Is there any real justification for getting a Ferrari? Isn't it purely self gratification in public? This is the kind of second-guessing that happens before making the commitment to buying a Ferrari.
I'm writing this after just giving the ok on the purchase of "The Car" and now all days forward will be as a person who has a Ferrari. There aren't that many of us. Some people own several, even lots of, Ferraris. But I'm a one-car guy. The Car will be my daily driver, so it has to be reliable, and friendly in traffic.
Why would I get a Ferrari?
1. I fell in love with my first Ferrari in 1974, that's 43 years ago at this writing. It was a physical experience as well as emotional. The love object was a 1965 model of the 275 GTB. The curve of that long hood was sensational. Perfectly clean. Over the years there were times of famine, life without a Ferrari. For the last 17 years I was a man without a Ferrari. I think I am overdue. Here's my first Ferrari:
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| My first Ferrari: 1965 275 GTB, short nose. Purchased in 1974 for 8,500 USD. |
2. Ferrari has for most of my life represented the pinnacle of the art and craft of building automobiles. Beautiful, powerful, unique, luxurious, yadda-yadda-yadda. Of course anyone could argue agains this opinion, and it wouldn't bother me a bit, because I'm just fully into Ferrari. The point is that if a pinnacle exists then why not achieve it if you are so motivated, and you are capable of doing it. "What a man can be, he must be." These are the word of Abraham Maslow, and he ought to know Why people do what they do.
3. Current daily driver is out of warranty and 7 years old. I have owned it since new, and it's the longest I have owned any car. It's in near-perfect condition and with only 26,000 miles on it. Audi S5, 2011, with aftermarket Brembo brakes, just like the Ferrari, red calipers, sport exhaust, European grille, de-badged, tint, all brightwork painted except window surround, many extras. Interested? Available soon.
3. Current daily driver is out of warranty and 7 years old. I have owned it since new, and it's the longest I have owned any car. It's in near-perfect condition and with only 26,000 miles on it. Audi S5, 2011, with aftermarket Brembo brakes, just like the Ferrari, red calipers, sport exhaust, European grille, de-badged, tint, all brightwork painted except window surround, many extras. Interested? Available soon.
I earned it.
Assume for a moment that you are at a carnival, and you stroll down the midway, with games of skill and chance to the right and left. You know that these games are rigged, with very little chance of winning, and even if you do manage to win, you only get some cheap ashtray or whatever. And yet, there is that huge stuffed animal, the Grand Prize, but you must win many times to accumulate enough points to win it. It seems impossible. But you give it a try anyway, because for some reason that Grand Prize speaks to you. That's kinda what happened to me. Against all odds, and over a period of 10 years, I built a software product and a company to market and support it, and slowly came back from bankruptcy, entered a period of poverty, then some time of barely being able to pay my bills, then reaching a point when I could be comfortable, and ultimately came the day when I could claim my prize. It was an "overnight success" that took 10 years.
That day was 25 years ago, on October 2, 1992. I traded my software company and my stress for a bank account and not stress, and then traded some of the bank account for my Grand Prize: a Ferrari 275 GTB/4:
Why the California T?
Assume for a moment that you are at a carnival, and you stroll down the midway, with games of skill and chance to the right and left. You know that these games are rigged, with very little chance of winning, and even if you do manage to win, you only get some cheap ashtray or whatever. And yet, there is that huge stuffed animal, the Grand Prize, but you must win many times to accumulate enough points to win it. It seems impossible. But you give it a try anyway, because for some reason that Grand Prize speaks to you. That's kinda what happened to me. Against all odds, and over a period of 10 years, I built a software product and a company to market and support it, and slowly came back from bankruptcy, entered a period of poverty, then some time of barely being able to pay my bills, then reaching a point when I could be comfortable, and ultimately came the day when I could claim my prize. It was an "overnight success" that took 10 years.
That day was 25 years ago, on October 2, 1992. I traded my software company and my stress for a bank account and not stress, and then traded some of the bank account for my Grand Prize: a Ferrari 275 GTB/4:
Why the California T?
I need a car that is reliable and easy to drive in local traffic as well as on long road trips. This is the model that fits that requirement. Other reasons are the looks of the car remind me a lot of my second Ferrari that I drove every day for 2 years in the late 70s. The two cars feature a long hood line, front engine, rear drive. coupe, etc. The California T is even better because of the automatic hardtop conversion into a true convertible/roadster configuration. Two cars in one!
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| Yours truly in 1978, Big Sur, Highway 1, California central coast. 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB, V-12. |
Why now?
1. Yesterday was my 75th birthday. I can live my remaining days with a Ferrari, or without. Every day that goes by without a Ferrari seems somewhat wanting, like a sundae without a cherry on top.
2. If not now, when?
Why not donate the money to a worthwhile cause?
Good thought. I do give plenty to worthwhile causes. The Car uses other money.
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