The type of thing no Ferrari enthusiast wants to see...with pics..

Well this was a day like no other and one that few Ferrari fans ever want to experience but this whole story started about 3 years ago, 17 November 2003 to be precise. On that date I went with a friend of mine to off load his brand new 360 from the container, this being the first new Ferrari he had bought, I remember we both sat down and choose the options. We had trouble off-loading the car from the container and had to take it to an old rail way siding, we arrived there and there rather aptly were horses stabled there, here we were off-loading a prancing horse among the horses. The feeling when the crate was opened to reveal the “white” 360 was pretty special, so was hearing the V8 fire up for the first time on South African soil.

The next day with the PDI complete I car in all its glory, smelt the new smell that all new cars have, admire all the options we had chosen and watched on as my friend signed all the warranty paper work. Then I drove his CLK as followed the 360 on its maiden journey on African soil, heard the yelp of the V8, saw the admiring stares from fellow motorists and once back his house, I was the first person to sit in the passenger seat. The weather was Cape Town perfect, sunny skies and it was evening and the sun was going down, the sun glinting of the 360 curves as we drove along the picturesque shore, the sound of the engine as we had a few opportunities to extend the car closer to its 8500 rpm red line. It was one of those days, one of those days that remains etched in ones mind.

Over the next few months or so I had a few more opportunities to experience the charm and unique Ferrari magic of the 360, some time was spent on the track, some on the road.
Then the 360 was traded in on the new 430 spider but the this being the first new Ferrari either I or my friend had collected it would always be a special experience, the 430 was special but in a different way.

It’s the 25 July 2005 and we are at a track day, its cold, there is a stiff breeze blowing, and among the Ferraris assembled is THAT 360, looking every bit as good as it did when we collected it back in 2003. Briefing complete we head onto the track, the 360 in front of us, we follow for a while and the 430 is comprehensively quicker but alas we cant get past, the sound of the car in close company is fantastic so I switch on my video function on my digi camera and this goes on for about 2 laps and then my friend backs off in the 430 because of chipping. We fall back a bit and are about to round turn 3 when I see something I never wanted to see, there is all smoke, we slow down rapidly and through the smoke I see and 360 spearing across the track, the back ¾ smashed, it skids across the track and ends up beached on the tarmac, the driver jumps out, all airbags have deployed, we both jump out of the 430 to assist, the smell of glycol, the smell of the airbags. The back rear wheel is broken, the tyre ripped off the rim, the right front is smashed but the driver is thankfully ok and relatively calm though I did see a few tears….

I cant tell you what its like seeing a car that has given me so many fantastic memories sitting there broken, covered in sand, its vital fluids spilt across the track, Immediately we switch the battery off, my friend trying to comfort the owner, who was very calm. We clear out the tools and covers and again the memories of 3 years ago some flooding back.

My friend and I stand there, both of us for some reason cleaning the sand and dust off the car with a rag, soon the flat bed truck arrived to collect the car. There is extensive damage and sadly I don’t think this horse will ever see the open road again, though out local Ferrari dealer said there is hope. Hearing the under body crunch as the car is winched onto the trailer was truly awful.

Where the car hit the wall all the bricks are broken, in fact there is a hole in the wall and I was amazed how strongly the 360 is built considering the impact speed must have been around 170 km/h…

Am I getting too attached but its so sad to see a car that we waited so long for and had such exhilarating collecting end up in such a sad way, literally in front of our eyes…

 

Some pics...
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More...pics..
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Very true but, I think there is some serious chassis damage, there were some rather strange gap around the doors but I must say both doors did close and so did the front boot....was very impressed at the strength of the car....

 

Funny that you mention twitchy because the car clipped and kerb and the tail apparently came round very quickly and excuse the pun but it spun 360 degrees and literally made a hole in the wall.....My friend, ower of the 430 in the backround also felt that the 360 was a little twitchy, the track was also green, and it was cold but the track wasnt damp....

Damage could reach $75 000 at least......

 

True, the lucky thing considering the size of our Ferrari market here is that we have an official Ferrari approved panel shop in Johhnesburg and apparently they have seen far worse than this...in fact that actually have a chassis rig but the real problem is the cost, with the Rand/Dollar exchange rate(factory invoices in dollars) sitting at R7 to $1 the cost is going to be enormous.....but having said that I think the car will be repaired....

 

Ah that was typo from me...and the fact that the date stamp on my digital camera is wrong.....for some totally unknown reason. Dont usualy use the date stamp but for some reason I did this time and the time BTW is also wrong..

As for damage, I am thinking in the region of around $125 000 all in at the only place in South Africa that can fix Ferraris, which happens to be at a Ferrari dealer.

As for a parts car thats an interesting idea but the shipping costs to ship the various parts around the world may be prohibitive.

Yeah of course the driver is more important than the car, just that car held so many great memories for me and my mate. Was astonished the driver wasnt injured seriously, testement to the massively stong constrction of these cars. Of course the other issue is that there isnt a huge market in SA for damaged/repaired Ferraris....

 

The UK is definately an option, the problem down here and I mean do disrespect to our local Ferrari repair shop, is that they being the only shop of their kind in SA have a total monoply and as such can charge pretty much what they like....and its unlikely the car will be scrapped as the assuming repairs cost around R1million the car still in theory at least would have a value of around R2 million, thought this true value is unlikely to be realized due the car being an accident repaired car.

BTW correct SA is RHD...