Buying a used Lamborghini/Ferrari/or other supercar Vs. new 2020 Roadster

[lolachampcar]

Gotta echo the physics related comments.... I drive a sports car for the performance and you can not defy physics. The new Roadster needs that big battery/range to provide the power necessary to extract the acceleration. Battery energy density is no where near that of gas so, in sports cars and aerobatic planes, gas is going to win out. A vast majority of my miles over the past four years have come at the expense of sun hitting my roof but I still enjoy a weekly blast in a 12C. You just can not do that in a 5000lb car (although true tuned torque vectoring may change my mind )

 

[Asymmetry]

Unfortunately, I see them park a really expensive Tesla (model X or P100D) somewhere in the back of the lot with other ordinary cars. So other well known super cars like Lamborghini or Ferrari always get better treatment.

Getting good attention with a super car is just a bonus.

I would say spend a few coin on a psychologist to get to the source of feeling inadequacy at the restaurant.

Problem is there always fancier cars and what if there is a dock and someone parks a private yacht/cruiser, u JLY then? Personally if I had the money I'd go with a Zubr-class LCAC. Doesn't have the right badge but I think I would get attention when parking at the restaurant also great performance for its class.

 

[SouthBayGuy]

There was a time when I told myself I would one day get either a Lamborghini Huracan or Ferrari F430. But as a guy who maintains his own cars, I was not looking forward to working on the mid-engines though. In contrast, I feel the Roadster will be much more reliable and cheaper to maintain.

In addition, I view ICE cars as old technology. And it will feel like that to me if a Roadster where ever to pull up next to me at a stop light in a Huracan or F430. Looks are subjective, but the Roadster would probably be better all other measures. I would have to absolutely love the marque to feel good about getting a nice ICE sports car. For me that would be Porsche 930 or 69 Camaro.

 

[Tes La Ferrari]

There was a time when I told myself I would one day get either a Lamborghini Huracan or Ferrari F430. But as a guy who maintains his own cars, I was not looking forward to working on the mid-engines though. In contrast, I feel the Roadster will be much more reliable and cheaper to maintain.

In addition, I view ICE cars as old technology. And it will feel like that to me if a Roadster where ever to pull up next to me at a stop light in a Huracan or F430. Looks are subjective, but the Roadster would probably be better all other measures. I would have to absolutely love the marque to feel good about getting a nice ICE sports car. For me that would be Porsche 930 or 69 Camaro.

Well the F430 or Huracan can theoretically be worked on at home...to some degree. You could do the usual ICE maintenance like oil changes and plugs etc - if you were so inclined. even bigger jobs like a clutch too - and yes it's true that the ev wouldn't need that service - but the likelihood of you replacing your own battery in a Tesla would be slim. Though an engine swap in an ICE is doable for someone who is so inclined.

I go back to the fine swiss watch vs iPhone to tell time as an analogy - nothing wrong with owning both - and for different reasons.

The sound of a Ferrari is absolutely music to the ears of some. To me the big complaint with the 488 is how quiet it is - realtive to a Speciale, or 430. I also love the silence of a Tesla.

If Ferrari is going to be quieter - I'd rather they be electric. The sound is so much a part of the Ferrari experience, much like winding a fine swiss watch and watching all the mechanical bits function through a clear case is for a watch lover.

 

[John W. Ratcliff]

When I first bought my Roadster, after driving ICE sports cars for 35 years, I had a lot of difficulty letting go of the raw experience of shifting gears and the thrill of the roar of the engine.

I actually bought myself a BMW-M3 as a daily driver to help compensate.

However, over the next 10 months of owning the M3, everything I thought I was 'missing' started to become really, really, annoying. Shifting the gears was just a testament to inefficiency. I was shifting the gears trying to achieve maximum torque when my Roadster delivered that to me instantaneously. What used to seem fun/cool instead was just jerking me around and annoying the sh*t out of me. The fact that the M3 was incredibly slower than my Roadster, even though it had over 400 horsepower, was not helping either.

The roar of the engine, which I used to think of as sounding so cool, lost it's appeal too. With my Roadster I can do a 0-60 launch without a sound, not even a chirp of a tire. If I did the same thing in an ICE, I would have every person in a multi-block radius calling the cops to shut down the hot-head racing his car. But, I can launch my Roadster in silence and no one knows but me.

I got rid of the M3 after just 10 months and decided that was the last ICE I would ever own in my life.

I now have a reservation on the new Roadster and I intend for that to be the last sports car I will ever own (I will be 60 when I get it).

 

[SDRick]

Ditto that!

Instant torque in silence is where it's at.
Shifting, noise, inefficiency, using brakes to decelerate, that thrill is gone, long gone!

 

[gregd]

Well said, John!

 

[jaguar36]

I've been driving a Tesla for 4 years now and I still very much miss the roar of the engine, the thrill of shifting it myself, the superior handling of RWD and just the overall substantially lower mass of my last BMW. My P100D will out accelerate everything else out there, and sure that's fun from time to time. The fact that it does it quietly (no its not silent) removes a lot of the excitement of the event for me.

