3200 manual or 4200 f1?

davy83

Member
Messages
2,809
If i was making this decision I would ignore all the **** on here and drive them. Buy the one you cannot bear to be without, and if you don't love driving any of them that much then don't buy one at all. The reliability is only proportional to how much you need to drive it, so start by being smitten with the car the rest will follow.
 

Lozzer

Member
Messages
2,280
If i was making this decision I would ignore all the **** on here and drive them. Buy the one you cannot bear to be without, and if you don't love driving any of them that much then don't buy one at all. The reliability is only proportional to how much you need to drive it, so start by being smitten with the car the rest will follow.
Honestly Davy, hand on heart my 3200 has been 100% reliable in the time I've owned it, it has been and still is more reliable than my daily (which need fixing again) , so she's been pushed into service :clapps:
 

CT3200GT

Junior Member
Messages
94
Hi Niko,
The 3200 is a very special car, some parts are difficult to find, needs a specialist mechanic who really knows these cars to service it and it is expensive to maintain. Despite the above when these turbos kick in it is something else, very visceral and raw and the car is stunning inside out. I had mine for 2 and a half years now and I love the car.
The 4200 is a very different, probably more reliable, naturally aspirated Ferrari engine, and not as beautiful as the 3200-no comparison..
So it depends on your taste.
If you go for the 3200 the automatic is very friendly in the city and suits the car generally.
Make sure that there is an expert mechanic that knows these cars to service it, I an sure there will be someone in Athens.
Also by the best you can find, don’t by a cheap 3200, as the cheap ones need a lot of work and work on these cars is usually expensive.
if you go a 4200 , get a gransport

Christos
 

gillis

Junior Member
Messages
77
I use my 4200 as a daily driver. About 20-30k miles per year. I have driven it now about 40k miles. The clutch still feels the same. Lots of highway though.
Expect between 3 and 5k euros maintainance costs annual.
 

flexwing

Member
Messages
256
I've had two facelift 4200 cc,s and both had heater matrix failures. Need to check this out. Both were daily drivers and used in city centre commuting in Edinburgh and the cc gearbox was fine. In fact it works really well.
Recently got a 3200 manual and it is completely different. Proving reliable so far but I do struggle in traffic as you have the combination of a heavy clutch and hair trigger throttle. Makes smooth progress difficult. However, and this is a biggie, it is night and day with regard to driving outside the city. The 3200 is electric with stunning acceleration, massive boost / torque and you need to pay attention! The 4200 has to be revved hard and makes a great noise but is smoother and easier to drive. The 3200 has a far better interior imo.
I guess as a daily driver the 4200 wins but I have a Skoda Fabia daily driver and a 3200 for weekend fun and that works for me!
 

rockits

Member
Messages
9,167
It was an easy decision for me between 3200 and 4200. I don't like turbos and prefer N/A or S/C so the 3200 was never an option for me.

I think the CC really suits the 4200 and F136 engine but can understand if someone wanted a manual.

My 4200 has been 100% reliable but I guess it has only done 4k miles in about 4 years just ticking over 15k miles now.

I'm really happy with a 4200 CC and would buy again no problem. I've had two other 4200's a CC and a manual and preferred the CC. I'm not sure the manual 4200 was the very best example though as was a very cheap car.
 

babel 101

Junior Member
Messages
253
I have heard many things in this post. I would like to give my opinion of some things that have been said:
1) If there are parts of the maserati 3200, another thing is that they are cheap (https://www.eurospares.co.uk/) there are other parts websites.
2) I have driven the 3200 Mannual daily and it works fine
3) When it comes to engine sound it is difficult to choose between the 4200 and the 3200. The maserati 4200 has a very nice high rpm sound but the 3200 has a very good low rpm sound.
4) Regarding engine performance. The 3200 has a lot of pusht thanks to the turbo that the 4200 does not have
5) Aesthetically it is clear that the 3200 is unique
6) I am not a friend of old automatic gearboxes, they are very slow. (the automatic boxes begin to be optimal from the year 2011)


I choose for the 3200 and as a second option 4200 manual (Sorry for my
English)
 

rockits

Member
Messages
9,167
4) Regarding engine performance. The 3200 has a lot of pusht thanks to the turbo that the 4200 does not have

I am not sure there is much difference is there?

The 3200 has 365bhp, 362 lb ft torque, weighs 1590kg so 229bhp/ton.
The 4200 has 385bhp, 333 lb ft torque, weighs 1670kg so 230bhp/ton.

A 3200 might give the perception of being faster with the twin turbos but I suspect in reality a 3200 would be harder to keep the turbos spinning and in the power band. Also a 4200 would be easier for a less skilled driver to extract performance than the 3200. Also a CC would be much easier to driver faster than the manual 3200.

It is personal choice at the end of the day but I don't think there is much between each car performance wise either way so not sure this is a factor to consider.
 

