What the 355 has that others don't:

1) last model with the buttress design (from the Dino)
2) last model to have louvered bonnet
3) last model to have pop up headlights
4) last model to have huge side intakes
5) first model to have full underbelly pan (correct?)
6) last model of the GTS
7) best sounding Ferrari ever produced
8) first model and first ever road car to have the F1 management system
9) first model with 5 valves?

 

10) First car in automotive history to shatter the naturally-aspirated 100 hp-per-liter barrier with 109 hp-per-liter
way waayyyy back in 1994.
11) Best road car in the whole wide world.

Great thread!

 

12) last model without traction control
13) last model which uses excessive fuel

 

Good points, I thought about lack of traction control but wasn't sure if the 360 had it or not.
There IS something perverse in me that likes getting 10-12 mpg in town and 14-18 on highways.
Gas isn't that expensive right now even in CA.

 

14) best bang for the buck, and sounds so sweet doing it.

 

Last model where engine dropped for timing belt service?

 

"The Greatest Car in the World........Ever"!
per JK

 

last one I will have in my garage

 

Swag

 

Regarding Jeremy Clarkson, host of Top Gear:

"This is probably the best Ferrari ever... And if it is the best Ferrari ever, it just has to be the greatest car in the world... ever":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7nZ6oVcDX4&list=PLrWYTtwA3cQ7H19LWhB0GCkN2hHnMjNOQ&index=2

"I have to have one... And one year later, it still is the best car I have ever driven":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8YZzGaprtA&list=PLrWYTtwA3cQ7H19LWhB0GCkN2hHnMjNOQ&index=1

Cheers,

Nuno.

 

Many of the reasons I bought one.

Not the first to make over 100hp/liter NA by a long shot, but the first NA production road car.

Mine actually gets 20+mpg on the highway, which seems to be better than the newer cars?


I'll add: only of the v8's to be lighter than it's predecessor. All the rest weighed the same s their predecessor or added weight, but it dropped 150lbs vs. the 348. Some mistakenly think the 360 weighs less, but it actually weighs 150lbs more, it just has a lighter chassis. All that nice interior and plumbing for the front radiators adds weight...

 

Me. (for all the reasons above)

 

I think honda B series motors, which debuted in 1988, were flirting with if not surpassing 100hp/liter by 1995. With only 4 valves per cylinder.

But they still aren't Ferraris!

 

the best V8 Ferrari i have ever driven!

 

Because, Ferrari.

 

Dave, you forgot to put owners that appreciate timeless style and beauty.

 

I think the 1999 360 is lighter than later versions. No precats.

Good thread.

 

Last model to have the old school Fiamm air horns. Everyone raves about the sound of the engine but man I loved the sound of that horn. Honked the **** out of it way more than any other car I've ever owned.

 

Only Ferrari road car with a F1 transmission without fly by wire throttle.
Heel & Toe FUN!!!!!

 

The only Ferrari I truly want 10 of!!!!!!!!!

Though 3 Dinos would be nice.

 

The last Ferrari that drives like a go kart

 

The F40 was the first Ferrari to have a full belly pan, and in fact the 355 doesn't have a full belly pan, the engine and gearbox etc are exposed. The 360 has a full belly pan like the F40 and F50. "Huge" side intakes can be found on the Enzo and LaFerrari both. The 458 spider has a louvered engine bonnet as well. Otherwise all correct.

 

nicer smaller size..made for Italian roads not American...better looking than a 360 or 430...last spider with out humps..last mostly hand built Ferrari

 

You said it!!!!

 

All of the new spiders are technically GTSs

The most important thing IMO about the 355 is that it possess the classic look and sound of Ferrari and "old style " with the canvas top for example and the gate shifter yet be a relevant and competent modern machine with the design and the F1.
Good fashion never goes out of style and the 355 IS good fashion.

I will always have mine.