Air_and_Water, truer words never said. Ferrari's road cars sold strictly to playboys and girls, half of whom, in the '50s, also considered dreck like Buick Skylarks, Cadillac Eldorados, Oldsmobile Fiestas, Packard Caribbeans; it was strictly wanting to, as the English put it, "cut a dash." They used the same instrument panel switches as Fiats long before Fiat took over Ferrari, none of Enzo's road cars rustproofed; strictly spin offs for jet setters who had to have the latest thing, only to move on after a couple years.
A friend owns a '63 Lusso. There isn't much to it other than its high revving sohc V-12, it sorely needing a fifth (overdrive) gear. The most notable thing about it, other than helping Maranello's racing efforts, is the '67 Camaro copied its body, just as the '55 Chevy aped Ferrari's grille.
Are Ferrari's road cars then and since fun to drive? Or course. But so are XK Jags and others with more low speed torque, lacking the drama of high rpm. So now we've got Ferrari SUVs, just like Porsche for decades has sold handbags and sunglasses. Some salute any and everything run up the flagpole, without knowing why. Marque allegiance is comical as people rooting for a given city's collection of free agent ballplayers.
Absolutely. Enzo would've sold toasters had they funded his true love, racing. The same might be said for Ettore Bugatti. Ralph Stein and others experienced with both reported Alfa's street cars had the same performance but were more reliable.
According to Griff Borgeson, the wealthy young Count Felice Trossi,
president of Enzo's Alfa-Romeo racing team, Scuderia Ferrari, from 1932-on, long familiar with Alfas, Bugattis, and supercharged S series Mercedes -- you've probably seen Trossi's gleaming black SSK boat tail speedster -- was taken with Packard's new V-12 in 1932. Borgeson recounted:
"The combination of marvelous performance, along with safety, luxury, and
comfort brought about Trossi's enduring conversion to that marque and model. He began collecting them, buying at least two or three a year, each custom body more lavish than the last."
The count commuted the 171 miles separating his Biella home from Scuderia
Ferrari in Modena in these Packards, Borgeson reporting that "the bravura
with which he drove them is the stuff of legend." These 1932-39 Packard Twelves are what inspired Enzo Ferrari's and Gioacchino Columbo's premiere 1947 V-12.
The two marques "commanding Ferrari's intense interest," continued Borgeson, were Packard and Bugatti. If you want to know from where Ferrari drew his prancing horse imagery, recall Bugatti's love of "pur sang horse-flesh." Ettore Bugatti preferred a Packard Eight for long trips across the continent to his own road cars.
Skip the marketing and buff articles; note what the principals themselves drove. You may've sat in or driven a DeLorean. They are unusable by anyone taller than 5"11 or 6 feet. John DeLorean was 6' 4".
Meanwhile, a luxe marque can always sell a junior or more popularly priced model, but it's rare that a premium badge launched by a mass producer has cachet and succeeds. Toyota wisely marketed Lexus as a new brand.
We could make snarky remarks as to why anyone would want an SUV or "crossover" in the first place. My girlfriend thinks the latter look like wheeled hamsters in heat, regardless Nissan, Ferrari or Rolls-Royce. She drives a slick little dohc Miata, a premium and very real sports car regardless price.
