Ferrari Mailing List: Re: This is not a joke. Compare to contemporary cars, how did the 275 GTB Handle.

[Scott Saidel (Ferrarisimo]

FG:

I want a Caterham with and electric motor or a motorcycle engine.  If I had the 
money and garage space I would already be building one.  The 7 is, quite 
possibly, the most elegant frame design that will ever exist.  So simple, so 
light.  They say Colin Chapman built it and then cut off frame rails until it 
collapsed under its own weight - and then put that last rail back.  Don't know 
if that is true, but I do love the story.

As far as the previous conversation, when I say cold, I mean been sitting home 
in the garage and I am first just heading down the street cold.  

The first time I pulled out of Classic in an F40, I got to the the end of the 
ramp that is the driveway at about 15 mph and realized I had NOTHING. I  was 
lucky that no one was coming and I was able to shoot right out into the street 
- because I was not stopping.  I have heard worse stories about people 
"forgetting" the brakes were cold and missing signs and lights - saw the 
resultant damage once.

Once they get even a little warm they are more than adequate and work perfectly 
for "normal" driving.  

Really beaten on - like 8/10 at Sebring or 6/10 at Palm Beach (formerly Moroso) 
- they seem get really hot really fast and don't seem to cool off all that 
well.   They can sponge out more than they should and seem really tough on the 
brake fluid. I've never seen a F40 with the standard brakes that could be 
driven really hard on a tight track without lots of cool down time and brake 
fluid refills after every hot session or two even when running Castrol SRF. 

A minor flaw, and still the very top of my "what would I do if I had SteveJ's 
money" list - but a known and (after my first experience) respected flaw in an 
otherwise stellar package.

Scottie