[Boxer]

Agp22 and I went for a spirited drive along the Iberian coast this morning. As I normally drive solo on my morning jaunts, it was fun to have another Ferrari in formation. The pair on this excursion were my F40 and Agp22's beautiful silver 98 550 Maranello. We ran first along the coast with my F40 in front, then through a short valley before climbing into the mountains. Good driving roads but quite challenging to drive well. In the F40, this is all 2nd and 3rd gear territory of short bursts of speed in the straights, before braking going into the next hairpin. Other than two longer straights towards the end when you can spool the turbos up, throttle management is critical as you need to constantly add and substract speed without launching yourself into orbit.

Once out on the edge of the cliffs, we took a short stop for a very civilized coffee before heading back down. Coming out of the coffee shop we ran into a bus of Chinese tourists. They quite excitingly ran over and starting examining the cars. Not sure what they were talking about but I believe it had something to do with taking pictures of everything so they could make a knock off just as soon as they get back to the People's Republic.

Going back down the mountain, it was Agp22's turn to plow our path. Other than a short stop for pictures, we headed straight back down and then out toward the highway. Following the the big V12 requires careful alert driving. The 550 has excellent brakes and the F40 has twin turbos. Going into a corner, the 550 is able to brake later and get on the power earlier in the exit. The F40 can close the gap quickly as soon as the road opens up but you need to be scrubing off speed well before the 550. As usual, piloting an F40 is an exercise in driving.

Once out of the mountains on on the motorway, it was time to exercise the pistons. It has been over a year since I last drove a 550 and watching AGP accelerate in front of me was impressive. The 550 stayed absolutely flat through the curves and seem to always have plenty of power in reserve. A turnly impressive GT. After about 10 miles, we got off, lopped around and headed back. All in all we covered around 60 km and I at least, had a great time.

[agp22]

Impressive? I have got to give it to you Boxer, impressive was the way you did the last right hander on the highway, no brake lights, very flat, I could not keep up with that... Great fun today, and the F40 sounds like a genuine racer from the outside! Let's keep it up.

Btw, greatly described.

[Boxer]

Originally Posted by agp22

Impressive? I have got to give it to you Boxer, impressive was the way you did the last right hander on the highway, no brake lights, very flat, I could not keep up with that... Great fun today, and the F40 sounds like a genuine racer from the outside! Let's keep it up.

Btw, greatly described.

Definitely lets do it again.

[stile - alpine]

great story, wish I was there (maybe you would lend me the F50, Boxer? hehehehehe)

[JazzyO]

How nice to read about how an F-40 compares to a 550. It's pretty incredible that a 1720kg car decelerates quicker than an 1100kg supercar. How technology improves in 9 years' development time. But, of course, on acceleration that difference shows itself the other way.

Great story, Boxer, makes me want to take my baby out for a spin. Aaaarghhhhh! Why am I only flying back in April???


Onno

[JJS612]

North or South Coast, if the South would love to join you in the future.

[archiegibbs]

The 550 looks nice, but the F40 looks stunning. Will you be showing it in the UK this year?

[Boxer]

Originally Posted by JJS612

North or South Coast, if the South would love to join you in the future.

This drive was very west and a bit south.

[Boxer]

Originally Posted by archiegibbs

The 550 looks nice, but the F40 looks stunning. Will you be showing it in the UK this year?

If I do go to the FOC Concours again I will probably bring the F50 as it is the rarer car. The F40 is great but there are plenty of FOC members who own them (including a few which are kept in harsh capitivity as trailer queens) and would be bringing them to the event. Hence no need or demand for me to show up in mine.

[archiegibbs]

We'll make do with the F50 again this year then

Although I'm not sure if anyone will attend this year, in their wisdom the sensible people on the planning commitee of the FOC have arranged it on the same day as the British GP If I can get a ticket for Silverstone, I will probably go there.

[Louis355]

Originally Posted by Boxer

....(including a few which are kept in harsh capitivity as trailer queens)....

That should be forbidden by law

[Dmitri]

Ahh....a nice story like that makes me want to go out for a morning jaunt through our hills...if only I had something other than a suburban. It's okay, another half a decade from now I'll be done with school and if all goes well, my bank account will allow for a 308 or something to accompany me after graduation....unless I decide to pay back my med school loans or something crazy like that. Right now I have my eyes set on a TDI Volkswagen to get me through the rest of school.

[Boxer]

Originally Posted by archiegibbs

We'll make do with the F50 again this year then

Although I'm not sure if anyone will attend this year, in their wisdom the sensible people on the planning commitee of the FOC have arranged it on the same day as the British GP If I can get a ticket for Silverstone, I will probably go there.

I did not realize that the dates clashed. They have to be completely daft to schedule it that way.