Ferrari Mailing List: was TestaRossa now "GT4 La Ferrari è una cosa di bellezza!"

[Robert W. Garven Jr. (rgarven]

All,

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I love the GT4's design. It has  
perfect 360 degree visibility, no blind spots, upright and comfortable  
seating position, a real trunk, a back seat for soft luggage, and very  
easy engine access. I do all my own work so I appreciate the handmade  
craftsmanship and simplicity of the operating systems including the  
distributors and carburetors. I have a thousand pictures of it from  
many different angles, like many Ferraris some angles do not do it  
justice, however I believe that the design has not only aged well but  
looks very fresh today. Parked next to a 360 or 599 it looks very  
small and delicate.

Niki Lauda helped set up and tune the suspension, Enzo Ferrari took a  
major role in its design, even having a mock-up made where he could  
sit in the car to test different steering, pedals and cockpit seating  
positioning. Remember, he loved his son more than anything on earth,  
he put his name on the cars for a reason. I have one of the rare books  
published on the 100th anniversary of Enzo's birth. It mainly has  
pictures of friends and family and yet one of the only cars in the  
book is him standing next to a GT4. I am an aging rocker, but enjoy  
most new technology, however a Ferrari without a gear lever is more  
like a video game to me. The ability to shift a car correctly is a  
art. I can remember no finer moment of time in my life than my drive  
up PCH through Big Sur, I will remember it as long as I live. The  
sound of the exhaust echoing off the cliffs, sliding through the  
corners shifting the gears, the harmony of man and machine as one, on  
a mission to conquer the road before me.

From the cockpit the driver sees only the road, although fenders are  
pretty on the outside they block quite a bit of frontal visibility on  
many exotics cars. On a car that sits this low and goes very fast I  
want as much situational awareness as I can get. This car has perfect  
balance and poise. The GT4 was the only 2+2 Ferrari raced with factory  
support. It was the first V8 Ferrari, one of only two production cars  
designed by Bertone. Marcello Gandini who penned the design also  
designed the Lamborghini Muira, Countach and the Lancia Stratos. The  
design not only grows on you but has many very elegant lines that are  
exceptionally pleasant on closer inspection; such as the air intakes  
for the carburetors, the frontal and overhead view. The actual view of  
the instrument cluster is one of Ferrari's finest. I have an  
acquaintance with a 275 GTB4 who once owned a GT4. I caught him  
looking in my car at the instrument cluster at an event. He told me  
that he forgot how beautiful and functional the layout was. The PO of  
my car was at CI in 2004 where I won a silver, he has had very many  
Ferrari's including 275's, Lusso's, etc. He has a standing offer if I  
ever want to sell the car. He said it was one of his favorites of all  
time, and wished he had not sold it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcello_Gandini

To me this car is a not only a thing of beauty, but a functional tool,  
and like any finely crafted tool, very useful and rewarding in the  
proper hands. My next Ferrari would be a Red/Black 365 GTB4. The sound  
of the front engine V12's is to die for (for me). However I would not  
sell this GT4 for ANY amount of money....I also personally feel that  
once Enzo Ferrari died a line can be drawn in the sand, separating the  
cars he was involved with and those he wasn't. He was like a god to  
me, and my life and house are a shrine to his memory. There are many  
others who feel the same way, they are called Italians!  :-P


Sincerely

Rob "Dino" Garven

P.s. I'd post some pics if someone gives me the specs.


Robert W. Garven Jr.
rgarven [at] gmail.com


 "The Ferrari is a dream - people dream of owning this special  
vehicle and for most people it will remain a dream apart from for  
those lucky few". Enzo Ferrari






On Aug 24, 2009, at 9:06 PM, Mike Fleischer wrote:

