I love the 348, but this being my 5th one I decided to make it look more like the way it should have been. I removed the rear grille and prototyped a new bracket for the center Cavallino. Similar to the 458 front Cavallino set-up. I will have a better one made of course. I think this does 2 things. Makes the rear look cleaner and uncluttered, also not so much "Darth Vader" like, and you can now see the tail lights. So far I have received nothing but good reviews on the change, and most say that is makes the car look like a newer Ferrari. My next plan is to cut out a section of the heat shield so the polished exhaust (not yet installed) can be seen with some of the engine, and may even help some of the cooling. I think once this is done it will change the entire rear end of the car for the better. Let me know your opinions all you 348 owners. Purists will probably cringe but I am always looking for ways to improve aesthetics. When they altered the grille for the limited edition Speciale Ferrari was on to something. I also think the rear grille belongs to the Testarossa only. Just my opinion. I will post more photos as the work progresses. I honestly love the look myself, to me this is the perfect Ferrari from all angles now. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I like it but I don't love it. Definetly better than having the grille so I consider it an improvement for sure.
it looks nice without the grills in place, only downside IMO is the large gap left around them now it could improve with a trim ring, body colored surrounding it, maybe is possible to make from modifying an old grill frame, or made trim rings from F-glass or C-F possibly
Thanks for the comments. It really looks so much better in person actually, and so far everyone that sees it thinks it makes the car look 10-15 years newer. I agree about the gaps but still better than having the clutter of the grille all the way around, which explains why I never held onto the previous 348's I owned, I just did not like that grille at all. Also hard to keep clean, what a pain it was. Once I have the exhaust in, a few small details blacked out, and a better made bracket I will take more photos, I think it will look fantastic. Feels great to be back in the brotherhood, more so than ever. Keep the comments coming!! Thanks.
It's a matter of timing, I think. Matching-colour panels has been a recent thing but I think the lower black body is a style that will return. All the best, Andrew.
How about painting all the black around the lights in red? That might look even better... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
make it look more like the way it should have been. ............should have been...!!!! It should have been what it is now, brilliant ! Aren't you exhibiting a little bit too much of the 'mightier than thow' mentality here ....hmmmm !!
Interesting!!! How about covering the exposed areas with a black plastic trim to fit around the lights?
This is for sale in Japan at the moment - looks like the sort of thing your talking about ?????????????????????????????? - Yahoo!?????? Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Makes it look exactly like the untouched original rear end of my SS. Love it! Image Unavailable, Please Login
That SS surround is exactly what is missing in the OP's pictures. That would be the perfect finishing piece to the rear grille removal IMO.
Nnnooooo! Feel the upcoming wrath of 348 owners. It's a wonder that the admins of this site even put them in the same subsection, they had to have known this would happen.
Makes me love the SS rear end even more now. I agree that having those surround trim pieces will finish off what I want on mine, I love that rear end!!!! Now I know for sure I will never go back to the rear grille. It should have stayed only with the Testarossa IMO.
Yep.. my SS as well. I would bet Daniel at Ricambi may be able to source that rear end grille on the SS. David
John, I have a new rear grill for a 348 I sent you pm. Let me know if your interested and I will send you some pics. Thomas
