Found this pic on IG, quite interesting... wish it came with p.17! Interesting items include the front bumper, wheels, mirrors and what seems to be body colored rear grille. More pronounced door strakes too? I wonder how the 348 would be looked at today if this was the launch model? Image Unavailable, Please Login
Looks better than this. I can't read German but I will show whats on back of the pic. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
"page 17" is a picture of the standard 348tb from the same angle, in the paperback edition of the Enrico Benzing / Automobilia book on the 348.
A redesign in the look of the Testarossa should replace the built since 1975 Ferrari 328 GTB / S in the next year, reports the AUTO ZEITUNG in its latest issue. The new name is 348 GTB and features not only hinged headlights, side air inlets and strikingly ribbed door profiles. For the drive of the mid-engined coupe Ferrari uses the preserved eight-cylinder engine made of light metal, whose capacity was increased from 3.2 to 3.4 liters. This is mainly the torque benefit, because the power rose only ten to 280 hp.
The 348 has a pretty neat design history, and the Enrico Benzing book on the 348 is an excellent reference. Clear influence in the original post pic that show some Testarossa in the light pods, and 328 influence with the wheels (likely more as a convenience in its current design iteration at the time). First time I've seen that early photo. Pretty cool! The 348 explored a couple of design paths for rear aerodynamic treatment. The most-often cited is the spoiler element located above the rear window, at the transition from roof to buttress wings, similar to the 308/328, which ultimately went away (can be seen in some cutaway drawings as well as pre-production publicity illustrations. However, in the pic above, it appears to show a development mule with what was early on described as a full rear wing, similar in execution to what was on the F40, but ultimately was abandoned on the 348. I recall that the reasoning was based upon a consensus that the 348 should not appear as a 'junior' F40, with the associated sporty and ostentatious aero elements but rather present itself as a more mature, restrained sporting design. I believe the Benzing 348 book touches on this phase in its design, but without the reference photo above. As another interesting note, there were design plans for a 'gt' turbo version of the 348, which ultimately never materialized to market. Spoken about in some period publications, and a concept sketch existed of the stillborn model on Ferrari's walls for some time.