Anybody seen the Ferrari 250 GTO clip on Petrolicious?

The one with Derek Hill driving his Dad's car up a hill and back.

Ken Purdy once wrote, in comparing a Ferrari with a Corvette, that "A windshield wiper arm can fall off a Ferrari too," or, in other words, that having parts handy when you need them should factor into your purchase decision.

Well, when Derek gets up to a nice speed in the Ferrari, the wiper doesn't have to FALL off because it LIFTS off, completely losing contact with the windshield.

Say what you want about soulless modern appliances, but at least you can drive them in the rain and not die because you can't see the road.

Stealthtercel wrote: The one with Derek Hill driving his Dad's car up a hill and back. Ken Purdy once wrote, in comparing a Ferrari with a Corvette, that "A windshield wiper arm can fall off a Ferrari too," or, in other words, that having parts handy when you need them should factor into your purchase decision. Well, when Derek gets up to a nice speed in the Ferrari, the wiper doesn't have to FALL off because it LIFTS off, completely losing contact with the windshield. Say what you want about soulless modern appliances, but at least you can drive them in the rain and not die because you can't see the road.

I had a Volvo 1800S that did that @ about 70-75.... But back then...(165SR/15) you didn't usually drive much over 65-70 when it rained....

Stealthtercel wrote: Say what you want about soulless modern appliances, but at least you can drive them in the rain and not die because you can't see the road.

Boring.

Rare to see anything that expensive being driven hard enough to require a little countersteer. I enjoyed the clip!

I would rather drive the more "interesting" car and put up with its quirks.

Watched it. Listened to it. Loved it!

The most striking thing to me is how rare decent quality audio of the old Colombo V12's being properly driven are. That alone makes this video a gem! Now I just need to figure out how save the audio, clip out a particularly enjoyable appropriate length segment of it, and convert it into a ring tone.

In reply to Driven5:

Petrolicious released one when the clip first came out (2?) years ago. It looks like it was lost in their website make-over. I had it set as my ring tone for a long time.

Are you using apple or android product? I might be able to find it for you on my old phone (android).

About a decade ago I was at Lime Rock Park for the Vintage Festival & they let this car out for one extra practice lap, by itself. It was quite eargastic to hear that tiny engine sing.

In reply to pushrod36:

Android, please!

Haven't seen it. Linky, please?

Stealthtercel wrote: ....Well, when Derek gets up to a nice speed in the Ferrari, the wiper doesn't have to FALL off because it LIFTS off, completely losing contact with the windshield. Say what you want about soulless modern appliances, but at least you can drive them in the rain and not die because you can't see the road.

If you are driving a 64 Ferrari fast enough in the rain to lift the wipers, you should probably slow the F down!!

Being able to drive a modern BMW at 100 mph in the rain and feel safe is likely not really a good thing. I always think a similar thing when someone talks about how great the headlights are on some cars... so you can drive that much faster in pitch darkness? Good thing?

Making someone feel safe in a car is one of the worst things you can do for car safety (good for selling cars though).

I remember reading that the inventor of the air bag said that they'd have more success at making people drive safer if they'd instead put a spike on the steering wheel...

I for one think we should carpet the gas pedal with needles infected with plague and thus continue advancing this wonderful line of discourse!

kb58 wrote: I remember reading that the inventor of the air bag said that they'd have more success at making people drive safer if they'd instead put a spike on the steering wheel...

That might explain why the original airbags were good at killing people.

RealMiniParker wrote: Haven't seen it. Linky, please?

Yeah, how do we have a thread this long with no link yet? I even googled petrolicious and watched a different v12 video because of this thread, but didn't have the time to search for this one.

Edit: if you can't solve your own dang problems you shouldn't complain - I guess I need to do more solving and less complaining

https://youtu.be/ewQaikxTUJs

Edit again: no rain in that video, probably not the right one. I should go back to complaining.

In reply to Robbie:

Thanks for trying, mate. I wasn't complaining, rather, I was just lazy.

Vigo wrote: I for one think we should carpet the gas pedal with needles infected with plague and thus continue advancing this wonderful line of discourse!

And he's driving a car with a rollbar WITHOUT wearing a helmet! OMG! He's going to DIE!

OP never said it was raining in the vid, just that the wiper lifted. Happened all the time on my 240Z when it got over XX or maybe XXX mph.

Vigo wrote: I for one think we should carpet the gas pedal with needles infected with plague and thus continue advancing this wonderful line of discourse!

I am not sure why you guys are trying to make this so contentious. Did you not notice the in my post? (e.g. no offence / accusations intended). I did not notice any in yours, so I can only assume it is intended to be accusatory that I am somehow talking inappropriately.

To restate my original contention: If you drove an early 60's Ferrari, in the rain, on bias ply tires (as it would have when it was built), to the speed that is required to lift the wipers (still do not know what that is... no video, but it's has to be pretty fast) I am very suspicious you would be very well terrified before you got to that point. Thus... the design is not a terrible as you may assume.

In reply to Robbie:

7 Minutes of Pure Ferrari 250 GTO Hillclimb Bliss

If you drove an early 60's Ferrari, in the rain, on bias ply tires (as it would have when it was built), to the speed that is required to lift the wipers (still do not know what that is... no video, but it's has to be pretty fast) I am very suspicious you would be very well terrified before you got to that point. Thus... the design is not a terrible as you may assume.

I agree with you, but my annoyance lies in the line of thinking that says safety features make people behave more unsafely. Go very far down that hole and it quickly dead ends into silly and completely impractical ideas. I am all for more driver training, but removing safety features is a total non-starter, so when i see thinking that seems to head in that direction i tend to get sarcastic.

Driven5 wrote: In reply to pushrod36: Android, please!

What did I say wrong?

That's what rainx is for, the faster you go the better it works!

I know I'm kinda late getting back to my own party, but... Yes, I agree that if I get wiper lift in my 64 Ferrari in the rain I should probably slow the F down. Good point. I think what I was thinking in the OP was something along the lines of, "Exhaust note to die for, fantastic car generally, but c'mon, Commendatore, what would it cost to put a stronger spring on the wiper arm?" As for headlights, I read somewhere that most people overdrive their headlights, and I fully believe it. Hell, I'm sure I'm a chronic offender. If you give me better headlights, I'm pretty sure my speed won't increase much, but my safety will, so bring it on. Case in point, the rented Corolla we had two weeks ago with LED low beams: fantastic lights for their intended purpose, wide and bright and perfectly controlled. Good one, Toyota.

Vigo wrote: ...but removing safety features is a total non-starter, so when i see thinking that seems to head in that direction i tend to get sarcastic.

I am not really talking about removing safety features, just the fact that when people feel safe driving, or capable of doing more, it could be more dangerous. Kind of guessing with the lights thing, so maybe in that case it does not encourage faster driving.

For the Ferrari, VERY nice sounds. I am almost a bit sad though to think that most are just sitting in garages and never experience what is shown in the video. I guess there are few, but those cars are clearly meant to do what is shown in the video. If I was a rich dude, I would abuse the hell out of a car like that!! It appears to like it.