I love the convertible. My top is down every opportunity, and with heated seats, that's quite a lot. But with the coupe/spyder question... that's a hard one. Personal preference!!
I always thought coupes were the ticket on p-cars......... but I could not get over the lines of the F355 spider compared to the 355 berlinetta. So my 355 is my first convertible in almost twenty years. Though I still leave the top up more than not......
I may have to plan a road trip to Orlando. Have quite a few friends there I haven't seen in a few years. The top is always down on my Spider (even when garaged). Only exception would be a heavy rain...
Look at the numbers. Spiders have better resale value and there are fewer made. Reasons: It seems like you are going faster with the top down. You can hear the engine and Tubi in a 360 better. You can smell and see the world around you better. In the mountains this is a plus, in the city maybe a minus. More flexible. You can always put the top up. all you can do is roll down the windows in a coupe'. It's not cold. I will consider putting the top up if it's under 40F. If it is sunny, under 32F. the side windows are UP. Snug and warm with the heater on. Sunburn. You should use sunblock anyway. Who needs skin cancer. Never been sunburned when using 30 sunblock. To me having a sports car means going topless. Either a spider or GTS (targa top in Porsche speak). The Spider is more fun to drive and a better investment IMVHO. I have taken my car on the track and run with the top down. BTW F1 cars don't have tops but NAStyCARs do. Real men sit outside. Sissies ride inside. Man up and get a spider.
How about the Pagani Zonda, Carrera GT and F50? I realize those are targa tops, but they are still open top cars. If Ferrari produced another GTS car, I would definitely buy it.
Those sound like extremely good reasons. I'll get a 360 spider or a F430 spider once I get the money! (no time soon though!) And I live in the subarbs, I guess. Marin County? Close to SF. I see soooo many F430s and 612s and 599s. It's awesome!
I like the GTS as a compromise between both. I've never liked soft-tops so with the GTS I can still take the roof off and drive "al fresco", or put it on and have something closer to a closed car. Of course, when it comes to chassis dynamics, the GTS is closer to a true spider, since like them it is heavier and less rigid. I prefer the looks of the GTB as well, but being able to take the roof off can be a real bonus.
Village People Rock! by the time I could afford either, I didn't have enough hair to worry about the wind messing any up.
Phil, Your statement made me look at some numbers.......... In the case of 360's there were more coupes than spiders worldwide but I'd bet there are a lot more spiders in the US. Plus, Ferrari made coupes only for 2 years before spiders appeared. If spiders had debuted at the same time, I'd wager there would be a lot more spiders than coupes. I haven't seen official munbers, but I would bet there are more 430 spiders than coupes, even worldwide right now. As for resale value......... I checked the current FML and found 18 coupes and 39 spiders years 2001-4. The average coupe price is 155,233, spiders 179,430. I think that is pretty close to original MSRP for both. Here's the real killer........FML started tracking 360 prices in the 1/05 issue. At the time their index stated 146,339. for coupes, 208,207. for spiders. In the current issue, coupes are 144,702 for a loss of 1637. or 1.1%. Spiders are 185,984. for a 22,223 loss or 10.6%. I'll admit, these numbers surprise me somewhat. When 430's came out, I thought 360 coupes would drop in price pretty significantly especially since they were made 5 years vs 3 for the spiders. The only thing I can think of is that used buyers have different priorities. The market implies that more of them seem to want stick shift coupes and fewer want paddle car spiders. Dave
Nobody seems to ever mention the removable sunroof that was an option on the 360 Modena. Mine has this feature - the roof pops out and there's a leather case it goes into, then it fits on the shelf behind the seats where there's a bracket to hold the bottom in, and snaps on the leather case toward the top. This option seems surprisingly rare, but it's sortuv a nice compromise... I've only seen one other 360 for sale in the last 6 months that mentioned having the sunroof.