> I apologize to those who own one...
>
> Man I just can not feel the Ferrari love for that car.  Its so  
> ugly.  It makes me recall the old Bricklin kit cars from the 70's, a  
> cross between that and a Lotus Esprit, but not the good aspects of  
> either...  I'm sure they sound nice and are fun to drive, I just  
> would not be able to get past looking at it before opening the  
> driver door...  MHO
>
> Now the new Italia, so far from the pics, that thing is beautiful.   
> First Ferrari that was drool worthy to me in a long time (last one  
> was probably the F355, and before that the F40, 328, 512BBi, and so  
> on), the others are lookers, but those ones (as far as modern F cars  
> go) stand out to me.  Also any F car with the engine up front is a  
> waste of time also.   There I said it.  Seriously, so what if the  
> 1950's and 60's cars were front engine?  Those are not even in the  
> same league as anything modern from Maranello.   And I will never  
> ever get the Daytona's popularity, to me its just not that pretty.   
> Miami vice did much better with the TR than that Daytona spider.
>
> Nomex is on,
>
>
>
> Robert W. Garven Jr. wrote:
> > this is a better car
> >
> > http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200376538978&viewitem=&sspagename=ADME%3AB%3ASS%3AUS%3A1123#ht_500wt_1182
> >
> >
> > Robert W. Garven Jr.
> > rgarven [at] gmail.com
> >
> >
> >   "The Ferrari is a dream - people dream of owning this special
> > vehicle and for most people it will remain a dream apart from for
> > those lucky few". Enzo Ferrari
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On Aug 24, 2009, at 10:43 AM, philville dejazzd.com wrote:
> >
> >
> > >   Larry
> > >   Because the Testa Rossas are Ferraris, I love them, I do not
> > >   particularly like them, and, if you look at all iterations of TR
> > > from
> > >   the mid 80's to 1994 there are over 10,000 of them.....needless to
> > > say
> > >   this has some impact on the pricing.
> > >   Also in these days of unstable economics there is a tremendous
> > >   amount of deferred maintenance taking place and the TRs are VERY
> > >   expensive to play catch up with.
> > >
> > >   Having said all of this, I have an 86 TR on my web site, it  
> > > suffers
> > >   from
> > >   (Percieved defferred maintenance) ( yes it needs a belt serv.). it
> > > has
> > >   been owner maintained since 1993/4....every time I see the car and
> > >   think about what it represents and what it can be owned for all
> > > done,
> > >   I ask my self why not just buy it as my long term Ferrari and,
> > >
> > >   1) I do not like black cars
> > >   2) I do not have a burning desire to have a TR
> > >   3) There is no way in Hell that I can justify the cost right now
> > >   4) I need it like another head
> > >
> > >   But when I look at the pics and think about what this car
> > > represents,
> > >   I remind myself why I may do it any way. Besides, it is my opinion
> > >   that over the long haul they will turn out to be very good
> > > investments
> > >   esp. if you value your time/interests as being part of a return.
> > >   Phil
> > >   ----- Original Message -----
> > >   From: LarryT <l02turner [at] comcast.net>
> > >   Date: Monday, August 24, 2009 1:27 pm
> > >   Subject: [Ferrari] TestaRossa
> > >   To: Phil Tegtmeier <philville [at] dejazzd.com>
> > >   Cc: The FerrariList <ferrari [at] ferrarilist.com>
> > >
> > > >    I came across this '88 TestaRossa in a
> > > > "Classic Cars" Autotrader paper showing a nice '88 TestaRossa
> > > > with 24k miles  with a price of $49K.
> > > > That's seems to be a low price for such a supercar.  For
> > > > the cost of a tricked out SUV people could have a true
> > > > Supercar.  I know those are different markets but still,
> > > > what a deal!
> > > >
> > > > http://www.gullwingmotorcars.com/inv.php?action=display&autoID=710
> > > >
> > > >    Or maybe my understanding of the market
> > > > prices of these classic Ferrari's is overstated?
> > > >
> > > > Later ya'll -
> > > > Larry
> > > > .
> > > > OilAnalysis Time?
> > > > Looking for Weber Parts or Porsche Posters?
> > > > www.youroil.net
> > > > .
> > > > _________________________________________________________________
> > > > To unsubscribe or modify your subscription options, please visit:
> > >   http://lists.ferrarilist.com/mailman/options/ferrari/philville%40dejaz
> > >   zd.com
> > >
> > > > Sponsored by BooyahMedia.com
> > > > and F1 Headlines
> > > > http://www.F1Headlines.com/
> > >   Philip "Phil" Tegtmeier
> > >   39 Churchill Drive, Elverson Pa 19520
> > >   610.525.8949
> > >   Save these dates:
> > >   September 12th & 13th  100 Motorcars of Radnor Hunt
> > >   fantastic 2 day event ......www.radnorconcours.org ........
> > >   _________________________________________
> > >   September  the 27th Garden State Ferrari Fall Festival
> > >   __________________________________________
> > >   And of course, go to: ................www.PhilvilleUSA.com
> > > _________________________________________________________________
> > > To unsubscribe or modify your subscription options, please visit:
> > > http://lists.ferrarilist.com/mailman/options/ferrari/rgarven%40gmail.com
> > >
> > > Sponsored by BooyahMedia.com
> > > and F1 Headlines
> > > http://www.F1Headlines.com/
> >
> > _________________________________________________________________
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> >
> > Sponsored by BooyahMedia.com
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