Clutch pedals are sadly gone from modern Ferrari's so that's not even a choice anymore, and while I love the sound of the 458, I would be willing to give it up for the superior motor response of a Tesla. The question for me is going to be the mass of the car and if they are able to hide that well enough to make its handling be even in the same ballpark as a Ferrari. My brain tells me they won't be, but my heart hopes that they'll be able to use some magic (perhaps the thrusters will?) to get around the giant battery pack's mass.

 

[Tes La Ferrari]

I've been driving a Tesla for 4 years now and I still very much miss the roar of the engine, the thrill of shifting it myself, the superior handling of RWD and just the overall substantially lower mass of my last BMW. My P100D will out accelerate everything else out there, and sure that's fun from time to time. The fact that it does it quietly (no its not silent) removes a lot of the excitement of the event for me.

Clutch pedals are sadly gone from modern Ferrari's so that's not even a choice anymore, and while I love the sound of the 458, I would be willing to give it up for the superior motor response of a Tesla.

Try a 3 pedal F430 if you love the 458 sound, or even an F1 for that matter...Amazing sound. The perfect vehicle to compliment a P100D as a daily driver.

 

[92683]

do you want to be flashy or not flashy?

 

[CarlK]

do you want to be flashy or not flashy?

Good point. Every Ferrari or Lambo owner I met has an attitude or at least was given people that perception. No exceptions. Although I did meet an Roadster owner that was pretty arrogant but I would say that's more rare than people who buy those flashy cars.

Disclaimer: I don't mean that's bad if it's your thing.

 

[Nocturnal]

My opinion as a guy who is not in the position yet to buy either....there are a ton of lambos and Ferraris out there, a 2020 roadster is something unique. IMO, those Italian cars also have a stigma that the roadster may not have. (see also Ford GT)

 

[xyeahtony]

Buying a ferrari vs a tesla so your car gets recognized more. lol. and i thought i saw it all.

 

[AustinPowers]

I guess the 'image' of supercars in Europe and US is different. In popular places in UK, the guy in a red supercar that goes 'Brum Brum' and disturbs conversations is universally regarded as a 'dick head'

Same here. Whenever one sees a Ferrari or other supercar, usually with a very young driver, everyone thinks the driver is either a drug dealer, a pimp, a member of the mafia, another type of criminal, or all of the aforementioned at once. Because it is universally known that no one with a legal job can afford one of these supercars, unless he/she has won the lottery or made a fortune with Bitcoins:

 

[Doko]

Same here. Whenever one sees a Ferrari or other supercar, usually with a very young driver, everyone thinks the driver is either a drug dealer, a pimp, a member of the mafia, another type of criminal, or all of the aforementioned at once. Because it is universally known that no one with a legal job can afford one of these supercars, unless he/she has won the lottery or made a fortune with Bitcoins:

Interesting. In Silicon Valley, everyone thinks the driver is just another software engineer.

 

[AustinPowers]

Interesting. In Silicon Valley, everyone thinks the driver is just another software engineer.

Interesting. Come over here to see what our software engineers earn. The ones I know drive Golfs and Passats.

 

[Peteski]

I've never been a Ferrari or Lambo fan, I was always more into Porsche for their less "flashy" image and more practical daily usage. To me the Tesla Roadster is more like a futuristic Porsche and appears to be the direction Porsche themselves are heading in.

My only reservation with the 2020 Roadster is the weight for all that performance and range. It all just seems a bit OTT to win the top trumps game. I suspect a Model 3P will actually be more fun to drive on normal public roads with tight bends etc, which is often the case with conventional supercar giants vs their less extreme siblings. Where I live, very close to the Silverstone GP circuit, supercars are a very regular sight on their way to a track day or event and they really can't shake off a well driven hot hatch on those local roads. They are great driving roads too. Something like a Porsche Cayman GTS is close to the optimum balance of power and agility around here and the Model 3P should be exceptional too. But the 2020 Roadster could be a bit too much of a beast..... still very tempted though!

 

[ICUDoc]

I've never been a Ferrari or Lambo fan, I was always more into Porsche for their less "flashy" image and more practical daily usage. To me the Tesla Roadster is more like a futuristic Porsche and appears to be the direction Porsche themselves are heading in.

I agree totally. Fast and pretty but not crazy like a Lambo or Fazza.
And I agree with the rest of your post, but I just love the 1000k range of the R2020. It just makes petrol-powered cars irrelevant to me (as if my Model S didn't do that already!)

 

[Peteski]

I agree totally. Fast and pretty but not crazy like a Lambo or Fazza.
And I agree with the rest of your post, but I just love the 1000k range of the R2020. It just makes petrol-powered cars irrelevant to me (as if my Model S didn't do that already!)

Totally agree, the new Roadster is going to make a stunning long distance touring car. But I would still like to see one with a smaller battery, even if they just make it a bit smaller. 120 or 130 kWh would be plenty enough range for me and the weight saving would be very significant, regardless of battery tech advances.

 

[jaguar36]

Totally agree, the new Roadster is going to make a stunning long distance touring car. But I would still like to see one with a smaller battery, even if they just make it a bit smaller. 120 or 130 kWh would be plenty enough range for me and the weight saving would be very significant, regardless of battery tech advances.

They need the larger battery size to be able to pull the required power to hit the acceleration targets. The huge range is just a bonus.