In the long run, what was the last classic Ferrari where the coupe was worth more than the convertible? As for the top, it is a bit of an over engineered mess. I just wired the bypass switch to the top switch. Simply move the seats up manually while in the car, roll the windows down if necessary & hold the top button up or down. Easy peesy
Buy a GTS.....why not have the best of both worlds....a coupe and almost a spider, but many think the GTS looks nicer than a spider all day long. I love my 1999 355 F1 GTS! Have owned it for 12 years......and no problems with the top. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Just to be controversial let me say of the spider, GTB and GTS I actually dislike the GTS with the top off. It's not just the 355, buy any GTS. They all look like they took the front end of a spider and the rear end of a coupe patched together when the top is off. Totally destroys the lines of the car. I remember when I bought my 308 I thought I wanted a GTS. When I went to the dealer and looked at one with the top and off I lost interest in the car. The salesman then took me into the garage and showed me a GTB they had in for service. I agreed that the GTB was what I wanted and that was that. I know some of you love the GTS, but it's not for me. With a painted top panel it looks like a GTB and that's good, but with it off it's a far cry from a spider and it looks like it's about to bend in the middle. Don't get upset, just my opinion, but deep down in you heart you know I right.
When I was looking and doing research to purchase a 355 I very quickly dispatched the Convertible. Why? The convertible looses the flying buttress that makes the 355 such a beauty. The F355 GTB/GTS is one of the best looking Ferrari's ever made, I believe that is why prices for the GTB/GTS will always be higher than the convertible. Doesn't mean I don't like the convertable, I just think the hardtop is better looking by far. Just my opinion.
GTB/GTS/Spider - I'll have to agree to disagree. Always felt the GTS with the top off was the best looking of all by far. However, this is a question that has no answer, only opinions and preferences. It's all Good! They all sound wonderful! They're all Ferrari's! Image Unavailable, Please Login
Just because a GTS isn't for you, doesn't automatically make you right. Whilst I can see that the Berlinetta versions of the 308/328/348/355 have purer lines, to Me they look slightly less exotic than the TS/GTS versions (and far less exotic than the full spider versions of the 348 & 355). The reason being is that ordinary everyday cars come with a fixed metal roof, and so a 308/328/348/355 with a fixed metal roof is a comparatively ordinary Ferrari to Me. Being able to lift the roof panel off the car makes the car look even more special, especially as so few cars come with this option. It's the same with driving a targa top Ferrari with the roof panel off, it adds another dimension to whole experience and makes it feel even more special. I have to assume that driving a TB/GTB Ferrari is similar to driving a TS/GTS with the roof panel on (yes....yes....yes, with less squeaks and less flexing in certain conditions). In My 348 TS, when I have driven it with the roof panel on (which is incredibly rare!), it felt comparatively claustrophobic and very dark inside the car, and it seemed to lack a certain sense of occasion that makes the car feel even more special than every other car on the road. Even with the windows down it didn't feel anything like having the roof off, and the engine just sounded too muted to be enjoyed to the full. A GTS "looks like it's about to bend in the middle"? - I've never once looked at any targa topped Ferrari and thought it was about to bend in the middle, From the 246 GTS to the 355 GTS. To claim that you're opinion is the right one is simply not true! - Just as it would be untrue for Me to claim that My opinion is the right one. Some prefer the tin top cars, some prefer the targa top cars, others prefer the soft top cars, it's all just a matter of finding the car that suits you best.
I like both the spider and GTB for different reasons, I don't think that I see myself as a GTS kind of guy, but between the spider and GTB, it's a trade-off. Motoring with the top down is amazing, but rigidity suffers. Racing on a track or driving hard on canyon roads, GTB no question. I ended up with a 6 pedal convertible car and have no regrets, despite the challenges common to many F355 owners and specific to spider owners. Major maintenance is easier with the drop top however.
Because if you remove the rear deck lid and drop the top you can stand behind the seats and reach everything in the front of the motor that is otherwise a bear to reach from behind. Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk
That's a little unfair and the personal attack is totally uncalled for! johnK... is entitled to his opinion just as much as the rest of us! Where he is out of order is in telling us that: ".....deep down in you heart you know I right" - That is not acceptable! Just because he believes the hard-top cars look the best does not make it a fact that the rest of us must agree with, consciously or subconsciously! By the same token, it is not for others to dictate to johnK... that he is wrong and they are right!
