Proof the 360 is better looking than the F355

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A lot of people compare the looks of the 355 against the 360, the outcome of this is that there will always be doubt. I love both for looks alone the same amount but each for different reasons.

 

The arguments between the 355 and the 360 designs are pointless, it is like comparing apples with oranges. As was said earlier in the thread, the 355 was the pinnacle of the 308 design series - period. As such what we are trying to compare is the whole family of 308-355 series cars to the 360-430 series. The 360 styling is a breakaway from the earlier design stemming from 1975 (and effectively spanning two decades) and it is the genesis of the next series (which will probably last considerably shorter as the development cycle time is far less these days). If you look at the major changes between the two cars you can follow the logic in the process.

Let's start at the front.

On the 348 the grill at the front was purely cosmetic, it was a fake. On the 355, other than the small ducts at each end of the grill (which could have been located anywhere at the front) the grill is again a cosmetic item. The 360, however, took a bold step when the water cooling radiators were relocated back to the front of the car, by creating two split trapezoidal intakes right in front of where the two water radiators were positioned. This allowed better control of the under car aerodynamics if the downside was that the familiar "face" was lost (even though that face had been fake for the past two incarnations of the V8 series).

The pop-up headlights had reached the end of their design usefulness and in fact when not particularly efficient in several aspects when compared to blended in headlights; the lift system is complicated and is something else to go wrong, the weight of the units is very high, accurate set up is problematic at best and aerodynamically, when they are up, they are horrendous (and as far as pedestrian safety goes which one would you prefer to be hit by, a popped up headlight or a blended in plastic one). The move to blended in headlights was inevitable.

In profile the main change is the rising beltline on 360 compared to the horizontal split on the 308-355 series, the remainder of the shape and profile of remarkably similar. Indeed the rising beltline is not a new design feature as it can be seen in the earlier sports prototype Ferraris. The lift over the front wheel dropping down to the lowest point in the door glass line then rising over the rear haunches to a truncated tail can be seen in both cars. Even the intakes on the 360 are evolutionary rather than revolutionary; the upper intake is similar to the 308/328 and the lower intake similar to the 355.

From the rear the flying buttresses of the 355 give way to a much more aerodynamically efficient sloping back on the 360 and allow for a very much reduced rear lip spoiler (one of the main purposes of the large lip spoiler on the rear deck of the 355 is to stall the air and fill in the gap between the buttresses). The 360, with its improved under car aerodynamics, has twin diffusers and the very strong reflection of the trapezoidal front air intakes in the exhaust outlets, nice balanced design. The 355 in its own way as a very similar rear to the 360 with the smooth uncluttered design and the four round tail lights reflecting the four round exhaust outlets.

I like both designs for their own merits, in its day the 355 was the epitome of styling/packaging of the mid-engined 2 seater sports car) and the 360 with its honest, albeit unfamiliar, face is an elegant design for what is in effect a very large car. Given a choice, and bearing in mind the engineering changes that allowed the different design direction, I would take the 360 but it is unlikely that I would leave it untouched.

Someone with time on their hands ought to digitally move the general styling cues between the two cars, i.e., put a fake 355 style grill on the 360 and colour in the headlight covers and remove the grill from the 355 (leaving two small apertures) and also improve (read increase) the central under car air tunnel entrance, along with Photoshop-ing some blended in headlights onto the front. This might prove to be an interesting exercise.

People become familiar with what they see and therefore they become comfortable with the design and the shape, the 355 was after all the final evolution of the 308. Each design should be looked at with fresh eyes.

All of course in my own humble opinion and what do I know about design...

Right, I'd better get back to work.

 

Zertec

Thank you for your post.

 

Sorry for the typos (Dragon voice recognition software and I didn't check before posting)

 

Hold the period. I strongly disagree with this premise.

First, the 308 design series ended with the 328. (Period!) The 308 and 328 are vastly different from the 348/355: front-mount radiator, body-on-frame construction, transversely-mounted V8s.

The 348-355 are a tightly linked chapter in the Ferrari V8s. Call them the 'side radiator' cars, or the 'early unit-body cars' or the 'longitudinal engine' cars. They were assembled using more mechanized techniques, and introduced engine management computers to Ferrari.

Unless you're simply counting cylinders, there is a chasm of engineering and design between the 328 and 348, as much as there is between the 355 and 360.

And if you are intent on lumping together all the V8 cars before the 360, as a sort of 'pre-360 V8' category, the 308 or 328 would get many votes as the design pinnacle of your grouping.

How does this relate to 'better looking'?

IMO, the 355 pop-up headlamps are far better looking than the insectoid arrangements on the Corvette, Mitsubishi 3000GT and 360/430. They're incredibly neatly done - more so than the ones on the 365 GTB/4 Daytona, 308, 365/512BB, etc.

I'm sure it would be more comfortable to be hit by the 360 than the 355 with its lamps raised, but I don't see how that relates to the original post. It seems like whenever we discuss the aesthetics of the newer cars the discussion slips back into airflow, cooling, coefficient of drag, pedestrian impact standards, etc.

All well and good, but give me the big egg crate grille on the 250 GT over an expanse of flat plastic any day.

Obviously we can never prove that one car is better looking than another - even if we parked an Aztek next to a 360 some bozo would praise the acres of plastic cladding. But I don't buy that modern engineering has made cars more attractive.

 

I love so much the 360 spider.... don't swear on me... but actually I prefer it as elegance and true Ferrari shape to the new F430.

ouch I know I am going to be killed for saying that ;-)

g

 

Most non-tifosi probably can't tell a 360 from an F430 without an owners manual.

 

yep maybe... but the back is totally different. I mean on 430 (little enzo style) they even reduced the CAVALLINO size! it's much higher and too sporty.

 

You dont have to persuade me, im a massive 360 fan

 

The above post should have ended this unnecessary pissing contest. I am not reading further.

 

+1

are we becoming this lacking in substance to create something out of thin air just for conversation?

 

sorry.
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355 VS. 360 WILL BE DEBATED TIL DEATH.
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