TimR

Member
Messages
2,654
This thread doesnt seem to have taken it's usual turn...
I didnt have much to ponder. I didnt want a turbo car much as I love the classically styled, as intended Giugiaro 3200, mostly for the iconic rear lights, it wasnt a choice for me.
As for the 4200...I wanted a manual, so again, my choice is made easier and I didnt seriously consider anything later than a 4200....
What Im saying here is that if it.s a CC that you are contemplating,,,,the forum usually shouts in unison that the Gransport is a much better car then the 4200 despite its the same power plant and gearbox system....
Someone had to say it- not sure why its me if im honest..Probably been reading too many "Collecting Cars" adverts...? :oops:
 

rs48635

Member
Messages
3,181
I am not sure there is much difference is there?

The 3200 has 365bhp, 362 lb ft torque, weighs 1590kg so 229bhp/ton.
The 4200 has 385bhp, 333 lb ft torque, weighs 1670kg so 230bhp/ton.

A 3200 might give the perception of being faster with the twin turbos but I suspect in reality a 3200 would be harder to keep the turbos spinning and in the power band. Also a 4200 would be easier for a less skilled driver to extract performance than the 3200. Also a CC would be much easier to driver faster than the manual 3200.

It is personal choice at the end of the day but I don't think there is much between each car performance wise either way so not sure this is a factor to consider.
On paper they seem a similar performance.
Let my mate drive the 3200 GT AC manual. He has SMG M3 and raced mx5. The smile on his face was something else. Clearly the delivery of the power is significant and when poured over the recipient in leather lined luxury is a different thing than the German can muster.
Not driven the 4200 but have 2006 QPV. I love love love the sound and urge from 5000 to 7500 rpm. Only get to use this in 2nd gear and still approach the national speed limit. The 3200 elastic fantastic ride can be at any speed and almost any gear.
To be fair my 3200 is not on the road just now.
 

rockits

Member
Messages
9,167
Agreed there is a huge smile and special feel difference to any BMW. I too love the free revving nature of the F136 engine.

There is a huge difference to me between the 4200/GS and the QPV 4.2 with the same engine in performance terms. Anything 0-60 of 5 secs or lower to me feels fast. The 4200/GS feels fast. The QPV 4.2 doesn't feel fast. That small difference in reality as a massive difference in performance. I am guessing a QPV 4.7 would address that as a heavier QPV needs those extra horses.

I had a 987 Boxster 3.2 S circa 5.5 secs to 60. It was a car you could drive fast but did it feel fast? No.
 

rs48635

Member
Messages
3,181
Agreed there is a huge smile and special feel difference to any BMW. I too love the free revving nature of the F136 engine.

There is a huge difference to me between the 4200/GS and the QPV 4.2 with the same engine in performance terms. Anything 0-60 of 5 secs or lower to me feels fast. The 4200/GS feels fast. The QPV 4.2 doesn't feel fast. That small difference in reality as a massive difference in performance. I am guessing a QPV 4.7 would address that as a heavier QPV needs those extra horses.

I had a 987 Boxster 3.2 S circa 5.5 secs to 60. It was a car you could drive fast but did it feel fast? No.
Hmmmmmm. maybe Need to try the 4200 now. Would have to be the Spyder though, to amen it different to the other coupe.
And for the noise and blue skies. :D
 

rockits

Member
Messages
9,167
I think you have to try all options. You may find you prefer one you didn't think you would and vice versa. Paper and stats only go so far. These machines make sense less to the head and more to the heart and for that it needs to be physical not virtual to experience.
 

Twinspark

Member
Messages
460
All I can say is ten years back the 3200 with its biturbo V8 would be an outlier as everything had an NA engine.

Now an NA performance engine is a rarity, this is where the 4200 shines although not to discredit the 3200 engine it’s probably real fun to drive.
 

davy83

Member
Messages
2,809
I am not sure there is much difference is there?

The 3200 has 365bhp, 362 lb ft torque, weighs 1590kg so 229bhp/ton.
The 4200 has 385bhp, 333 lb ft torque, weighs 1670kg so 230bhp/ton.

A 3200 might give the perception of being faster with the twin turbos but I suspect in reality a 3200 would be harder to keep the turbos spinning and in the power band. Also a 4200 would be easier for a less skilled driver to extract performance than the 3200. Also a CC would be much easier to driver faster than the manual 3200.

It is personal choice at the end of the day but I don't think there is much between each car performance wise either way so not sure this is a factor to consider.
It is also worth seeing if you can find the odd thread on here where people have shared rolling road reports. I have seen 3 3200 rolling road reports and they were all between 405 and 420 HP nowhere near the 370 the book states. It might explain why it feels like it does!! just a thought.
 

babel 101

Junior Member
Messages
253
It is also worth seeing if you can find the odd thread on here where people have shared rolling road reports. I have seen 3 3200 rolling road reports and they were all between 405 and 420 HP nowhere near the 370 the book states. It might explain why it feels like it does!! just a thought.
Are this the answer?