ipse dixit

bbs993tt

I'm biased but have to agree.

ipse dixit

I might argue the LFA if it it came in a manual. Maybe even as-is.

Jrtaylor9

Similar, I’m biased and would pick CGT regardless. However, it is odd they included it with the choices on that list. Maybe I’m over-stepping the company a CGT should be judged, but seems like it should be against 918, LAF, Senna, Enzo, P1, etc; that’s the segment it competed in when released; or am i crazy? And, I don’t think it stands a chance in that list (again despite me being biased and having chosen it regardless ). So it’s cool that it won but feel like it was unfair to include it with the cars on PH’s supercar list. I think it says a lot about an Italia given how many I saw choose it in the comments section. Based on comments it’s no surprise it came in 2nd and would have been my guess for #1. 458 is a pretty cool platform for sure. Oddly enough, I had a Speciale and would take an Italia and especially Spider over it . There are days I’ve considered swapping the cgt for a 458 spider based on the spider being one of my top all-time picks with a push button top.

ipse dixit

The 918, P1 and LAF are hybrids, so I think that fact alone takes it out of the running.

And the trump card the CGT holds is that it's a manual. None of the cars you listed can say that.

Jrtaylor9

Hey, no arguments from me that a n/a v10, cf tub, manual roadster made by Porsche that is also bulletproof, has no equal! That being said at least throw in an Enzo, P1, Senna, if not the recent hybrids. It is interesting it’s usually being judged vs an f40 and sometimes 50 which are a decade +\- older.

Regardless I’m happy Porsche made it as is, and blessed I get to drive one on a regular basis. That’s enough for me!

mooty

interesting.
my friend literally gave me his special aperta. I drove it 2x, told him to take it back..
I had no interest to drive it.
I actually preferred my GMC dually over speciale.. he was not happy when I told him that.

mooty

oh, yes. I love my CGT
that said it is NOT bullet proof hahahaha.
I can break anything and I did...

Jrtaylor9

the speciale thing definitely is an interesting one. It was a bit of a “meet your hero’s disappointing moment in life”. I assumed 7-4.0 and Speciale were my two grave cars. I’ve mentioned to a few meaningful Ferrari collector/fan-boys my view on my speciale ownership including that I’d take an Italia or Spider over it. Twice I’ve gotten a surprising response which is something like “yeah it is last na v8 f so I keep it for that reason but it’s far from my fav mid engine v8 f. And yes an Italia does for sure sound better”. More to cars than sound but if a f car doesn’t sound AMAZING…..! Speciale was fun on track but Scud more fun. 458 I and S sounded way better and were more fun on street. I sold the Speciale in 3mos maybe??

On the other side of the coin there are people that will fight you to the death defending it is the 2nd coming of the modern na world.

I’d consider a modern mid engine spider again one day including 458 BUT appreciate them for what they are which is pretty good drivers car that is good looking (top up and down) and good sounding with a push button top. and probably the best out there for that combo imo.

unotaz

T'he truth is, the best sounding V8 from Ferrari is the 360 Stradale. The V8 in the Speciale drones and sounds very mediocre in terms of tune and sound quality.

I had no issue parting with my 458 Speciale but I do miss my 360 Stradale.

mooty

WRONG thread. sorry

Jrtaylor9

same here. The 360cs sound was unreal. Once up to speed the f1 downshifts were magic. At slow speeds it required motion sickness tabs! It was a love it and hate it car for me often in the same drive.

yes, that’s it! The speciale droned like hell and was on/off loud.

maomao911

The speciale does bout sound as good as the normal 458 due to the shorter exhaust plumbing, but it seems that the criticisms about how it drives is overly harsh. I like mine quite a lot and didn’t expect it to be a precision driving machine like Porsche’s. It’s a great fun car for canyons and even longer drives, lots of drama with the way it steers, shifts, and accelerates. It really aims for very different things than say a GT3RS.

raclaims

I always go back to the same analogy in my head, if I sold the CGT and used that money to buy something else...what would be better? I can't ever come up with something - in the same price range that is...So that says it all for me.

Of late my 3 fav Porsche are the singer/cgt/911R with 997GT3RS 4.0 on the fringe...

Jrtaylor9

Fair point! Said in a much more balanced way: 458 is a fabulous platform. Surprisingly the Speciale wasn’t my favorite version of a 458 despite me assuming it would be one of my favorite cars of all time. That assumption was based on how much I had enjoyed prior mid-engine v8 ferraris including “lesser” 458’s and including 360cs and 430 scud ownership (I loved those two cars and put them head and shoulders over their non-track oriented “lesser” cousins). So, I extrapolated my prior ownership and reviews to conclude a 458 Speciale would not only be my fav mid-engine ferrari of all time, but one of my all-time favorites and a logical long-term pairing to my 997-4.0 at that time. What do you know, I have neither now!! The 7-4.0 was one of my top cars ever and still is but I just finally experienced it enough that I moved onto other things. But that is a different outcome than selling the Speciale in a few months. While I only owned it for a few months, I did drive wheels off it including multiple track events, which is probably more than most owners can say that have owned one for years!

In judging a Speciale vs every “special” car I’ve ever owned, I probably built it up too much such that it had a higher probability of disappointing me. It’s a cool car with a big cult following, but it didn’t end up being one of my fav cars of all time which was the expectation I had going into it. And it departed from my 360cs and 430 scud ownership experiences being those cars were clearly my fav’s w/in the 360 and 430 lineup. If I hadn’t been fortunate enough to own and drive a lot of miles in some amazing cars, I doubt I would have anything short of a stellar review of the Speciale. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a super cool car. Sometimes I wonder if Ferrari continues to make its base cars better and better such that the gap between its “special” and “base” versions just isn’t as noticeable over time?? However, I stopped at 458 so I can’t speak to anything that has come after it.

Related, I’d rank the cgt as one of the most dramatic cars that Porsche has ever made. Which is a big reason I continue to own one, because you get all of the precision, craftsmanship, build-quality, reliability and other-things-Porsche but still gobs of drama on tap. It’s this weird over-engineered exotic expereince. However, there are plenty of “average” Ferraris that can give a cgt a run for its money in the drama category. Porsche’s design ethos requires someone to tune into subtleties to really feel much emotion and/or be pushing REALLY hard. Drama is a byproduct for Porsche and one of the top stated goals for Ferrari and the other competing Italians. Let’s face it, if Maserati didn’t have drama, anyone would choose a Honda instead! However, while cousins, Ferrari also makes some really good cars these days and its average cars have as much/more drama than some of Porsche’s top drama-producing cars of all time. Ferrari makes cars that are fun to drive in every gear, every rpm, all speeds and most use cases. I guess this is where the Speciale fell short for me. It wasn’t as strong of a performer or engineering marvel as some alternatives but it also fell short of a “base” 458 at being a fun all-around-er. As its “porsche era equivalent”, make no mistake, the 7-4.0 performed better (track and street), handled better (track and street), sounded better and did EVERYTHING better than the 7’s before it. Ok, I’d put a 7.1-rs over a 7-4.0 on looks! That being said, given I have sold both, if you gave me one drive on one day in either, I’d pick a Speciale . If you offered my a 458 spider, 360 cs or 430 scud I’d pick any of them over a Speciale for one drive on one day. And I’d “own” a 7-4.0 again before anything on that list. So, go figure