Ferrari F430 vs. Ford GT

[zit]

on a note of ford classics the capri was one of fords greatest triumphs hopefully one day it will be resureccted , i have had the honour of owning 6 of them 3 2.8 , 1 3.0 , and the 2.8 injection that i sold 2 years ago

[Thunf]

Ferraris image is highrevving engines. Small displacement, highrevving, light engines for the only purpose of trackdriving. And sounds cool. Forget about the engine beeing that great in many more areas! Like how it uses the fuel...

[bleh]

does anyone know how the gt and f430 weigh in? this is probably one other major difference that will effect how the car handles

[LateNightCable]

The GT is listed at 3,400 lbs. and the 430 is a bit lighter at 3,200 lbs. This would account partly for the similar acceleration times, despite the power difference. But it is interesting that they are so close, since mechanically they are quite different.

Thunf mentioned something I was thinking about when someone said that Ferrari builds the best NA engines in the world. Ferrari are indeed masters at creating the most horsepower per displacement, but as we've learned in the very popular Engines thread, "best" can take on very many meanings. What about torque per displacement? Fuel efficiency, reliability, flexibility, cost of maintenance? Ferrari would surely rank fairly low in some of these. And Bleh, I trust reliability would not be an issue with the GT since it's a highly developed $140,000 Ford for one thing, and also being powered by basically a highly modified truck motor, represents one of Ford's more reliable aspects - their truck manufacturing. In the case of the GT, " Built Ford Tough " I think would apply.

* Zit, we had a "Capri" over in the U.S. years ago. But it was basically a Murcury Mustang, and later on took the form of a small two seat convertible.

[bleh]

o i know the ford would be more reliable and its so weird saying that cus every ford my family every owned dogged us out hard.

the difference in weight between the two isnt that great. if it were in the low 2000lb range then yes you can tell a difference when you have a passenger(pretty close to the weight difference). however its in the upper mid-low 3000lb. the difference in the feel of each car would be based sooo much more on how the car is built rather than total weight.

[LateNightCable]

For what it's worth, though handling is direct, the GT driving experiance is said to feel slightly isolated, and less visceral then one might expect. The Ferrari I'm sure feels no way like this. This would be good or bad depending on one's preference.

[bleh]

yea i understand completely. i prefer to feel every bump and all resistance coming through to me.

as i was driving my sisters civic i couldnt help but notice how disconnected i felt with power stearing. i know in my civic the manual rack lets me know exactly what is going on. i need that connection. granted neither is a prime candidate for my sister

so which do you want reliability or becoming one with the car. sorry i couldnt think of any other way to say it

[Speedster25]

It's all about personal preference.

[LateNightCable]

Less in involving than the 430 or not, I'm sure the GT provides plenty of opportunity for the driver to become one with the car. One thing is for sure though, neither one of these cars lacks a pulse .

I think they are fine representations of what their birth nations do best.

[Speedster25]

I can't say anything against either car. I'm both an American yet I am also Italian, but I like Italian cars more. Hence I like the F430 more, yet I like the GT more than the 360.