I won't soon forget last night's drive in our Ferrari 308 GTSi. I was in a good mood, the 308 had a full tank of gas (I'd made sure of it the day before, twisting and turning the pump every which way to ensure a complete fill), and the night was refreshingly cool. We went for a drive up the coast.
Traffic was light, but the Ferrari got noticed anyway, mainly by an aggressive guy in a 997 911. Obviously, I'd have had no chance of keeping up if he laid into the throttle, but he hung around, no doubt enjoying the car's body lines and the happy sounds it makes following a properly executed heel-and-toe downshift. And that gets at one of things I like about this car: Smooth shifts are all your doing. You're not relying on fancy electronics to help you out.
Later, after the 911 had gone, I let the engine rev to its 7,800-rpm redline before shifting up. I know this isn't a quick car by today's standards, but there's still a definite sense of speed. And the sounds, of course, are one of a kind. The powerband is special, too. There aren't many engines left on production cars that peak like this -- the V8 feels something like the inline six in our E46 M3 but takes a more meandering path.
The steering has some play in it on-center and I chipped away at it as we sped south on Pacific Coast Highway. But when I added a few degrees of input for a sweeping turn, it immediately felt better -- just the right weighting, because it's all natural. So this is the joy of manual steering. I've also decided I like the brakes on this car. You push harder than you do on a modern car. But the pedal feel is really quite good.
After my drive, I saw that I'd put on 50 miles and the fuel gauge needle had ticked down to the 3/4 mark. "Really?" I said to the car. "No, just kidding," said the Ferrari and the needle wavered crazily, almost returning to the "F." Life with a real-live old exotic, right?
Erin Riches, Senior Editor @ 53,553 miles
After my drive, I saw that I'd put on 50 miles and the fuel gauge needle had ticked down to the 3/4 mark. "Really?" I said to the car. "No, just kidding," said the Ferrari and the needle wavered crazily, almost returning to the "F." Life with a real-live old exotic, right?
Erin Riches, Senior Editor @ 53,553 miles
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