Another Doug with a Ferrari.

"Torque Affair" (torqueaffair)
06/12/2014 at 22:31 • Filed to: ferrari, doug, modena

Guess what? Besides our own beloved Doug DeMuro, I ran into another Doug with a Ferrari 360.

It must be the name "Doug". The Dougs that I've come across seem to be really interesting people (check out Doug DeMuro's interview !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ). They not only have a unique background but also interesting stories to share. Just to be clear, I'm generalizing based on two people only and therefore my conclusion is statistically significant.

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It turns out that the Doug I met (not DeMuro) is actually a genius (Doug DeMuro could be a genius as well, but I wouldn't know). He started taking college classes at an age where I think I was still learning how to multiply numbers. Besides being only a handful of people in the world who writes computer programming languages and compilers, he is a photographer and also a martial arts teacher. I have no idea how gets time to do so much stuff, but I'm certainly glad he took some time to show me his Ferrari. Somehow, Doug is able to live a 40 hour day unlike the rest of us.

I should say that Doug took all the photos in this post which is why they look as awesome as they do. Incidentally, he is a fashion photographer on the side.

Now, his Ferrari 360 Modena is different than your average Modena - not that any Modena could ever really be considered as being average . You see, the original owner of this particular Ferrari asked Ferrari to upgrade it to mostly a Stradale version. If you're not familiar with a Challenge Stradale, it's essentially a track-version of the 360 Modena - similar to what a GT3 is to a Porsche.

The 360 Modena is already amazing but with the Stradale version there are even more upgrades making it closer to an F1 car than any others. For example, Doug's car comes with Scuderia seats, F1 paddle shifters, titanium suspension, carbon ceramic brakes that cost $35K, a lighter and more powerful engine and a host of other small improvements.

In case, you're not sure how this Ferrari is different from a regular 360 Modena, there's a large button that says "RACE". The normal Challenge Stradale is essentially a track car with a stripped down interior and optimized for racing. So, Doug actually has the best of both worlds . Aside from having most of the Stradale upgrades, he doesn't have to deal with having a bare-bones interior. He still has some creature comforts along with the majority of Stradale enhancements. And, of course, the couple of times he has been out to the race track, he has loved it.

All these upgrades help the car get even closer to an F1 car than it already is. In fact, listening to the high-revving V8 reminded me of the amazing exhaust note of the 2013 F1 cars. I really miss the exhaust note of last year's cars which I have talked about !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

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I can say that I have never witnessed a Ferrari scream like this before so it was quite an amazing experience.

Now, I'm sure both Dougs run into this quite a bit. I, personally, have never experienced this because I have never owned anything out of the ordinary.

What happens when you're in a car like this is virtually everyone notices you and your car. There are all kinds of look - wonder, amazement, joy, disgust. There is the occasional terribly disapproving look where it's easy to guess the question that is floating in their head - how could you possibly drive something like this when two billion people on this planet have no access to clean water?

Some people could care less, but the vast majority of people turn their heads and stare for one reason or another. And some of them take pictures on their phones. So if you own a Ferrari, you are probably in many Instagram, Facebook and Twitter pictures.

Even for a 13 year old Ferrari, Doug's Modena looks as stunning as ever and still attracts people of all ages.

Doug's Stradale-upgraded Modena is really rare - about one of five in the world. He has no intention of getting rid of it since he had to fight pretty hard to even get this car. There was a lot of demand for this particular one.

I can now see why there is such a tremendous fascination and respect for Ferraris. If Ferrari can build a car that looks and drives this good after 13 years, then that speaks volumes about what Ferrari can do. Now, all I have to do is figure out how I can own one some day.

I finally understand now why Doug DeMuro loves his car so much.

Check out other posts at !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

DISCUSSION (19)

Manuél Ferrari > Torque Affair
06/12/2014 at 22:38

Now this is one badass 360

Torque Affair > Manuél Ferrari
06/12/2014 at 22:42

I 100% agree.

MAXIMUMVRM > Torque Affair
06/12/2014 at 22:44

so the drive to the house... Nice stallion

Manuél Ferrari > Torque Affair
06/13/2014 at 01:14

Small displacement high-revving V8s sound soooo damn good

Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST) > Torque Affair
06/13/2014 at 01:39

Howdy! Waving hello from Houston here. Awesome read.

Torque Affair > Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST)
06/13/2014 at 08:03

Hey there! Thanks....one of these days I want to check out Cars and Coffee in Houston. I hear it's pretty amazing.

Torque Affair > Manuél Ferrari
06/13/2014 at 08:04

Yea, way different than the muscle car V8s I'm used to.

Manuél Ferrari > Torque Affair
06/13/2014 at 12:54

Mmm V8 muscle cars. Also awesome.

Me gusta V8s

Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST) > Torque Affair
06/13/2014 at 13:02

Well we haven't had the gathering for two months unfortunately. I don't know why. But you should like the C&C page for Houston's section! https://www.facebook.com/coffeeandcars

Maybe you can drop by when they announce the months where the 918, P1, and LaFerrari will be featured. It'll be cooler if they announce them as showing up altogether for one month.

Torque Affair > Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST)
06/13/2014 at 15:30

Oooh yeah that would be amazing. I have yet to see a Veyron in Austin, but I know there's some in Houston.

Torque Affair > Manuél Ferrari
06/13/2014 at 15:30

I feel the same way - I LOVE V8s

Manuél Ferrari > Torque Affair
06/13/2014 at 15:38

The N/A V8 is dying :(

Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST) > Torque Affair
06/13/2014 at 15:51

I have only ever seen one in a video show up at a location in Houston called City Center of Houston, which is not really in the center of the city at all.

Torque Affair > Manuél Ferrari
06/13/2014 at 16:37

Definitely seems to be case - quite unfortunate

Torque Affair > Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST)
06/13/2014 at 16:37

Ah, I figured one would've shown up at a C&C

Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST) > Torque Affair
06/13/2014 at 17:15

There was one in April! There were tons of people taking photos of it. But it was dealer supplied. April featured the 288 GTO, F40, F50, Enzo, Saleen S7, Risi Competizione's race cars, and the Veyron. One of the few months that was dedicated to bringing out special cars. There would have been a race-spec Maserati MC12 but one of the engineers said there was an issue with the car's wheel...I forgot to ask if it was an actual wheel or the steering wheel.

Kinja'd!!!

Torque Affair > Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST)
06/13/2014 at 17:17

Wow, I think Houston might have the best C&C in the US.

Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST) > Torque Affair
06/13/2014 at 20:58

I don't feel like it. Out in Scottsdale and Irvine, I've seen that they have some unique visitors, especially rarer exotics. Down here it's like...power city. There's some good ones out in the Northeast as well! I feel like Houston has the biggest gathering though, over a thousand cars at minimum. Although not in rain or bad weather.

The organizers had to arrange April's amazing gathering. It's a little unnerving to bring future classics and present-day classics to a gathering that has thousands of attendees every month un-announced. Recently the gathering had some issues with the event parking becoming assigned parking for certain makes and models which caused some rowdiness on the fb page when it was announced. Also the gatherings relationship with the venue that hosts the event is not well...even after the rules still state no revving or burnouts, there's still obnoxious revving. And this:

Kinja'd!!!

Which eventually gets cleaned up by volunteers and organizers of the event.

Torque Affair > Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST)
06/15/2014 at 08:45

Oh man, that's unfortunate