"Generation Gap"
"That is one beautiful car," Kara and Michele both said at the same time, though their respective attention lay in opposite directions as they stood on the 10th green of the Le Madione Golf Club on the northern coast of Sicily, about an hour's drive east of Palermo, and home of the 2006 Concorso Italiano, which gathered some of the finest examples of Italian exotic motoring going back to the 1950s. Here you could find cars from established marques like Ferrari, Maserati, Alfa Romeo and Lamborghini rubbing fenders with vehicles from newcomers like Pagani and Fornasari.
For Kara, her gaze gravitated to a Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, the newest flagship of the Ferrari motorcar stable, seeing it's first light of day prior to its global debut at the Salon International de l'Auto in Geneva. The curvaceous form clad in Gray Titanium paint over aluminum panels channeled air around the car and presented the minimal amount of resistance.
Michele's eyes also roamed over curves, here executed in steel covered in a black paint so deep that Michele thought if a leaf fell on it there would be ripples. Though the design reflected the cruder aerodynamic modeling tools of it's day, the Ferrari 365 still looked very rakish, especially with the roof off as was the case with the GTS/4 Spyder sitting before Michele.
When it launched in 1968, the Ferrari 365 GTB/4 did not exactly set the hearts of the tifosi aflame. Possessing an engine in the front when Lamborghini and DeTomaso had just released mid-engine cars and built on a traditional ladder-type frame, many saw the car as being a throwback to an earlier age and out of step with the times. Only later did the car, more commonly referred to as the "Daytona" in celebration of Ferrari's 1-2-3 finish at the 1967 24 Hours of Daytona, start to garner the attention, then appreciation and finally the dollars of the Collector Car market.
"It's thirty-five years old," Kara sniffed, looking at the placard, which showed it being a 1971 model.
"It's a classic," Michele replied. "It's worth well over twice that 599."
"It's still ancient," Kara quipped.
"It's younger than I am," Michele noted.
"Well you're ancient, too, but I love you anyway," Kara replied with an impish grin as she gave him a peck on the cheek. She turned back to the 599. "These are the specs of a real car. 6.0L V12. 456 kW. 607 N-m of torque. 6-speed sequential transmission—"
"And more computers than Google's campus," Michele cut in. "You don't actually drive that car, Kara. The steering wheel and throttle are just input devices, telling the car's computers where you want to go at what speed. There is no real connection between you and the car. The computers calculate the steering angle and throttle position and the rebound of the suspension and everything else. And if they think you're too reckless, they intervene with traction and stability control systems."
He turned back to the Daytona. "You drive this car, Kara. It requires effort on the part of the person behind the wheel. A throttle cable linkage controls how much power the V12 produces. And there is no traction or stability control to save you if you are too heavy-footed. A five-speed manual in a gated shifter with an honest to goodness foot-operated clutch means you decide when to change gears, not a computer. And look at that interior – hand-stitched fine leather…aluminum…wool carpeting."
"The 599 has leather," Kara stated, pointing to the tan and black hides wrapped around carbon fiber frames. "And it's fast. Zero to 100 in 4 seconds and a top speed of 330. The 575M gets around the Top Gear test track in 1:27 so I bet the 599 can knock at least a few seconds off that."
"God knows I've corrupted you when it comes to speed, but seriously, Kara, there is more to driving than just that. Can't you just see us cruising along the Côte d'Azur from Portofino to Saint-Tropez? I'd be leaning back with my right arm straight out on the wheel in the classic Italian driving style and my left elbow resting on the windowsill, dressed in tan chinos and a white cotton shirt with my sunglasses. You in the passenger seat in a sundress and sunbonnet, melting the hearts of every boy as we motor by at 50km/h."
"Uh…yeah," Kara said. "How about instead we both be wearing our racing suits and I'll be hunched over the wheel of the 599, right foot flat to the firewall as we tear up the Col de Turini above Nice at 150km/h, melting the rear tires, as you read me the coordinates from the sat-nav for the next turn?" she offered.
"You're just too radical, 18-year old daughter," Michele replied with a smile.
"And you're too conservative, 38-year old father," Kara shot back, also with a smile.
They grasped hands and continued on.
"You really think I'd melt boys hearts?" Kara asked as they walked on towards the Alfa Romeo area on the adjacent 14th green.
