Ferrari F149 confirmed

[WyleECoyote]

Hmm, A new Front engined Ferrari GT, I wonder if it will have all wheel drive?

Link below to an old story about Ferrari developing a AWD system:
italiaspeed.com: Ferrari

[Ferrer]

Well, as a front engined GT car it could end up a more tempting proposition than either the 599 or 612. It should be lighter and more nimble, and will most likely be cheaper. Choice of either 2 seat or 2+2 is interesting too.

Obviously, it will all depend on how she looks I guess.

Well the F430 costs between 180 and 200k €. The 599 goes for 245k and the 612 for 255k. If it's more costly than the 430 but only has a V8 I wonder who'd choose it against proper V12 engine Ferraris.

By the way, IIRC this will be the first V8 front engined Ferrari, won't it?

I assume he was actually talking about the 308 GT4, which was badged as a Dino, rather than the sexy little 246 Dino. The GT4 certainly wasn't what you would call a great car.

We could technically consider the current F430 still a Dino.

[dydzi]

Interesting. I wonder how this will fit within Ferrari's range.

this'll be the new entry level car. next F430 - F540, will be placed higher; it'll be more hardcore, closer to 430 scuderia in standard. presumably next V12 will be more expensive as well, ferrari has such a high demand they can make it

[NicFromLA]

I've never driven a Ferrari 599 before, but I doubt its ride is worse than an Elise's. I also doubt your "smoother engine" claim in favor of the Elise...given that the Ferrari has a V12 and the Elise has a buzzing 4 BANGER.

The 599's ride is more supple, but because the Elise is lighter when it hits a bump you don't have all that weight moving around. The throttle on the 599 is very sensitive so you need to use it with great care to get anything close to a smooth drive; you can forget about 'nailing it' on public roads ever again. The Toyota VVT-i engine is very smooth and torquey at low rps; at points driving through congested LA streets was actually fun.

[wwgkd]

I'm glad Ferrari aren't making another Dino. Last time they made one, it was so crap, that they badged it as a "Dino" rather than a Ferrari.

But I don't like the idea of it being a GT car... they should make a car smaller than the F430... a true driver's car... more of an Exige, than a DB9. They're making too many GTs... 599, and 612. That means soon, out of the 5 cars they make, 3 will be GT.

I've got to agree. I was disapointed. And it's probably just me but I don't get the problem with midengine that they mentioned. If you only have 2 seats, I don't see any problems and many advantages to the placement.

[Roentgen]

Oh... by the way... doesn't that mean it only has a 1.5 lt engine...? considering the F430 has a 4.3 lt V8, 599 has a 6.0lt V12, and the 612 has a 6.2 lt. V12?

Maybe it has just been coincidental... Don't know... just a thought...

[dydzi]

Oh... by the way... doesn't that mean it only has a 1.5 lt engine...? considering the F430 has a 4.3 lt V8, 599 has a 6.0lt V12, and the 612 has a 6.2 lt. V12?

Maybe it has just been coincidental... Don't know... just a thought...

F149 is the name of the project, like enzo was named F140, 599 GTB was F139 etc

[Ferrer]

Oh... by the way... doesn't that mean it only has a 1.5 lt engine...? considering the F430 has a 4.3 lt V8, 599 has a 6.0lt V12, and the 612 has a 6.2 lt. V12?

Maybe it has just been coincidental... Don't know... just a thought...

And the 612 doesn't have a 6.2-litre V12. It has the old 5.7-litre from the 575M. 612 means 6 litre (sort of) V12 engine.

[Roentgen]

Ah, I see. Mistaken...

[capone]

If it is true that it will be based on the F430 V8 engine with some more tweaks, I'll be interested to see how it will match up with the standard F430 in terms of performance. I can't see the point of making it "slower" than the F430 so I'll assume that Ferrari will make it generally quicker. If so, imagine what the F430 replacement will be like. Crazy!!!

[LandQuail]

Ferrari is, in some ways, confusing their product line-up.

That's Ferrari for you.

'Quail reserves all judgment until he sees something like the finished product, but I doubt the numb-skullery that brought us the Mondial will have presented itself under Ferrari's new leadership. 'Quail expects a great car, though this old bird is a little disappointed to see the price go up.

I really was expecting a Ferrari Exige rival. Turns out, it's going to be another Porsche GT2 rival. C'est la vie, but it's a shame nonetheless.

[dydzi]

now, you wait about 2-3 years for a brand new ferrari to be delievered for you. in some markets, due to little demand it's much shorter, like in egypt - about half a year, but in US or china it's about 4 years. some people are willing to spend much much more money, i remember a story of one chinese that wanted to pay twice the price of 612 for shortening the time of delivery, but he was turned down. it's perfectly understandable ferrari is rising the prices; like last year - they put carbon ceramic brakes in standard for all the lineup (as the first car maker in the world btw), increasing the price for each model for about 2000 euros iirc. i'd say it's that the prices now are too low for the demand, but they need to rise it in more of a diplomatic way

[LeonOfTheDead]

i know () for some facts that:

-the car is based on 430 platform (yes, with a front engine)
-the engine is based on the 430 engine (with direct injection), some extra hp and some less CO2 emissions
-it is a 2+2 cabrio/coupe (metal roof)
-the rear space is like that of a 911 (if you can understand what i mean)
-it uses a new dual-clutch transmission (not the double disc clutch of the new Gran Turismo S)
-multilink suspensions (from my last updates but it was september...i would doubt they change it at this/that point)

for all this reason i understood (with a silence of agreement) it is a little more comfortable than a 430 spyder, of course a little heavier, but from the tests, it appears it was like driving on rails, that were their exact words.

think of a 430 spyder, add a new gearbox and a metal automatic roof...you can figure out what the price would be, more or less...

i guess they will release some kind of pics/rendering a couple of months ahead of the Paris auto show, like they usually do for new cars.

[dydzi]

think of a 430 spyder, add a new gearbox and a metal automatic roof...you can figure out what the price would be, more or less...

Ferrari revieled it'll cost more than an F430

[LeonOfTheDead]

Ferrari revieled it'll cost more than an F430

that's exactly my point, at a 430 (spyder) price you have to add at least the price of this two new "options" so, i'm basing on italian price, if the 430 spyder F1 costs 185k euros, this will likely cost something like 200/205k euros. a scuderia here costs 206k