C.J. Ichiban

but I like where your head is at!

f1realtor

I would go for the mclaren. Mostly because I'm a huge McLaren formula 1 fan and hate scuderia ferrari. If I had the money I would be torn between the mclaren and the lexus lfa.

iLLM3

Haha yea bro, CGT/F40 I mean, ultimate right there with a GT3 and Strad thrown in somewhere You can make it happen , just remember to invite me down for a drive

Nizer

A romantic idea but the sad truth is that time and technology march on. The 458 is as fast as an Enzo and relative to a 360 is going to have better handling, better brakes, better ride, a way better transmission (unless you go manual), and be just straight up faster everywhere, all the time. And you know faster is better.

If you want to go McQueen then do it right and get a 250 Lusso or something along those lines.

Whether you wait for the track-oriented 458 is another story...

MarekN

Nizer, I think the Italia is the first Ferrari with no manual-shift option. Unfortunately, it´s all downhill for us traditionalists.

Nizer

Ah yes. Forgot. We'll at least we have Porsche.

WalkerInTN

If you've always wanted a Ferrari, the Mclaren won't ever scratch that itch. You'll still be wanting a Ferrari until you get one. The 458's spec sheet looks great, but no more manual kills me.

C.J. Ichiban

it's okay the CGT is manual shift

NJ-GT

The 360 CS is slow, very slow, it cannot keep up with the 2004 GT3 or newer Carrera S performance wise, but it is a beautiful car. Be aware that they are out of warranty, their required maintenance is pretty high compared to the F430. A clean low miles 360CS moves in between $150k-$160k, another $75k gets the 08 Scuderia with same miles, most of the 08 Scuderias don't have the $16,863k Carbon Package (diffuser/front spoile/ headlight housings -22 lbs).

A 360CS is a nice choice.

16M is heavy and Spiders are not stiff when driven fast, test it first .

F458 are on waiting lists, so the soonest you can get your hands on one if you don't want to pay a premium over MSRP is next year. McLaren is likely to be on the $300k price range.

Have you considered the Enzo powered 599GTB? Great car at a nice price.

You can also consider the regular F430 with CCB, great car at a nice price too.

RonCT

I'm on the prospect list for the McLaren for all of the good reasons outlined above. Obviously, some of the information is preliminary now, but I'm patient and will assess everything when the time comes. I understand that soon much more detail will be released as well as their configurator. For many reasons, the philosophy of the McLaren (and Porsche) aligns better to me than the other choices given.

eclou

at this point Ceej get a dealers license and buy near wholesale, no sales tax (just inventory) and list them on a website as all available for sale. My uncle who owns 11-12 cars any any given time does this and it saves him big on taxes and ins.

Nizer

Now that's what I'm talkin' about

-eztrader-

I think this is an easy choice -

The Mclaren is a 1st year production - and you never know what you're going to get....I've read everything - it sounds great - but I'm always cautious about 1st year cars.

The 458 is going to be amazing - keep in mind there will be waiting lists, and over msrp quotes...also 1st year production car...

The scud is an amazing machine . . . .it weighs less than 3k pounds - extremely powerful, - the electronics make it easy to drive fast (even for a total amateur driver like me) - and it makes you smile everytime you drive it....

The choice is clear - buy a scud now - - -drive / enjoy it - wait for all the reviews / test drives of the new cars....and trade in for a 2nd year car...

mobonic

- You cant even get a 458 unless you are a longtime Ferrari buyer and have a good relationship with a dealer... or you buy 1-2 ferraris now to get your name up the list.

- I agree and would buy a 430 Scud now, and drive it until you get the chance to buy a 458 (then you can trade in the Scud or sell it)

Then I would wait and see what happens and what the reviews are on the Mclaren. (This thing looks bada$$)


But why listen to any of us... just think about it for a few days/weeks and decide for yourself... but if you are like me no matter which one you buy.. you will always want the other one

prg

fwiw. I purchased a 430 with CCB's and love the car. I had a strad, but on the street the complete lack of creature comforts is a bit annoying if you actually want to use it as a means of transportation. My suspicion is the scud is similar (spartan interior,hear every pebble in the wheel wells.)

You've raced a modern open wheel car. Any street car is going to feel like a pig in a poke on the track compared to a formula russell. The F430 is a great street car, and you might enjoy the extra $50k+ in your bank account more than the marinal (albeit significant) performance improvements of a scud or 16m. You might have more fun using the money to buy and campaign a standard FM or FE for a season or two.