Ferraris are meant to be driven and other miscellaneous thoughts

    There was a time while the printing press was running and pages were flying off to be collated and stapled into the Ferrari Market Letter, Gerald would be furiously typing the front-page article.

    This feels like one of those times.

    It’s Thursday and I am heading to the Chattanooga Motorcar Festival for a weekend of fun-filled events.

    Mecum is holding an auction, there will be various car clubs displaying and on Sunday the street concours showcasing Ferraris.

    This year will also have a large Porsche presence with several famous Porsche racing cars, and it is also a Targa 66 event.

    A full report will be forthcoming, but as Cathy often reminds me this is the FERRARI Market Letter and I should stay with topics related to the market, or history, or Ferrari.

    So, this is going to be a hodgepodge of facts and opinions that may not rise to the level of a full article.

    Contained in this issue are the results from Mecum’s Indianapolis sale. It was there a 1986 black Mondial Cabriolet sold for $22,000!

    This brings up the notion that affordable Ferraris may still be found. It is easy to get wrapped up in million-dollar cars or even multi-hundred-thousand-dollar cars and forget there are models out there to be had on a budget.

    Cheap does not always mean inexpensive. Any maintenance required is going to cost a large percentage of the purchase price but with a salvage title the appreciation factor has already gone out the window.

    What could you do? Drive it, without fear of further depreciation. Enjoy the trip. Sure, its a Mondial, but if you’ve never driven one, the fun factor is really high.

    Put the top down and enjoy the experience. No, it’s not blindingly fast. No, it’s not the ultimate in handling, but while most fear adding miles on, this could easily become a daily beater.

    While we tend to covet the low-mileage, unused, perfect Ferrari, there is something about driving a Prancing Horse-badged automobile that makes our hearts race.

    At the other end of the spectrum, Ferrari plans to launch its first electric supercar in 2025.

    Ferrari predicts 40% of its production will be fully electric by 2030. While that may seem far-fetched it is a mere seven years from now. The 488 GTB and F12 berlinetta were the ‘new’ models seven years ago and we don’t think of those cars as being old. The future is coming soon.

    As you know we track history by serial number. We are now recording VINs in the 300,000 range.

    It took Ferrari forty-six years to cross the 100,000 mark - from 1948 to 1994. Up to the first 75,000 numbers only odd numbers were used. Starting with 75,000, every number, odd and even, was used.

    It is easy to calculate 37,500 odd numbers to 75,000 and 25,000 to 100,000, bringing a total of 62,500 Ferraris to 1994.

    From 1994 to 2014 Ferrari produced another 100,000 serial numbers and it has taken twenty years to accomplish.

    From 2014 until 2023 Ferrari has produced another 100,000 serial numbers taking only nine years. Clearly production is rising.

    Models such as the Portofino, Roma, GTC4Lusso, and now the Purosangue will account for a larger and larger portion of production.

    Which brings me back to the enjoyment of driving your Ferrari. I get why you may not want to put miles on your 812 Competizione, but why not enjoy a daily drive in one of Ferrari’s, dare I say, lesser examples?

    I have recently had the pleasure of driving both a Roma and a GTC4Lusso and feel that the caliber of these cars is comparable to any luxury car from any other manufacturer.

    The owners I have talked to in person have enjoyed the aspect of using their Ferrari daily.

    As we move into the future with electric Ferraris initial resistance will be overcome just like paddle shifting has become the norm. A new younger generation will grow up lusting after the ultimate in automotive technology and Ferrari is meeting that challenge.

    Speaking of challenges, I must express my opinion on the Ferrari market.

    As I review auction results and the Asking Price Index, it appears the market overall is slowing down. We have enjoyed a fairly long, several years, ramp up of prices but lately the sales have been steady but not spectacular.

    Could it be that inflation and the economy is catching up to hurt even the wealthy? High-quality cars will always do well, but when you look further down the line, number two cars are not setting any records.

    Is this a sign? Are people tightening their belt due to the various world troubles? I believe we are in unusual times. Between Ukraine, and now Israel, it would appear there is some fraying around the edges.

    I hope for the future, and that the forces of good can overcome evil. Drive safely!