Flint

On the Piston Heads site the article pits two different Ferraris against the 928, and both lose.

jserio

That was pretty interesting but I felt the author was a Ferrari guy. The numbers are pretty impressive considering that the Porsches generally are far less expensive. If Porsche put the same money into these cars then there would be no contest between any model.

epbrown01

The eternal debate continues...when we have flying cars, people will still rage between these two marques. I love some of the Ferrari cars, but whenever I've been tempted to snag one, I've always been stopped by the fact that I won't be able to pile on the miles the way I can with *any* Porsche I get. I've heard the reliability is improving, but service costs are still up there.

Emanuel

FlyingDog

Some of the numbers were questionable. The 959 lost because of the "198+" top speed. I think it was Porsches.com that had a picture of a stock 959 speedo at almost 220MPH. The 928S2 didn't get the 310HP 295ftlb LH-jet engine until 1984. I suspect some of the other numbers were off as well.

sweanders

It is very clear that the author has never considered that for every two Porsches you get one Ferrari.

Nad it is written that Porsche owners generally think their cars are as good as Ferraris, I guees he hasn't talked to the real people who don't even compare their Porsches with Ferraris.

IcemanG17

It seems the article was based purely on performance in terms of 0-60 acceleration and top speed only. It didn't consider any other factors such as handling, ride, relibility etc. If you find a Ferrari with 60K miles that is almost unheard of (even at over 20 years old) vs Porsches that can go well over 200K without a drop in performance! Of course I'm biased, I own a Porsche, but I have always liked Ferrari's.... Here's a thought in 1988 (my model year 928) the 928 was the third most powerful production car in the world behind the Lambo Countach (455hp) & Ferrari Testarossa (380hp) which had V12's! The most powerful production (normally aspirated) V8 in the world (in 1987-88-till ??)! If I remember correctly in 1993 a standard LT1 corvette was just barely at 300hp, the Ferrari 348 was also at 300hp, but the Corvette ZR1 had 375? So only the Diablo, 512TR and ZR1 had more power (maybe the 911turbo too)! Not too bad!

nee.dragger

Where did the author get the top speeds, are they from the manufacturer or from a true road test? I've never seen Ferraris live up to the top speeds suggested. Their speedometers have always been a little optimistic. Porsche has done a good job of posting top speeds optained by the 99th percentile, or if you wish, any one of the cars pulled from the assembly line. I'm not sure the same can be said for any Ferrari.

sweanders

When I can afford a Ferrari I will buy one, but I don't see any 350 hp relatively reliable Ferraris out there.

But have a look at the cars on the tourist laps on the Nürburgring where the cars are really used. There are no Ferraris there, I have seen one 348 once but it didn't go out on the track..

Flint

I tried to imply in that site's comments that not a word was said in conclusion about the Porsche V8. If Porsche had lavished the attention on it (I mean the 928 engine specifically) that they did for the flat-6 for 30 years, many here can attest to how much of a world-beater it could have become.

Yet in the end, I hope to someday have in my garage both a 911 and a 550 Barchetta, the 911 for year round and the Ferrari in my summer home in Spain.

intrepidjohnson

Much has changed over the years, but I remember my only Ferrari purchase. I bought a new 73 Daytona for $23,000 and sold it for $55,000 in 1978 when I bought my first 928. The Ferrari was a week end pleasure but required constant maintenance. Of course I think the idiot that gave me $55,000 in 1978 may have sold it for 3 times that much.

blau928

Try an F355....it has 380 hp

Depends when you go.. Not because you have not seen any does not mean that owners don't track them..... I have seen an F50 and other models at the 'ring, and other tracks in Europe and the US.. The Ferrari club in America has many events at my home track Laguna Seca... You should visit when they have a meet. You would be surprised... A top finisher at the ORR Virginia City Hillclimb is a Ferrari F40. I also have other friends who race their vintage Ferraris at tracks across the US....

I know several with more than this mileage. A friend in my neighbourhood has
a 275 GTB 4 cam with over 200,000 miles on the car. It has been rebuilt, but the car is driven often all over the world. Lately it was at the 275 reunion in Italy..

You hit the point dead on...!

In addition, it is a matter of taste... Everyone has different tastes and wallet size.

To be fair, Ferrari's are very interesting cars.... They have a different way about them than Porsches.... They are reliable if you maintain them properly... The maintenance costs are MUCH more than Porsches in general, and many consider that an inconvenience and attribute it to unreliability. Considering the technology available, many also expect "washing machine" like reliability from them. I have found them very tempermental, but also very rewarding to drive... Typical Italian style...!

Anyway, I love my 928 and would not trade it for another car.... I have had the pleasure to drive and own many other cars..... I have returned to my 928 after "straying"...! Not that I will not own other cars in future.... I will always have a 928 among them.....

My .02,

Normy

Nothings mentioned about driving the two cars. I drove a Ferrari 308GT+4 once...it reminded me of the '66 Ford F100 truck that I owned! Heavy clutch, heavy shifter, heavy steering....good lord the '85 944 that I test drove in 1992 felt 20 years newer!

N!