I agree. Plus I like the "semi-private" open air experience, and my daily drivers are always hardtops due to practicality (airport parking, car washes, etc.) The 308 always looked a bit "off" to me with a plain painted roof. 355 GTB pulls it off better, maybe because the balance of the car is chunkier and less curvy than the 308. To the OP: I think the lower Spider prices are due to more of them being much more common than the GTS, and the fact that the top mechanism is complicated and will fail more over time.
My comment Phillip is based not only on his latest throwaway nonsense but on past opinions that he has expressed. He really has no eye for design Most people don't......doesn't make him nor them bad people...johnk may well be a lovely man...he has a lot of good quality engineering knowledge...just no eye for what looks good.. I mean to say a gts looks like it's "about to bend in the middle"�� He's not getting away with that... And...the sound of a 355 gts with the roof off is a true life joy�� And...the view of the interior from outside the car with the roof off is an Italian thing of beauty��
It will be the first Ferrari coupe ever....and I mean ever. I wonder if Daytona owners said the same stuff back in the day?
My eye for design/art/composition is not influenced by your opinion. I have no need to define it, though I could post any number of photographs I have taken over the years which would speak to just what my eye can capture aesthetically. I do not find any GTS aesthetically pleasing with the roof panel removed. That is my interpretation. You may have yours. The 355 was designed as a spider and a B. We can argue all day which has purer lines. Both are well executed. But I prefer the lines of the spider over the B, because it is, in a sense, simpler and purer with the top down. And because owning a 308 GTB, I find the 308 profile to be more elegant than that of the 355 B. Some would argue that the 246 Dino is more elegant than the 308. I would argue otherwise. In particular, I find the side scoops on the Dino out of proportion. They are too small, too short. By comparison the extension of the scoops forward into the doors and the greater height of the scoops on the 308 are in better proportion and accentuate the curvature of the 308's profile. As for my comment, "in your heart you know I'm right", I hope, after all the time I have been posting, most would recognize that as a tongue in cheek comment intended as a humorous antidote. Anyway, enjoy you car as I enjoy mine.
I did! Of course you could not have meant that IMO not much downside to GTS. With painted top it's damn close to berlinetta and still looks awesome with the top off. Retains 1/4 windows/buttress/rear glass and I find that gorgeous. Berlinetta is perfect for me but I would have considered GTS if I didn't already have another convertible. Spider, I'm not in love with it top up but do admit I favor it more in some color combos than others (yes the blue is awesome!) I like it less with high contrast top to body colors. Top down it looks kind of 'puffy'. Again, closer color match top/top cover to body I like better. I think as far as the top goes, down was better executed with the 360/hard cover but 355 top looks better/more natural up. Either way, of course everyone has there own preference. Given the budget I would have one of each. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Nope, that's probably why they all got their roofs sawed off. Did they all stay converted or did some get the roofs welded back on? I don't know.
If that was the case the it should have been put at the end of the post to make it clear and save any possible confusion. How hard is it to put a at the end the post if it's not actually meant to be taken seriously?
Show me ONE BMW M coupe that goes LESS than a convertible. YOU NEVER will... so tired of people saying convertibles are worth more. INSANE
Not that I give a rats teets about BMWs, but I was curious. Here's 2 similar Ms where the convertible went for way more than the coupe. Both have similar miles, neither has a carfax issue reported: Sold for: Best offer accepted, presumably sold for less that US $20,900 BMW M3 M3 | eBay Sold for: US $29,995.00 BMW M3 Convertible Laguna Seca M3 | eBay Here's two similar auctions in progress, both have an issue cited on their carfaxes. If both sell for their BIN, the convertible with 25k more miles is worth more than its coupe cousin. 2002 M Coupe Hard Top, 76k miles, BIN = $14k BMW M3 Base Coupe 2 Door | eBay 2002 M Coupe Convertible, 102k mile,s BIN = $15k BMW M3 Base Convertible 2 Door | eBay But none of it matters, there's no point to this discussion. I spent 5 minutes finding these, if I spent another 30 minutes looking I'd find plenty of convertibles with asking or sold prices more than coupes, and plenty of coupes with asking or sold prices more than convertibles, whatever the marque. Why do you guys even care? Love what you have or trade for something else. All this banter is based on opinion, there's no right answer. Make the right choice for yourself. If you need the public's approval for your decision, forget the car for awhile and seek some help for your insecurities.
