Blog

Short blog posts, journal entries, and random thoughts. Topics include a mix of personal and the world at large. 

Vettel will leave Ferrari

The 2020 Formula One season has yet to turn a single wheel in anger - thanks to the coronavirus - and we are already knee-deep in the ‘silly season’. Yesterday the bombshell dropped that four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel will not renew his contract with Ferrari after the 2020 season; today, the official Scuderia Ferrari twitter account confirmed the news. Lots of cliches can be thrown around, but indeed it marks the end of an era at the famous Italian team, with Ferrari firmly placing their future hopes and aspirations on young Charles LeClerc.

Such is the cruel fate of the sporting world: the young upstart replacing the aged veteran, no matter how many trophies rest on the mantle of the latter.

If Vettel fails to capture the world title this season, it will mark his tenure with Ferrari as somewhat of a disappointment. So much fanfare was made when he made the jump to the Scuderia from Red Bull, bringing with him four consecutive driver championships, and the legacy of one Michael Schumacher, Vettel’s racing idol, whose success with the Maranello squad is stuff of legends. With just over a dozen victories and zero championships in the past four years, the promise brought on by Vettel’s arrival in Italy has yet to be fulfilled.

For sure, the utter dominance of team Mercedes during this current turbo-hybrid era means that the promise of many other drivers and teams throughout the grid were for naught as well. However, Ferrari produced a competitive car in the 2017 and 2018 seasons, but Vettel simply could not deliver. This older Vettel have shown a vulnerability in not reacting well to pressure, famously crashing into wall at the 2018 German Grand Prix, the turning point of his championship battle with Lewis Hamilton. Unlike the young phenom that won four titles with Red Bull, we did not see the same fight in recent seasons from Vettel.

And now his seat at the Scuderia will be vacant after the 2020 season; the drivers musical chairs have begun in earnest. Who will be lucky person to step into such a hallowed seat? Will it be Lewis Hamilton, whose own contract with Mercedes is expiring at the end of the year as well. At which team will Vettel land? A prodigal return to the Red Bull team, perhaps? If Bernie was still in charge of F1, I’d bet he would engineer a move for Vettel to team with Hamilton at Mercedes - it will elevate interest and ratings of F1 instantly, something direly needed right now with the sport suffering from the shutdown affects of COVID-19.

Not the quarantine Market Street.

Why can't we stop at the 458?

It’s the opening week of the Geneva Motor Show, and us car enthusiasts always look towards the annual event with keen interest. It’s the auto show where European sports car manufacturers most often choose as the platform to introduce new products. I still fondly remember laying first eyes on the 991 GT3 when it made its world debut at the 2013 Geneva show, not ever imagining that five short years later, I’d actually own the car.

Indeed I am properly on team Porsche, though we’ve still got some days yet until the latest from Zuffenhausen shows its face. Perhaps the much anticipated 718 GT4 will break cover?

Ferrari chose to release photographs of their newest car ahead of the show, and it’s this, the Ferrari F8 Tributo:

Photo credit: Ferrari

Photo credit: Ferrari

Insane naming convention aside (what is it in ‘tributo’ of, exactly?), the latest V8 Berlinetta from Maranello is easily the most beautiful interpretation since the beloved 360 Modena. Littered allover with design homages to famous Ferrari cars of vintage, the F8 Tributo looks fluid yet intricate, but crucially lacking the odd shapes and extra appendages that have plague modern Ferrari styling. No doubt the order banks will be filled in short order.

I’m actually surprised Ferrari is introducing this “new” car, seeing as the 488 GTB - its predecessor - is not exactly old (debuted in 2015), nor inadequately slow (the earth scorching 488 Pista was only just released last year). Not sure why Ferrari felt the need to do a refresh here: the 488 is already a refresh of the 458 Italia, so this F8 Tributo would be the third update to the same platform/shell that’s been in production for a decade.

I get it, the clientele wants statistically ever faster and better cars. Rival McLaren have come on strong these past eight years, and it’s been heavy punches one after another. There were some early teething troubles, but from the 675LT onwards, McLaren have simply continued the onslaught of world-class super sports cars. With the next-generation car presumably not quite ready yet, the F8 Tributo is the best answer Ferrari can do as of now against the acclaimed 720S.

Unfortunately, it remains a 10 year-old aluminum design against McLaren’s trick carbon tub.

It’s difficult to believe it’s been a decade since the 458 was first produced, and what spectacular specs it had: 4.5-liter, 562 horsepower atmospheric V8 that revs to 9,000 rpm; 0-62 in 3.4 seconds. Those numbers aren’t just great for 2009; they would still be hugely competitive against the contemporary set (certainly faster than my 2015 era 911 GT3). It wouldn’t be the final word in ultimate pace, but is that really necessary? Mid-500s horsepower is plenty for drivers, and no amount of turbochargers can ever compete against the sweet sounding howl of naturally-aspirated engines.

