When is a red Ferrari RARE?!

When it's a 1998 F355 GTS 6 speed.

And it's coming to my doorstep today

The excitement here is building as the snow is (finally) melting off the roads (yes, Nashville, TN). The car is in for some culture shock; it's coming from Sunny California.

In 1999 I weaned myself off 6 years of NSX ownership and finally jumped into the exotic deep end with a red euro 328. And, to continue this mixed metaphor, having the car was a such a kick in the pants that it made my teeth stand on edge. I thoroughly enjoyed the ownership, but after 2 years I sold it so that my wife could escape the torture which is Upper Hotel Management.

Two years later, I had the means for another car and this time I chose a yellow 328. Another great car, might I add (soon to be in the caring hands of another lucky F-chatter).

However, the sirens of Modena were singing into my ears with choruses of more power and performance, so I started looking for a 355 last fall. My needs were specific - removable top and 6 speed manual.

I quickly found out this was an exceedingly rare horse. I think only about one in five 355's were GTS, the majority being spiders. And F1 gear boxes were used in most of these cars. I called EVERY Ferrari dealership in North America. The reply was always the same - "BWAAH! - we haven't had one in YEARS - good luck...".

But I kept plugging away, checking cars dot com, Autotrader, Hemmings, Dupont, and all the various Ferrari publications virtually everyday. No luck. I finally resorted to checking the FerrariChat members list; doing a word search for '355 GTS' under the ownership column. I contacted every 6 speed GTS owner to see if they might be interested in selling their car.

I got only one lead - that from a fellow who was toying with the idea of selling his car for a new.... toy. We entered negotiation over the next couple of months, and all the time I was looking for other GTS 6 speeds so that I would not be settling for the first car I had found.

It was the first AND only one I found... and it is a great car! 16k miles, recent 30k service, 2 new cats, 2 new exhaust manifolds. PPI shows it to be mechanically and cosmetically excellent. And its the color I wanted - Red/Black. I was prepared to settle for other colors, but no settling has occured!

The car should hopefully be here around noon. Lots of pictures to follow! Check my member profile page for a picture of the car being loaded up on the left coast.

 

OK - just talked to the driver. ETA is now ~3:30. That's fine - the temp will probably be above freezing by then!

 

OK OK OK I'm back!!!

Geez ... can't you give a guy a little time to take his wife for a ride in his new car??

Wonderful car - in better shape that I imagined. I can't believe it's 8 years old!
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