348GTB Pre-production?

I'm wondering what the experts on the forum make of the little story that is written about this car?

Ferrari 348 GTB pre-production SOLD/VENDUE als Sportwagen/Coupé in Aarschot

Is there really something such as a pre-production GTB which was badged as TB do be "under the radar"?

Is there really so much difference with a "normal" 1993 TB?

 

It´s amazing!!

As a proud owner of a 348 GTB from 1994 in Spain, I have to tell that this is the first time ever I have read an history like that, but it seems to be true and amazing... Every picture I have checked is right, everything belongs to a real 348 GTB (door panels, air intake cams, steering wheel, pedals, etc.). The only rare thing is just the rear badge showing the 348 tb inscription.

Anyway, with the VIN number and assembly number we could confirm if that it is a real 348 GTB. At least the engine and everything look as it is.

Q-Classics

Amazing!!!!!!!

P.D. the differences between a 348 tb and a 348 GTB are quite big. Everything has been improved.

 

"The only thing they kept was the name and the TB badge to avoid people would notice the first GTB was delivered."

That makes no real sense to Me at all as no one at the time would have paid the boot badge any attention at all.

And the fact that it states that Ferrari didn't want people to know the first GTB was delivered implies to Me that rather than this being some sort of special one-off "pre-production" car made as the advert seems to imply, it was merely the first production car that was delivered early.

Frankly, this entire advert sounds like a ploy to make the car out to be something a bit more special than every other GTB when in reality it's not.

 

I didn't notice any "improvements". A slightly different steering wheel?

 

among others, the plenum is not of the "tb".....

 

Everything of the GTB is there, everything, but the logo.

A lot of things were changed / modified or improved during all the 348 production, so the very first 348 models have nothing to do with the latest GTB/GTS/Spiders versions. Look at these:

- Engine (with different and bigger air intake plenums, and the change from the Motronic 2.5 to Motronic 2.7 ECUs). All models 348 GTB/GTS/GTC 348s have the F119H block, with a higher rate compression 10,8:1 with different and bigger air intake plenums. It has 320 CV instead of 300 CV. According with the manuals these are the figures for the different engine blocks:
Block F119D (with catalyst):
– Compression ratio: 10,4 : 1. Max rpm: 7700 rpm.
– Max Power: 295 CV / 7400 rpm.
– Max Torque: 317 Nm (32,4 kgm) / 4200 rpm.
Block F119D (without catalyst)::
– Compression ratio: 10,4 : 1. Max rpm: 7700 rpm.
– Max Power: 300 CV / 7400 rpm.
– Max Torque 323 Nm (32,8 kgm) / 4200 rpm.
Block F119G:
– Compression ratio: 10,4 : 1. Max rpm: 7700 rpm.
– Max Power: 300 CV / 7400 rpm.
– Max Torque 323 Nm (32,8 kgm) / 4200 rpm.
Block F119G 040 (Only for USA)
– Compression ratio:10,4 : 1. Max rpm: 7700 rpm.
– Max Power: 310 (SAE) CV / 7400 rpm.
– Max Torque: 228,6 Nm (31 kgm) / 4000 rpm.
Block F119H (THE GOOD ONE for GTB/GTS):
– Compression ratio:10,8 : 1. Max rpm: 7750 rpm.
– Max Power: 320 CV / 7200 rpm.
– Max Torque: 324 Nm (33,06 kgm) / 5000 rpm.
– Bosch Motronic 2.7 Injection.

Of course the performances and figures were also improved accordingly. 280 Km/h instead of 275 Km/h as top speed and 5,4 s from 0 to 100 Km/h, instead of 5,6s.

Beside to this:
- The GTB/GTS/Spiders have different interior door panels, new desing, much more simple.
- Drilled Aluminium clutch and brake pedals.
- The steering wheel has the inscription 348 in the lower center and it has also the center section (around the horn) with perforated leather
- Lower side skirts and engine bonnet painted in the same color.
- Chromed cavallinos in the front and rear.
- Front grill has different design with more vertical lines.
- A taller fifth gear was fitted to maintain top speed with the new lower main gear installed.
- The battery location switch from the rear bonnet to beneath the front bonnet (also since 1992)
- 50mm wider track via 25mm wheel (also for all the Spiders)

Best regards and FORZA FERRARI

 

Indeed.

Isn't Sy's car a true GTB? Perhaps he'll weigh in with his take on the pics.

Beautiful car, regardless of its story.

 

It does look like a GTB.

Knowing Ferrari, I wouldn't be suprised if the story about it was true.

 

Whilst there were some mechanical improvements made to the car with the engine/gearbox and suspension set-up, to say the very first 348 models have nothing to do with the latest GTB/GTS/Spider models is not strictly accurate!

Apart from some very minor cosmetic changes made to the cars appearance (all of which can be applied to a TB/TS), the cars look identical for a start off!

The wider off-set wheels can be fitted to the TB/TS or you can simply achieve the same result by fitting wheel spacers to the TB/TS wheels.

As for the mechanical changes made to the car, they didn't change the characteristics of the car to "that" degree!

It's not a case of the early 348's being an undriveable psychotic machine that was as likely to kill you as much let you enjoy your drive, whilst the GTB/GTS were the ultimate driving machine that all other manufacturers struggled to match all of a sudden.

In reality, to get the full benefit of the changes made to the 348 with the GTB/GTS you'd have to pretty much be an experienced race driver/test driver to even notice the difference in performance.