I reckon if Ferrari were able to keep making the 458 today - assuming emissions and safety regulations aren’t barriers, it would sell quite well against the 488 or this new F8 Tributo. Modern super sports cars have gotten so quick and so powerful it’s practically driving a stat-sheet: the limits are far beyond what mere mortals can access on a race track, much less a public road.

Why can’t manufacturers reach a satisfactory formula and simply keep making it? Porsche would sell every 997 GT3 it makes if it continued to produce them today - look at all the pristine used samples selling for big money on Bring a Trailer. Maybe Subaru had the correct strategy all along: they’ve been selling largely the same WRX STI since 2004.

Of course, the arms race has to go on: bigger numbers and faster stats sell cars, so the innovation have to keep pace. The Ferrari F8 Tributo is a but a stop-gap measure before the next-gen platform is ready, most likely with LaFerrari-like hybrid power.

It must be Spring. Soon.

$200K for an E39 M5!?

The annual Monterey Car Week occurred a few weeks back, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t comment on the absurd prices people are paying at the car auctions. A remarkably not so good looking Ferrari 250 GTO got the final gavel at over $48 million dollars, a new world record. If I had that level of spending power, the Ferrari 250 to buy is the 250 GT SWB Berlinetta, a car I consider as the most beautiful Ferrari V12 grand tourer.

Automobiles within the stratosphere of 250 GTO will never lose its value no matter how many miles are put on them, so at least the owner can enjoy it for what it truly is instead of locking it in a climate-controlled box. Should the car be so unfortunate to be wrecked, a hefty personal check to Ferrari Classiche Department and a boat ride to Maranello ought to mend it back to perfection in short order, and not a penny of value would be loss. Rowan Atkinson’s McLaren F1 is still worth the many millions even after suffering a crash costing $1.4 million to fix.

Mr. Bean is absolutely kind of ‘car collector’: someone that drives the cars, potential diminishment of value of damned.

The well-heeled bloke who purchased this pristine 2002 BMW M5 during Monterey Car Week probably isn’t that type of enthusiast. With less than 500 miles on the odometer, the cleanest example of an E39 M5 this side of a BMW museum sold for a head-shaking $176,000 dollars. What an astronomical premium for having delivery miles, especially for a car that isn’t exactly the most limited of productions. Someone out there is for sure keeping a Porsche GT car hermetically sealed in hopes of a superb profit (997.2 GT3 R3 is good bet).

I surmise the buyer of that particular M5 isn’t likely to put substantial miles on it because there’s plenty of solid running E39 M5s for exponentially less money. Even rich people aren’t so cavalier with their money so in paying nearly $200K (after taxes and fees), the buyer is more than likely looking hold as an investment. An M5 is simply not in the same class of cars as the 250 GTO or McLaren F1, so the value plummets as each addition mile is ticked on.

With obviously zero skin in any of these games, I’m merely a casual observer of the peculiarities in the collector’s car market. On principle I’ve got immensely more respect for the collectors that drive their cars, rather than treat them as museum pieces or bonds in the securities market.

Precious metal indeed.

Ferrari building an SUV is not sacrilege

The automotive world is in a tizzy due to reports of Ferrari in serious consideration for producing its first ever SUV. If there's one marque in the world where an SUV would be seen sacrilege by the petrol-head gallery, the Prancing Horse is it. For a company dripping with racing and speed for over 70 years, an SUV, well, simply isn't. I counter that a production Ferrari SUV wouldn't be breaking anything sacred - it actually honors the tradition. 

What's the point of Ferrari as a road-car manufacturer? Back in the early days it sold cars to the public not because Enzo Ferrari wanted to, but rather to finance his lofty racing ambitions. That was the ethos. These days, what are the best money-makers in the automotive world? The sports utility vehicle. Ferrari producing one makes sense - maximize revenue from the road-car business to fund it's racing. Perhaps with an SUV the Scuderia will then have the resources to design a reliable engine for Vettel.  

People griped hard when Porsche first introduced the Cayenne SUV, but without its sales bolstering the company's bottom-line we probably wouldn't get all the delicious GT cars and the 918 Spyder. Even Lamborghini, Ferrari's eternal rival on public roads, will soon have an SUV on sale. It's a business, and there's immense pressure on these publicly traded companies to steer towards the hot item in the market. 

A Ferrari SUV is a complete positive: the extra profits can be diverted back to developing its more sporting road-cars a la Porsche, or pump additional resources into the F1 or GT3 program. Purist need not be alarmed because those with the means and in the know will ignore it entirely and buy the "good" ones.