Doctor Houx
Member
- Messages
- 792
Thanks Nathan; that’s really insightful stuff!The 8C is great car. It might be a little choppy on Norfolk roads and LHD will be 'fun' on the North Norfolk coast road (it's a big car) but I can put you in touch with the owner of the blue 8C I drove for Auto Italia last year. A different set of tyres works wonders and while Bedfordshire roads are better than Norfolk ones, not by much, and I didn't think it was overly harsh or choppy.
It's not without its flaws – it's not a sportscar, but there's not quite a big enough carrying space for a long-distance sojourn unless you've got a base and thus clothes/stuff waiting for you at the other end.
However, the big thing is how different it feels to the Maseratis it's based on. I remember when Harry did his video on PH member WTFWT's old car with the bespoke dampers, and there was much negative comment that it was just an expensive, impractical GranTurismo.
This isn't my impression at all (well, apart from the impractical bit) – I've driven all the GS and GTs now and the steering feel is much heavier, much more direct than all the GranTurismos – yes, even the MC Straddle. The only one that gets close is the GranSport MC Victory; I stand by the notion the MC Stradale has a softer feel than the GS MCV. The 8C is more direct still. Not to the levels of Ferrari – because that wouldn't be allowed – but a marked difference to the Masers.
Now, I am a bit of an obsessive about steering feel - I personally find it more important than the catch-all term of 'handling' – but the 8C felt rather more towards the TVR end of the spectrum rather than the polished handling nous of, say, an F430 Scuderia and the smooth big-hearted grand tourer in Nikes (GT MC Stradale). I enjoyed it more for that, it felt more exotic than either of the others. You'd hope so for £250,000, obviously.
It is still a heart over head decision - when you can get a Vantage 4.7 V8 with similar power, more space, an equally ahem 'of its time' interior, almost as pretty looks for, er, 15 per cent of the price. ****, an MC Stradale and MC Victory are 95 per cent of the exoticism but with room for four (excluding the two-seat MCs) but for 25-35 per cent of the price.
However... as much as even my fevered Maserati brain would try to funnel me to a GS MCV as the rational irrational choice, given the money, I'd still be lining up to buy the Alfa...
Best of luck with it, and if it does happen let me know so I can come along and dribble over it.
If you've not driven one, it is a very, very, very different experience to an SDP Vanquish (which I've also driven).
I too am really not sure I want another pretty expensive Garage Queen to replace the one I’ve got. The reason I’m selling is because I’ve done all I can with it condition wise, won all the Concours it’s eligible for, and frightened to add mileage or get it wet. I’d be in the same situation with an 8C.
My other school of thought is a much cheaper more useable car and hence a GC Centennial or a manual 360 Spider. Both of those are just £60k ish.
If the latter, then will be asking Bebs what to watch out for as he’s the 360 Guru!