[NicFromLA]

Do you prefer one company but think the other is better?
- I prefer Ferrari, but Porsche has done a good job of keeping its cars small and usable. Porsche’s work with turbos is also amazing. I don’t necessarily think Porsche is a better company, but it’s done a few things I like better than Ferrari

Which has the better image?
- Let’s face it: there’s a lot of cheeseballs that drive both Porsches and Ferraris. To me the positive image of Ferrari is of an Italian playboy who wears slimcut Prada suits, has excellent footwork and no fear of speed; the negative Ferrari image features a lot of chest hair and gold chains. The positive Porsche imagine involves a driver with nerves of steel, ice in his veins and fears neither autobahn nor mountain road; the negative image is a spoiled housewife driving a turbo with tiptronic to go shopping . . . and then there’s the Cayenne.

Best bang for buck?
- Porsche. Let’s be serious here, Ferraris are really expensive. But not over priced.

Best supercar?
- Ferrari. The 288 GTO? Godlike. The F40? Beyond Godlike. The F50? The styling isn’t holding up but God like to drive. The Enzo? The styling divides opinion but is still God like to drive. Porsche has really only built one Supercar – the Carrera GT, which is God like to drive. Porsche’s other supercars were really all just derivatives of the 911 (that doesn’t mean I don’t love you 959). Ferrari wins, but if Porsche had more Carrera GTs in it’s history it might be a tie.


Tell me your favourite car of each manufacturer:
- Ferrari: 250 California LWB. Porsche: 356A Speedster.

The best cars of each decade (I’m sticking to road cars):
- Ferrari: 50s 250 California, 60s 275 GTB/4, 70s 365 GTC/4, 80s F40, 90s F355 GTB, 00s 575 Marenello. Porsche: 50s 356A Speedster, 60s 911S, 70s Carrera 2.7, 80s 928S, 90s 993 Carrera S, 00s 997 GT3 (pre-facelift).


Which car maker makes prettier cars?
- Ferrari. Ferrari has a litany of gorgeous cars a mile long. The 911 had its ups and downs and frankly most of the company’s best stuff was left on the track.

The best racecar?
- I’m not sure if this is an answerable question, so let me say this: the 250TR is the definitive Ferrari racecar and the 917 is the definitive Porsche racecar, both from a historical perspective.

Who is more successful in racing?
- Ferrari. Ferrari has had a strong F1 program since the 40s AND a strong sports/GT program until the early 70s, Porsche has had a strong sports/GT program since the 40s but has never really had a strong F1 program.

Who was the better company leader, Enzo Ferrari or Ferdinand/Ferry Porsche?
- “Company Leader”? Enzo Ferrari. Engineer? Porsche.

If price was no object what car would you buy form these makers?
- Ferrari: either a 250 California LWB or a 250 Cabriolet Series I. Porsche: 356A Speedster or a 908E. Of more recent cars a Ferrari 612 Scaglietti (it looks good, but not great, but it drives ****ing PHENOMINALLY) and a Carrera GT.

IF price was an object what car would you buy?
- Ferrari: 1988 or 1989 328 GTS. Porsche: 996 coupe or 968 cabriolet.

Don’t get me wrong, I have a lot of love and respect for Porsche, but I feel like they’ve been resting on their laurels for some time now. Here’s a good place to start: If Porsche had built a rally version of the Cayenne first, raced it in Paris to Dakar and won and called the car the Dakar, purists would love it. But instead they highly modified a VW SUV and named it after a chili pepper. The Boxster is a good car until you consider that for 1/3 less money you can buy a BMW M Roadster that will eat the Boxster for breakfast or buy a Lotus Elise and have the best driving experience of your life. And the 911 just keeps getting softer and bigger. Finally, where’s the racing program? The GT3 RSR is getting clobbered and the RS Spyder is only successful in a class intended to test four cylinder engines for hatchbacks. And by the way, it’s not like Porsche doesn’t have the cash to invest in a real racing program – they just don’t care. Because if they cared, two diesel powered cars wouldn’t be fighting it out to win Le Mans.

While I’m the first person to say that the current range of Ferraris is a bit over engined and over sized, the tiny company has the deepest commitment to engineering and building quality products and they don’t compromise. Plus Ferrari’s commitment to F1 is unwavering and they have a pretty nice GT racing program on the side. At the end of the day I’m a Ferrari guy. Because I’m an Italophile, because my father’s a Ferrari guy and because I believe their commitment to their ideals is stronger.



Happy Kitdy? That only took me like an hour to write.