James May
James and the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti
I often think the world would be a better place if it had a lot less Ferrari in it. Not the cars - there aren't actually that many of them - but the jackets, the hats, the pens, the radios, the hold-alls and the Maranello condoms. I may have made up the bit about the condoms.
The wallet, the scarf, the desk ornament in the shape of a gearstick, the Michael Schumacher commemorative podium leap statuette (not making that bit up) - you can even buy a Ferrari barbecue.
Compare this with the merchandise on offer from Bristol Cars of Kensington. At ‘B isto Cars', as the dicky neon signage often proclaims, one may buy a Bristol car (and that's all). And you can only do that if the gaffer likes the look of you.
Meanwhile, you need only slide behind the wheel of Maranello's finest, fondle the leather-clad wheel, glance at the evocative cavalino rampante motif on the speedo and savour the olfactory delight of the archetype of supercar artisanship to remind yourself that the world does not offer a richer seam of prancing horseshit than is found in the topic of Scuderia bloody Ferrari.
This is what worries me. If I drive one, people might think I believe all this Bolognese.
Now then. I have driven the 612 before, at its introduction, but only around the back streets within spine-tingling earshot of the historic Fiorano, etc. etc. etc. This time, though, I had it for real.
And if I may be picky - and I believe I may at £185,000 - I still don't like the feel of the toggle switches on the dashboard, or the chunkiness of the ventilation controls, or the simple fact that the fuel gauge is a vertical stack of electro-luminescent bars instead of a proper dial. I just don't trust anything wired up that far south of Stuttgart.
I should also point out that the ride is a little bit unseemly at low speed, that the paddle gearbox still doesn't perform that remarkably in auto mode but works rather well during manual shifting, and that there's a pointless button to make it work less well, if that's what you fancy. But that's about it. This is a truly fabulous car.
"It looks truly modern, is undeniably cool, and has an enticing name that the plebs can’t pronounce"
In fact, it's now my fave Fezza. For a start, it looks truly modern, is undeniably cool, and has an enticing name that the plebs can't pronounce (like Belvoir Castle or, for that matter, Cinquecento). In Scaglietti, in case anyone asks, the ‘g' all but disappears. The car is named after the godfather of Ferrari coach-builders, and that's much less pretentious than naming it after Enzo's favourite restaurant, or whatever else it is they do.
It's an undeniably indulgent beast, being a pretty massive car with not a great deal of space inside, but that's absolutely fine by me. If I've paid that much for my wheels, I don't want people thinking they can just get in the back without so much as a by your leave, or anything like that.
The engine is at the front (where aficionados will tell you it should be), and the number of cylinders is a multiple of six (ditto). This sort of thing makes me feel good, like knowing there's beer in the house, and I feel smug as I nose the 612 out among the proletariat tinsel on the A5.
I absolutely adored this car, but had trouble putting my finger on exactly what it was that made it so intoxicating. Of course it's fast, but so's a Subaru Impreza. Of course it's svelte, but so is a Jaguar XK. Every obvious attribute of this car could be found somewhere else, but in the 612 the effect was just better.
After a while, I began to suspect what it was that I liked. For a start, and even though the Scaglietti is to my mind a wonderful piece of design, no one really noticed it. It was just a long-nosed car in a gentle thermos-flask blue driving along.
The engine is magnificent and feels as though it's being fuelled with Cornish clotted cream, but instead of the snap and crackle we know from the exhaust of the V8 cars, this one emits only a faint bark, like the timely ahem of a discreet butler. I doubt anyone else even noticed it, but from inside it's just enough to trigger a faint tingle. There's none of that Mantovani switch malarkey, just a tractable 12-pot dollop of Italian piston power surging away up front. It's a proper GT car: one in which the front bumper arrives at your destination notably earlier than you do.
And that's what this Ferrari is all about - it's not for showing off, there's no sense that you need to know about great overtaking manoeuvres from a GP in 1975, and no suggestion that its driver would ever be seen in anything like a hat. It's a rare thing in supercars; it's grown up. And, these days, so am I.
I therefore like to believe it suits me.
