andy 0 Posted February 16, 2011 Interesting reading. http://ca.jalopnik.com/5760248/how-ferrari-spins Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PeteL 0 Posted February 16, 2011 (edited) I read this earlier, interesting, I don't think manufacturers tweaking their press cars is anything new but Ferrari do seem to be taking a bit too far... Not sure Chris Harris will be invited to drive the new Ferrari FF! Also 'convenient' timing for Mclaren, as the glowing reviews of their new car are now in the press?? More reaction here... http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=23&t=965791&mid=0&i=0&nmt=Chris+Harris+takes+on+Ferrari+on+US+website%2E%2E%2E%2Ein+a+big+way&mid=0 Edited February 16, 2011 by PeteL Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
corozin 0 Posted February 16, 2011 I read that article last night from the link on Pistonheads. What a fabulous rant from one of the UK's better known motoring journos. What I found interesting is that Harris has clearly now well travelled past the point where he gives a fugg whether Ferrari let him drive thier cars ever again. Selling his 575 in a kind of mini-protest seems a bit extreme to me though! But there's a good point about Manufacturers of "cool brands" trying to control the media and access to thier products. Users of Apple products please take note... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy665 0 Posted February 16, 2011 I found it poor that last year Autocar allowed Ferrari to send a team to their Best Drivers Car test to fettle / optimise the 458. The standard car they tested was slower round the track than the GT3, Ferrari then insisted that they time the lap again with their own car and hey presto - significantly quicker - what amazed me was that Autocar allowed the time for the fettled car to stand Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ZippyVR6 0 Posted February 16, 2011 Im with him on this. and having the gumption to sell his Ferrari shows he gives a ****. Fair play. Everyone knows manufacturers will tweak their cars a bit. I know for a fact that Porsche Press cars are subject to aditional checks before they leave the factory, But it is cosmetic stuff like tighter tollerances on pannel gaps, and the undersides of bonnet shuts and door slams having a better finish to the paint for close up shots. No mention of bhp increases. But Ferrari have been taking the pi$$ for ages now, and whilst they might not give two hoots about some shouty journo slating what has become the norm for them, Chris might want to make sure that his doors a re locked at nigth to prevent the Maffia putting a horses head in his bed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tempest 0 Posted February 16, 2011 Everyone knows manufacturers will tweak their cars a bit. Indeed, apart from Jag, when they handed over their latest saloon (whatever that is, not into Jags), to TopGear mag for their 6-month long-term test, and one day during a motorway drive in the rain, the wipers broke off!!! Excuse by Jag: Erm, yes, press car, engineers fettled with it, must have forgotten to tighten up nut on the wiper mechansim (read it in the Dec issue 2010, I think it was)! FFS, Jag, look at how it´s done by copying Ferrari :lol: Tempest Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rob_B 0 Posted February 17, 2011 I think Chris Harris is the best writer for evo, I love his work and I'm not one bit surprised he wrote that!he says what most people won't. Is anyone surprised that Ferrari mug their customers and fans off like that? Probably not! I'm a bit annoyed, but not surprised. It's a shame because like Chris says, the cars stand up on their own merits anyway by all accounts. Oh well, Ferrari cheat shock, again Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kevin Bacon 5 Posted February 18, 2011 Chris might want to make sure that his doors are locked at night to prevent the Maffia putting a horses head in his bed. Ha ha, I was thinking the same thing :lol: Who knows really. I think Ferrari are just more open about their optimisation than other brands? The 458 is an extremely high tech car with many computers and a tonne of software. That level of sophistication inevitibly gives Ferrari endless tweakability, which I don't have a problem with personally. If you've got it, use it :) I mean, is optimising a press car for a particular track any different to F1 teams doing the same, or even Track Day people fitting semi slicks and turning the dampers up on their road cars? Ferrari are clearly passionate about their products and want to see their cars perform at their best when in the public eye. The customer cars clearly run tamer settings to suit a wider audience. I'm sure 95% of Ferrari buyers don't want their 458 to be permanently in attack mode. I'm also sure that if a customer did want that, Ferrari would be only too pleased to oblige. And the way I've seen some Journos treat cars that don't belong to them, well, I can't blame Ferrari for sending out a nannying team to be honest. I'm not pro Ferrari, I think their F1 politics stinks, but I can't see what the big deal is with this personally. I bet the other car makers are just a lot sneakier about their optimisation. And we're only hearing Harris's side of the story too, but fair play to him for having the kahunas to speak out about it. I'd still take a 458 though, what a car! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yandards 0 Posted February 18, 2011 It's not suprising given the way they run their F1 operation and the ego of Luca Di Montezemolo is frankly massive. I guess the issue is that Chris Harris, who obviously drives other supercar manufacturers products, is of the opinion that it's only Ferrari that behave in this way. By tweaking a car for a specific track then you get an unbalanced picture of the car as a whole when compared to a rivals product - this is right up there with claimed bhp outputs. Given the level of electronic adjustment on something like an Audi TT is large enough to completely transform the package then the adjustment on the Ferraris is massive. I doubt Ferrari expect to get massive miles out of their press cars and so are more than happy to run the engine harder for a reducded engine life. The real issue is that consumers place faith in magazine articles written by motoring professionals as part of an informed buying process - after all the general population don't drive a wide range of supercars on a regular basis and therefore have no idea how they compare. If that data the journos gather is wrong because Ferrari are providing a 'tailoured suit' package to Lambos etc 'off the shelf suit' just for the press reviews then there is no value in that review. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
