I’ve graduated the school of mid-engine! At least temporarily, may do a post-doc someday.

The 4C was sold last summer, and due to various life and work reasons I wasn’t able to replace it until now. Suffice to say, the journey towards this point was not an easy one and it has been my single biggest commitment to a car, ever.

The “new” car is a 2002 575M, Argento (silver) Nürburgring paint and Grigio Scuro (dark grey) interior.

As you can see, inaugural gas bill was Yuge.

First impressions are that it’s in much better condition and much better built than my previous Ferrari, a 1998 355 F1 Berlinetta. Part of it is undoubtedly the more modern design and construction (a full front-to-rear tube frame without any detachable subframe), but I also think this car has been treated better. It doesn’t seem to need any cosmetic work at this time. The interior, chassis and suspension are tight and feel like a very new car.

Haven’t driven it much due to work, but for such a big engine, the throttle is VERY touchy at the top of the pedal travel. Parking nose-first I immediately bumped into boxes and water bottles in the garage—this car is best parked rear-in due to the loooooong front end.

It’s also very hard to keep it slow, which you all probably expected. The noise and the torque are very thick and rich. No high pitched scream but it’s definitely musical in a very different way. It sounds more like a Lamborghini than its own successors like the 599 and 812.

See you next year when I possibly emerge from the gaming dungeon

In other news, did a much needed long drive with a car group. 3 hours of twisties from San Jose to Livermore really helped build trust with the 575 proving its good mechanical state. Not a single hiccup, and the clear film kept the rock chips off. Hopefully.

I haven’t had my car for four whole months now. I’m honestly not sure what this will sound like, but hopefully the change is significant given that the entire centre silencer will be removed. Later 575s also got a similar change as stock, but early cars like mine are very quiet even with the Tubi end mufflers.

Lots of videos on 550 exhausts but not a lot on 575s. I suspect that I will be a useful data point soon.

Canada Day, Hong Kong handover anniversary, also my official 575 homecoming day. Everything is finally done for now. Fresh major service, exhaust done, several minor issues fixed and most importantly, registered and street legal after months of sporadic testing. Been at the shop for a whole 4 months.

Strange thing happened, though, bank account seems to be missing a couple of zeroes. Computer glitches are scary!

Boiling wiper fluid for attention:

I've finally gone on some timid drives with the 575--given my experience with the 4C at the more extreme end of sports cars, forgive me for concluding that this big girl is entirely within my expectations.

It's an absolute boat with the suspension in normal mode, which is how I suspect many journalists came to criticise the car's handling in comparison to the 550. I should recall that even the F355 rode very soft by modern standards, but it had the benefit of weighing 900 pounds less.

In Sport mode, the ride and handling behaviour is quite good--you never forget about the fact that the thing weighs nearly two tons (or, as I like to put it, only 200 lbs. less than the Jaaaaaag). But it's willing and ready to crush the corner like a V12 GT car should. The limits feel well beyond what I'm willing to do and the fat 295 rear tires provide appropriate reassurance at all times. The F355’s sport mode did just about nothing to the shocks.

Brake feel is spongy, but since I’m not going for lap times, I’ve been quite easy on them and will withhold further feedback until I’ve had more experience.

Driving position is good—not as perfect as the 4C but much better than the F355. The biggest ergonomic issue is the brake pedal. For some reason Ferrari felt that the lack of a third pedal was a footwell eyesore, so on their F1 cars they enlarged the brake pedal, to the point that it comes too close to the throttle.

What is still intimidating is the horsepower. I've never owned a car this fast, and it just shrinks all the straights that I've ever driven in the past. Whereas in previous cars I could wind it out three gears for the sound, this thing has you at troublesome speeds far too soon. But at least the richly layered orchestra of the V12 provides a compelling soundtrack for you as it cooks your wiper fluid.

On a recent drive we came upon the grisly body recovery of a kid who flew off the mountainside in a BMW. There were now three sets of flowers on that hairpin—three sobering reminders to stay well within your limits, and the limits of a public road. Unless I find myself on a track someday, you will never hear me compare handling with respect to understeer, oversteer or coming even close to grip limits.

Be safe and be well, Oppo! Just upped the donation and also started my new job today. I've never had to acclimate to a Mac before; it's intimidating!

Belated X’mas occurred this morning—wish I was less busy so that I could enjoy the moment more instead of rushing back into work meetings.

First impressions coming later. Car’s got no plates which makes it a cop magnet. Temp permit is stuck in transit due to the snowstorms.

Happy hump day!

Even in California where we don’t have real seasons, some older neighbourhoods have good foliage. I can’t afford these places down the block but uhh pictures are free!

The 575 was also overdue for some glamour shots at home. My umbrella flash setup died last time and I finally got new 12V Lithium batteries for the flash triggers. This gal didn’t want to ride in the car but did agree to help with the pics again.

End of another era.

Been swamped with various things going on in life, so hope all is well on Oppo!

Down at the Garage: Since the car needs work to get it to Amerismog (MOT in Empirespeak) I decided to begin the 5-year major service in parallel.

I seem to have a bad habit of buying old cars due for big ticket items, but the upshot is that it is done to my satisfaction.

I miss the arresting looks of the F355, but not the maintenance. Engine-in service FTW!

@Jan__Bosik I would have liked to keep my first car, and maybe you have better plans than I did, but I ran out of time and space to maintain my B5 VW Passat, which hails from the Dark Ages of VW quality and reliability.

I have so many memories in that car but in the end the money was not the problem. It just had so many issues that it was going back to the shop for problem after problem. If it isn’t something breaking or leaking, then it’s something else wearing out prematurely.

I could see keeping and fixing a reliable car for the long term. Maybe it was my own poor choice in car

I hope yours provides better reliability as you progress through life!

@WBizarre those are Evo 6’s, another one of my favourites!

Lies, the Tucson is not officially sold in Hong Kong

GT's daytime lighting is good enough to fool me now.
Also, Evolution 5 is the baddest looking of all Evos IMO.

Stay safe. Not having a real winter, I’m gonna continue grumbling about the near-freezing temperatures here.

@Long_Voyager94 I should stop doing this (3 for 3 bought blind now), but prices and availability in CA keep me shopping out of state. Perhaps when I replace my XJ with a more normal car I can buy locally.

That looks like a great spec; hope it goes well!

@K-Roll-PorscheTamer Taking care of a thankless family member, especially one who once gave you priceless parental love, can be soul-crushing. And especially because all roads quite certainly lead to the same outcome. Losing agency over your personal life is scary indeed.

I have no advice nor any profoundly comforting words other than to get as much help as you can find and afford, and beyond that just do what you can. Try not to beat yourself up too hard over something that isn't your fault.

Seems like you had already been unknowingly dealing with this problem since the Kinja days, doesn't it.

For whatever it's worth, we're here to try to help you fight the good fight. Whatever decreases your (you and your mom) workload is worth considering.

@Darkbrador imagine that conversation…lmao

@Darkbrador I appreciate the direction of this conversation but none of those models are rear-facing or require an adult human pushing.

No comments on my fancy new murdered-out stroller that lets me face the mums while throwing a tantrum? Sad.