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is it just me or does the 612 look like the 599 just with differnt rear lights? also does james really have a ferrari 612?
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I believe, and it's only a hunch, that the 612 scaglietti will become one of those immortal classics. I mean, think about it, it's a true dinosaur, massive engine, massive price tag, massive everything....and it's not a spleen strecher like the enzo or the F430 Scuderia. It's a GT car...Thats what the Daytona was 40 years ago.
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I think the 456 is a prettier car, but has not held its value well. Better to save the cash and have a quattroporte...having a 612 would be like chucking money down the toilet. I'd also have been happier if they saved the scaglietti name to bring out a modern version of one of the glorious scaglietti spyders from the 50's rather than that lump.
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I have just bought a second hand 612 and cannot wait to take delivery next week. I think James is completely correct in his analysis of the 612 - it is a supercar that does not scream out for attention. The GTS package is a must, though: the sound from the exhaust system is simply sensational.
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I too agree with James there my Fave Ferrari
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Definitely. Even if it's probably not the best performing of Ferraris, it is definitely the most sophisticated because it is very expensive yet not shouty, and the few people who would recognize one when they saw one know it is a noble car.
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In my opinion the best Ferrari at the moment. And I really think it suits James.
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I always liked the GT Ferrari's. Not necessarily for the way they look or perform, but for the same reason James likes the 612. They're grown up. A 355/360/430 is always a bit flash. I always feel that 355/360/430 drivers want everybody to know that they are driving a Ferrari. That may not be true, but it is the image these cars have. I think this mainly caused by the people who drive them; footballers, movie stars with enormous sunglasses (even when it's dark en rainy) and spoiled lazy cocks spending daddy's money. So even if you're a hard working Ferrari fanatic who appreciates what a brilliant piece of engineering it is, you will look like a snob. The 612 doesn't have that problem; footballers don't buy it and therefore you can drive it without losing your dignity.
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Real shame this commenting system doesn't have an edit button, because now you can see I'm Dutch and wrote "en" instead of "and" in the fifth line of my previous post.
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Same. My numerous italianisms make me sound like a deuce. Still great car.
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once when I was in singapore airport, I saw NICI ferrari keyrings, bookmarks, phonecharmthingies, and also a ferarri shop that had remote controlled models, tshirts, hats, etc. Never actually saw the real thing the entire time I was there. Pity.
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I think it suit's you, James! It has SatNav 'anti-lost' feature... The Fezza 612 was cool for cruising around Europe country roads, and can beat public transport like you guys done it couple of years ago. But here in Indonesia, the car was rubbish. Although some Indonesian people can buy it, but it can't used for daily use, or may be cruising around Indonesian bumpy road and also lack of 98 RON of fuel on every fuel station. So for me, to enjoying such fezza is just admiring the picture and your review in Top Gear show...
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james, it probably does suit u. BUT dont cut your hair, I just found out it looks Even worse lkke that, even that is almost inhumanly impossible. I hate busses. I keep coughing cuz I ran past one without holding my nose.
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Thank goodness someone else likes it too. I get so much stick when I tell friends it's my favourite Ferrari. And definitely a gentleman's car, so it is a Captain Slow Special.
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550 marinello is the only and the best ferrari ever made
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Personally I think the 599 is a more complete Ferrari than the 612.
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James, not being one who can comment much on the Fezza itself I do agree with you about the merchandise (says someone who owns a Ferrari hat, but then that was given to me). This is also like what you guys said during the last series about brand items, how much was that Alfa Romeo bottle of wine again? £50 just because it had the Alfa logo on it? Also during another series their was a mention about the Ferrari owner's club with people who just wear the merchandise, but don't actually own Ferraris. As for Bristols, can't you just get someone to buy you one on your behalf?
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I'd love to know how much PeterG paid for his!
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Fantastic car, I'm glad they got James to review it, he's not as slow as the others make out- lol! I'd have like to have seen some pics though, Ferraris & James May- GORGEOUS!!!
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Open Car Bar
Oliv3r commented on this article
26 February 2009
i think the 612 Scaglietti and the F430 Scuderia are benchmarks for all the future ferraris
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