What's the worst Ferrari ever made?

The worst Ferrari. Is that like the worst orgasm?

Seriously. I've never dealt with a 348, just what i've read here in technical and the 348 thread, and I havnt really seen any great sins. Whats that bad about a 348? New dog on the block to kick? Handling issues at high speed? Yes, well known, and easily correctable by proper alignment. Its nothing mechanically wrong. Peeling leather? Well, its big brother seems to have the same issue.

 

Owning the worst Ferrari is like having won the smallest Lotto jackpot. Maybe not as fantastic as the other winners, but it is loads better than not being in the ownership group. I haven't really seen any big problems with the 348 that aren't present in other models. The initial handling problem was addressed with some Hill Engineering spacers. Factory parts pricing is silly, but that goes for all Ferrari cars.

BT

 

Depends on how you judge the contest?

I'd say if you look at today's prices... Testarossa (even though its a personal favorite of mine).

True, 348's got no love when it first came out... but now they seem popular over 355 and TR for at least one reason- you can afford to drive and maintain them. Seems people are afriad of the engine out service on the TR and the long list of expensive little problems on the 355.

I'd love to buy a Testarossa but for the same money I bet I'd drive the 348 more.

So I just wanted to say that the 348 is not the worst in every way
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The worst Ferrari is still more fun than most other cars, so one needs a few salt grains.

The Testarossa is "bad" because the value vs. maintenance ratio is really bad.

The Mondial 8 is "bad" because it costs the same to maintain as a 3.2 but is worth a lot less.

The 456 is "bad" because anyone who bought one new is way, way upside down on it.

Those would be my nominations at least.

Ken

 

The authors have clearly never driven mine!
CG

 

LCDM was quoted in Forza saying that he paid for a 348 with his own money and thought it was horrible. This led to the push for a radical change at Ferrari when he took over and resulted in the 355/550/456.

 

FERRARI CALIFORNIA

 

tie between the wooden F50 and the knit F355

 

For the first owner, it's bad alright, but for the purchaser of the depreciated car, it's got to be the greatest bang for the buck thrill to own--a used car bargain if well-maintained. You can get an excellent 456M now for around $70K, 442hp v12 power and understated classy beauty for less than a third of the new price.

 

The worst one was the first one. The performance and technology has steadily improved since that time.

 

I was thinking of other auto manufactures worst models. Between Chevy and Ford the number of outright horrific piles of dog crap would exceed 100 models for runners up worst cars of all time combined. Chrysler has a couple dozen real disasters themselves. Even among europes finest there are some truly bad examples, some models that almost destroyed thier companies. The Porsche 924, the Jaguar XJ6, Triumph TR7, Lamborghini Jalpa, Saab 900, Maserati BiTurbo, Fiat Ritmo, numerous other models from British Leyland, Fiat, Alfa, Mercedes, BMW, Audi, VW, Renault, Britain, France, Germany, Italy etc... Heck, a Yugo was a much better car than any of the big threes failures. And the Japanese? While many of thier cars were pretty good mechanically and electrically, the bodies rotted so fast on some of them it was like watching corn grow. As hot as the 240/260/280 Z Datsuns were, they vaporised into ferrous oxide almost as fast as calling a Genie from a bottle. SHAZZAM! POOF! Gone. And to be fair, some of the Japanese garbage was so over engineered it was hard to work on and futile to try. In 50 years of car production the best car to come from Japan is a 240Z, the rest will go to the big junkyard in the sky. Not a great record by the rest of the worlds car makers.

So if Ferrari's 348 is considered the worst car they ever built, a car that still sells for over $50K US dollars 20 yars after being introduced, still turns heads if not by looks but by sound, and can still spank most new cars off the road, I say Ferrari has done a damned good job. And I would not be ashamed for one second to put a 348 in my garage.

 

Really the worst ones are the ones that are hacked by guys that think they know they can fix them and actually make a mess of them.

Those are the worst ones.....when it overheats and you need a new rad, buy the rad for $600, dont carve into the car to put bigger fans for $100.

As for the model line up, some people like blondes, red heads, tattooed brunettes, goth....its all a matter of taste. One for every flavour if desired.

No bad models, just bad owners

 

I would agree. While the TR is getting some bad press lately, its still a mind blowing machine 24 years after its introduction. And the diff repair cost compared to the cars value is still lower than many other cars. While I cant afford a car like that myself today, if I could I dont believe the differential problem would scare me away. Its part of the price of admission to own exotic machines. Once those cars have the upgrade the gearbox should be pretty bulletproof. Remember, some of these cars were super/turbocharged to over 1000 HP, and the stock gearbox and driveline held. Well, for a while anyway. I cant think of many other cars whose driveline that could take a tripling of power without blowing to bits. Many cant handle the stock power as well.

 

Any Ferrari that needs "out of pocket" service work.

 

I have not experienced any Ferrari that could be considered the worst. Every car has postives and negatives and some are just lemons. That's why it's important to have any used Ferrari inspected by a Ferrari mechanic.

 

Im going to go out on a limb here and say the worst is the 1980-1982 308 with 2 valves & Fuel Injection.

Not that Ferrari is really to blame. These aweful cars are the victim of EPA laws that make the cars sluggish and slow. The 308s both before and after this car are quite nice and Ive owned several. Here is an example ..and just about the only one I can think of ..where the newer Ferrari is a hugh step back in performance.

 

Well its a good thing they're aweful (i.e. full of awe, awesome and awe-inspiring) and not awful..

 

Yep worst Ferrari and I don't give a damn

this song about sums it up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RAQXg0IdfI

 

Not sure the author had all the facts. It's fair to say the 348 has its share of weak spots (gearbox being the big expensive one), but I might actually take one ahead of the 355 just because the newer car has a lot of potential bank account-draining issues, and the 348 still has much of the 'rawness' that made the Boxer/246/308/328 so cool, with decent power to boot.

I agree. The TR has a battered reputation, but it really has an amazing presence, makes all the right sounds and screams Ferrari. The 512 TR keeps tempting me, but I'm pretty smitten with the 328 I have right now. Really I need a bigger garage...

Disagree somewhat. Yes, they're slow and have crappy emissions systems, but the 308 GTB/GTS is still one of the prettiest sports cars ever made. Also, the 308s are fairly reliable by Ferrari standards -- probably better than the 348/355.

I wouldn't say they're anywhere near the 'best', but given that all these old cars are slow I wouldn't damn the 'i' cars to 'worst' status on that count.

 

Luca di Montezemolo stated that the 348 was the worst product Ferrari ever made. I happen to like the 348 but that's what he said.

 

Mondial...

 

Mondial

456

612

I would have picked just one but I'd rather offend as many people as possible without lying.

 

The Mondial is one of the ugliest for sure.

 

My list of the least best models:

1: 400i Automatic ( slow, thirsty, maintenance intensive)
2: Mondial 8 ( slow, ugly, dodgy electrics )
3: 348 ( Half baked electrics and handling)

But, it's like saying, pick the ugly supermodel. They are still Ferrari's,

M