The 0~100Kph dropped from 5.6 seconds to 5.4second? - Whoopee do! You're not even going to notice it! (And chances are you'll make a mess of the awkward 1st to 2nd shift anyway, loosing that 0.2 seconds [and more], instantly!).

Top speed went up from 275 Km/h to 280 Km/h? - In the old World that's an increase of an incredible 3 mph higher top speed!

So that's 0.2 seconds quicker to 62mph and 3mph faster due to 20 extra BHP - I'm not seeing anything that impressive there!

The GTB/GTS series might be slightly better to drive but I doubt it! My 348 TS is hardly an unwieldy, uncontrollable, snarling beast that fights you at every opportunity and is barely drivable. In fact, I'm quite surprised at how docile she is when asked to just tootle along - She just gets on with it without making a fuss!

And when it comes to the top speed, the problem is Ferrari didn't change any of the aerodynamics of the 348 when they created the GTB/GTS. It still started to get a light front end when you went over 130mph, exactly the same as the TB and TS did, and I'd suggest you'd have to have some big cojones and have some damned decent tarmac beneath you if you wanted to explore these top speeds!

Handling wise the GTB/GTS series is slightly less tetchy at the limit, but they didn't suddenly become perfect cars! - They still needed to be understood and you still needed to be careful not to take liberties with the car mid-corner.

You talk about the 348 GTB/GTS as though it suddenly became the car the 348 always should have been, as if the difference between the TB/TS and the GTB/GTS is night and day, but it's not!

The harsh reality is, the 348 GTB/GTS series, nice as it was, was just too little, too late, hence Ferrari ditching the 348 series shortly after the GTB/GTS came out and then making the 355.

And this is the car that the 348 should always have been: The 355. That's just a fact of life!



As I have previously posted, I suspect that the car in question in this thread is not a one-off pre-production car worth more than any other GTB/GTS made, as the advert seems to be suggesting.

I suspect it's simply one of the first standard production GTB's made that Ferrari let leave the factory early due to a rich, arrogant buyer having a paddy and wanting his toy before Christmas day came along!

(I also suspect that the real reason for the TB badge was because either Ferrari hadn't received the GTS badges yet, or they had the GTB badges available but put a TB badge on either by mistake or to stick two fingers up to the owner without him realising it).

As far as I'm concerned, the only true pre-production Ferrari's are the test mules, and most of those are so knackered by the time Ferraris test drivers have finished thraping the crap out of them that you wouldn't want to own one!

 

If i'm reading the advert correct, i'm guessing, that all the paperwork is also referring to it as a 348TB (so not only the badge is missing).

Anyway i would prefer to have a real GTB (with matching paperwork) than this supposedly GTB with TB paperwork. If you would check the VIN, i'm quite confident that it will show up as a TB (out of the GTB VIN range).

 

Nice post 4rePhil

Sorry, maybe you are right and I have to accept I have been a little exaggerated in my opinions, but that´s because I just love my 348 GTB.

However, we cannot forget that the GTB/GTS suspensions and geometries were also modified, so the behavior was also improved, so it is not just a question of figures. It is not a night or day difference, but they are better!

Anyway, I agree with you that maybe this unit has nothing special compared with the rest of GTB units.

But one thing is also true, bearing in mind I love all 348 models, the GTB/GTS units are the best of all 348 you can have.

 

Well actually, the Competizione is the best 348 in stock configuration you can have.

But that is just my opinion.

 

As for the advertisement.

I'm a bit skeptical.

 

Don't get Me wrong - I totally agree that the 348 GTB/GTS is an improvement over the TB/TS, and they are (one of) the best in the range, but if you compare the cars side by side, there's not a massive real World difference between the two versions (and definitely not enough to declare that the first of the 348's have nothing whatsoever to do with the last of the line GTB/GTS/Spiders).


Having taken out My 348 TS today on a beautiful sunny day English day, with roof off, and having pushed her on at a decent pace, I know for a fact that a GTB/GTS would not have made Me any happier!

 

GTB's are around 50% more expensive that TB's with black GTB's worth an additional 25%.

Not that I'm biased or anything.

 

You forgot to mention the fact that installing 355 wheels on a black GTB adds another 25%.

 

for a split second, it got me wondering...hey did Ferrari pull a stunt like AMG and make some sort of "black" edition mumbojumbo that i'v never heard of?

 

Here's the first 348: Ferrari 348 - TB * Historie * Pre Production * nr.1 ooit gebouwd!

 

Again a lot of big words

If it is a true prototype, you cannot register it for the road (a prototype doesn't have a VIN). If it is a pre-production, probably the same.

So probably it's the first production car.

But the advert says it's a prototype pre-production 1st ever build 348

Btw: Is the gear shift knob original? It looks so small?

 

No, they devalue it by 5% as they are from a lesser model

<insert evil laugh>

 

A 1990 build date would certainly indicate against it being a prototype.

The shift knob appears to be stock.

 

Touché. You are, of course, quite correct.

 

I have here an original copy of the UK's "AUTOCAR & Motor" magazine from 20th September 1989 and on the cover is a UK spec RHD 348 TS (curiously enough it has a Cavallino mounted on the front grille, and the seats are the early '89 version with the flat, almost shapeless base cushion).

The fact that the car is RHD pretty much rules the car out as being a pre-production test car, so it's either a pre-production press car or a production test car.

My point is, this is an '89 348 TS that is the finished article and not some sort of test hack that has been cobbled together for the press, so I highly doubt that the 1990 car being advertised is a "pre-production" car.

I've scanned in the relevant pages:
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Next:
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And (note the flat cushion seat base):
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