porsche 911 Carrera 4, and Corvette ZR-1. For those who disagree that its gated-shifter, seating position and, um, lively handling are all “inexcusable,” a 348 makes a pretty nice horse for your stable, with typical examples costing about $40,000 and the best just under $60,000. Biggest downside: replacing the timing belt requires the engine be removed from the car. Big labor costs there, but costlier still if postponed.
Ferrari 456GT
First sold in America in 1995, the 456 is a traditionalist’s grand touring car, a front-engine V-12 Ferrari with seating for four. We tested this $225,000 executive transport by racing it across Texas against a similarly priced Mooney airplane. It lost, but not by much.
Rated at 436 horsepower, the 5.2-liter V-12 sings delightfully up to a top speed of 186 mph. We’d go for the six-speed manual, but there’s a four-speed automatic (GTA) for the comfort-oriented, who will find the leather-lined interior and cockpit-adjustable suspension alluring. The 456M (modificata) had only 6 more horsepower, an updated interior, and mild styling tweaks when it arrived for 1998; it was replaced by the 612 Scaglietti in 2004. For this exercise in spendthrift Ferrari ownership, we looked at a ’97. When Hagerty said the average value was only $41,000 and a superb example would still be under $60,000, we hopped over to the NADA price guide which reported that last year the low retail price observed was $43,900, the high price was $73,800 and the average was $53,000. Nice.
Ferrari F355
Now we’re getting into the recent used-car realm, so much so that we published a buyer’s guide to this model, which replaced the 348 in 1995. More than addressing the doubts we’d expressed about the 348, it was a leap forward in both performance and refinement and one of our reviewers called it “easily the best eight-cylinder Ferrari” to date.
The 3.5-liter V-8 has five valves per cylinder, spins up beyond 8000 rpm, and propelled the little two-seater to 60 mph in well under five seconds. In ’97, Ferrari added the optional F1 paddle-shift manual gearbox and it was a revelation—but it wasn’t as comfortable in automatic mode as later dual-clutch variants, and was not yet faster than the version with a clutch pedal. F355s came in Berlinetta (GTB), Targa (GTS), and true cabriolets (starting in ’96). Average examples of a ’98 coupe are at about $45,000 with the best ones near $60,000.
Ferrari 550 Maranello
Hey, it’s got a name! This V-12 coupe was on showroom floors alongside the F355 and replaced the mid-engine Testarossa in the lineup despite its front-engine/rear-transaxle layout. (Prices on the previous Ferrari to use this setup, the 25-year-older 365 GTB/4 Daytona, are decidedly not within the scope of this article.) Much more a sports car than the 456GT, the 550 Maranello had 485 horsepower routed through a six-speed manual gearbox—no other option. Average examples are priced in the $60,000s range while show-worthy 550s cost twice that or a bit more. Still well south of today’s California T.
575M Maranello
Are we touting the same car twice? Not really. Although quite similar to the 550, the 575M that arrived in 2002 had a revised, more aggressive face, an upgraded interior, and a displacement increase (to, yes, 5.75 liters) to make a full 515 horsepower. Transforming its character into a thoroughly 21st-century car, it also had adaptive suspension and, optionally, the latest version of the F1 paddle-shift transmission that was more refined in automatic mode and shifted more quickly than a great driver with a clutch pedal could manage.
This car yielded its space on the showroom floor to the 599GTB Fiorano in 2007. An average 2005 model should cost just under $100,000 with great condition, well-maintained ones going for 35 to 40 percent more. Even the inflated values suggested by eBay Motors “buy it now” requests fall under $200,000.
Ferrari 360 Modena
Aluminum construction and a stronger 3.6-liter V-8 producing 400 horsepower saw another step forward beyond the F355 when this car replaced that one in 1999. And it’s even prettier. Paring the 0-to-60-mph time down to the low-four-second range, it won three-car comparison tests in both coupe form with an F1 gearbox and as a similarly clutchless Spider.
We opted to examine a 2002 coupe for this story, built mid-run (the 360 was replaced by the F430 in 2006) after some early teething problems had been resolved. Ferrari built 17,000 in all, so there are plenty to be found, so don’t settle for a rough one. An average-condition 360 of this model year, per Hagerty, is a $62,400 car, while a great one is $82,300. Those figures are rather precise—consider instead that the price curve over time on the 2002 edition reflected depreciation against the new-car sticker price until last May, when it bottomed out at less than half the original MSRP before turning upward.
This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service - if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at http://ift.tt/jcXqJW.
from Car and Driver Blog http://ift.tt/1R08T7r
via IFTTT
0 comments:
Post a Comment