MOTOR CARS | 243Ferrari’s most successful model since the 308, the F355 was always
going to be a hard act to follow; indeed, there were many that
questioned the need to replace a model just five years old and still
selling well. Clearly, in order to surpass the outstanding F355, its
successor would have to break new ground rather than offer mere
incremental improvements. By starting with a clean sheet of paper
in designing the 360 Modena, Ferrari and its partner Pininfarina
succeeded in doing just that, the new car attracting superlatives that
put even its illustrious predecessor in the shade.
Just about the only item carried over from the F355 was its glorious
V8 engine, enlarged from 3.5 to 3.6 litres for the 360. Equipped with
four overhead camshafts and five valves per cylinder - an arrangement
borrowed from Ferrari’s F1 engine - this remarkable unit produced
400bhp at 8,500rpm, with 275lb/ft of torque available at 4,750 revs.
Unlike the F355’s transverse unit, the 360’s six-speed gearbox was
mounted longitudinally behind the similarly disposed engine and
could be ordered with an improved version of the F1-inspired paddle-
operated gearchange pioneered on the F355.
While its power train represented a degree of continuity with
the past, in every other respect the 360 was entirely new, the
most striking break with Ferrari tradition being the body’s frontal
treatment: gone was the omnipresent oval grille, replaced by two
separate intakes set low into the front fenders à la McLaren F1.
A larger car than the F355, the 360 owed its radical new shape to
the quest for increased downforce, generating four times as much
as the F355, yet achieving the impressively low Cd of just 0.33.
There was further innovation beneath the skin, a lighter, stiffer
aluminium spaceframe/monocoque replacing the old arrangement
of steel frame, tubular steel sub-frames and part steel, part
aluminium body. This extensive use of aluminium meant that,
despite its increased size, the 360 weighed around 220lbs less than
the F355. Although it was also more powerful (by 20bhp) than its
predecessor, the only straight-line performance increase claimed
was a marginal reduction in the 0-60mph time to 4.5 seconds, top
speed being unchanged at 183mph.Nevertheless, the 360’s on-the-road dynamics constituted a
significant advance, its best time around Ferrari’s Fiorano test track
being some three seconds faster than the F355’s.Previously registered in Jersey before coming to the UK mainland in
2012, this right-hand drive example has covered only 12,600 miles
from new and is presented in commensurately excellent condition.
The car comes with all books, two keys, two expired MoTs, V5C
registration document, MoT to August 2015 and sundry invoices
for recent servicing, including one for a timing belt change and
other works carried out by Meridien Modena in November 2011 (at
11,432 miles).
£45,000 - 55,000
€56,000 - 69,000