At Home in Good Company

I was out for a drive in the neighborhood yesterday and tripped over quite the collection of Ferraris parked in the local hotel parking lot. I truly believe that my car looks quite at home with this elite group.
I happened to have my camera with me:
 

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DavidTC

Guest
Guys
As a tipo owner of long standing and a new GT 40 enthusiast it is nice to see the two marques together. It is a myth that Ferrari owners are fair weather people. There is a significant fraction of the ownership who are committed to using their cars whatever the weather; at least in the UK and now apparently in the US. May the friendly rivalry continue !.
Regards
David
 

Pete McCluskey.

Lifetime Supporter
David, an unkind person would say that if you waited for fair weather in England to take your car out you would never
take it out. But I'm not unkind, so I won't say that. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/1poke.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
I think there's no comparison. It's the Ferarri's that look like kit cars. Yours looks more like the real McCoy.

Tod
 

Ron Earp

Admin
[ QUOTE ]
I think there's no comparison. It's the Ferarri's that look like kit cars. Yours looks more like the real McCoy.

Tod

[/ QUOTE ]

Expecially that tarted up F40 or F50, whichever it is. Add on pieces abound on that thing.
 
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DavidTC

Guest
Now now girls, essentially all of the 'fussy bits on an F40 are functional. To some eyes the design is a bit busy but its design mule the 288 GTO Evolution spent a lot of time in a wind tunnel and was really fussy; despite this the 5 or so remaining examples go for really big money. The F40 is still a wonderful track car and is aerodynamically very stable at terminal velocity. Anybody checked a GT40 out a terminal celocity ?
David
 
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DavidTC

Guest
True BUT how far back were they braking and what speed did they carry into the corner. My point is that the F40 represents a significant step forward in aerodynamic design than the GT40 and the 2 decades in between the designs represents a large difference in aerodynamic development.
I agree the F40 looks unflattering from some angles BUT you need a profile shot for direct comparison with the elegance of the GT40 profile.
The race prepared versions of the F40(the ones with the extended front spliter), have been at Le Mans so there must be comparable terminal velocity data at the end of the Mulsanns straight (even with the kink I suspect an F40 would have been faster), and the speed carried into the corner. There must also be lap times that someone will remember. WE already know what happens at Le Mans if you don't have enough downforce at speed and you then hit a bump !.
David
 
[ QUOTE ]
... WE already know what happens at Le Mans if you don't have enough downforce at speed and you then hit a bump !.
David

[/ QUOTE ]

Mr Webber must be thankful for the "significant step forward in aerodynamic design" in the intervening years I guess. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Tim.
 
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DavidTC

Guest
Tim
Agreed BUT its where you get your downforce from that's an issue. One complaint about more modern designs is that they generate a lot of downforce from the design of the undertray. This rapidly disappears if the ride height changes (hitting a bump would constitute a change in ride height 1). By contrast body mounted wings still generate a lot of downforce in such circumstances. The modern trend in fast exotics is to simplify the body contour and rely on the undertray venturis to provide a substantial part of the downforce at speed. This is often done with fairly flimsy surfaces and can lead to nasty incidents. A Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale whose undertray has come lose at speed is not the sort of car you would like to be in, in such circumstances. The F40 had a reasonable compromise between wing generated down force and downforce generated from a well constructed but not overly elaborate undertray.
David
 
There is no argument that the F40 is a significant step forward in aerodynamic design compared to the GT40, but is that a fair comparison?

As a one-eyed GT40 fan, I would rather say that the GT40 was a significant step forward in aerodynamic design in its day, whereas the F40 just used a conventional aerodynamic design. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
THE FORD THAT BEAT FERRARI...still true after 40 years ...Enzo must have rotored in his grave...Henry too....
 
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