One of the things that has stuck me all week looking at the photo’s that Geoffrey Horton and Jay Wollenweber have kindly sent me from the Danville Concours d’Elegance is the sheer beauty of the California Sunshine, so at the risk of being accused of publishing car porn, to round out a long week of toil I thought to put all of the two photographers best Ferrari photo’s together for Ferrari Friday.
Photo Jay Wollenweber
Above is one of 20 1968 Ferrari 365 GTS spyders fitted with a 4.4 litre / 267 cui V12, that would soon be replaced in the Ferrari line up by the sharper 365 GTS/4 bodystyle.
Photo Jay Wollenweber
Like wise the Dino 246 GTB featured in one of my earliest blogs above is the Targa top GTS.
Photo Jay Wollenweber
One of my favorite’s is the Ferrari 365GTB/4 in one of which Dan Gurney once drove 2,876 miles from New York to LA at an average speed of 80.1 mph !
Photo Geoffrey Horton
Sharing a slightly detuned motor, inorder to accommodate a lower bonnet / hood line, with the GTB/4 is the Ferrari 365 GTC/4.
Photo Jay Wollenweber
For some reason among my memories of working in the motor trade are a couple that in which gold painted cars were rarely ordered new in that colour and always hard to shift in the second hand market, I don’t know if that rule applies to high performance vehicles like the Bertone designed Ferrari 308 GT4 seen above.
Photo Jay Wollenweber
While Bertone’s 308 GT4 is probably one of the cheapest Ferrari’s to purchase in the pre owned market place the Ferrari 328 GTS like the one above is one of the more reliable, 6068 of these targa tops of the 160 mph plus cars were made between 1986 and 1989.
Photo Geoffrey Horton
Ferrari lost ground to it’s competitors with the Ferrari 348 that succeeded the 328, particularly to the Honda NSX, but bounced back with Ferrari F355 Berlineta, Targa and
Photo Jay Wollenweber
and soft top spyder models.
Photo Geoffrey Horton
The Ferrari 360 Spider was the 12th road going convertible offered since Enzo Ferrari moved into road car production in 1949.
Photo Geoffrey Horton
Ferrari’s 360 Challenge Stradale like the one above was intended for those lucky enough to spend 20% of their time in the car at track day’s and only 80% of their time in the car in normal road conditions. The Challenge Stradale comes with an additional 20 hp, improved throttle response, steering feed back and chassis balance which made a significant difference in achievable lap times over the standard 360.
Photo Geoffrey Horton
For 2004 the the Ferrari 360 was replaced by the F430 in the model line up, and in 2007 the 508hp Ferrari F430 Scuderia filled the niché that had been left vacant since the demise of the 360 Challenge Stradale.
Photo Geoffrey Horton
Allegedly the Ferrari California started as a Maserati project but when it was realised how expensive the finished car was going to be it was decided to launch it as a Ferrari in 2008. Either way it is a stunningly attractive car to look at in the California sun.
Photo Geoffrey Horton
Of the current range the Ferrari 458 Italia launched in 2009 is without doubt the most attractive of the lot on the road or on the track, it is powered by the most powerful per liter/cui normally aspirated production motor in the world.
Photo Jay Wollenweber
I only know one person who has ever driven a Ferrari FF, unfortunatley Michele Rahal at The Drive Channel has removed the clip from youtube, needless to say he was grinning from ear to ear the whole time he was in the car.
My thanks to Geoffrey Horton and Jay Wollenweber for sharing their photo’s form Concours d’Elegance.
Thanks for joining me on this ‘California Sunshine’ edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !
