355 Challenge Clones. Yea or Nay?

I believe you needed to be sponsored by an approved dealer. I dont think anyone could bring a car and race had to be through a Ferrari dealership

 

Competing in the challenge series back in the day required a sponsoring dealer that you would pay each weekend (or season) for track support / transport / management and had to install the full kit for you. There were only a few Factory cars in he earlier seasons - most cars were 'converted' '95 models. There are many '95 cars out there that competed. I need to look up the exact number in my records. Factory cars later on especially in '98 had less to install at the dealer as far as the complexity of the kit as much was done at Maranello.

'Joe' could not run as an independent in the series. Dealers also competed in the series based on how their drivers did based on a point system.

Hope this helps.

Robb

 

Only one F355 Challenge competed in the 1995 North American Ferrari Challenge Series. The 1996 season brought more F355 Challenge cars into the mix which included 348 Challenge cars. Yes, many were 1995 models converted by the dealerships but there were also some 1996 Swiss cars. Switzerland did not mandate OBDII Motronic 5.2 until 1997.

The wing wasn't added until later in the F355 Challenge Series. The car looked stunning without it. If you want to go through the expense of buying a spare rear deck on which to mount your wing, that's your prerogative but listen to what FBB said. The wing might be effective at high speed tracks like Daytona but much less so, or not at all, on road courses typical of most HPDE events.

And remember, the more Challenge parts you add to your car the less streetable it will be. It's not easy driving an F355 Challenge with its racing seats, roll cage, 2200 lb/in Front and 900 lb/in Rear springs, Challenge shocks, and Challenge suspension alignment on the street. In that form, the car is a dedicated track car.

 

But all it took was money. Today it is the same way. The driver qualification bar is low.

 

Was OBDII mandated in Europe (not Switzerland) in 1996? I have a '96 CH car that is a 2.7 OBDI vehicle, and is supposed to be factory original, delivered to Germany.

 

Pretty sure ALL actuall 355 challenge cars were 2.7 no matter what year they were.

 

First person to start selling a replica challenge wing kit (carbon wing with supports and hardware) will have my money!!
I know someone on here is working on a mold for the oem wing and I'm sure gothspeed can fab up the proper supports and hardware

 

When I bought my bumpers from Rico at Safetech composites he said he had a Challenge wing available. He makes a carbon rear hood as well.

(is it exact to original I don't know)

 

Are his bumper challenge replicas or OEM reproductions? His bumpers are well made, but he cheated a bit by not making any rebar support. The challenge bumpers do have the rebars, but significantly smaller than standard. Can fog lights be mounted? I am not sure if fog lights can be mounted to challenge bumpers. Good buy nonetheless.

 

Ken I believe they are challenge replicas. They have no side marker lights but they do have provisions for the fog lights. Brake ducts appear larger than the originals so I will need to make something for that.

Rebars, you mean the aluminum supports? No it doesn't have them. He quoted 10lbs front 7lbs rear for weight which feels right but I haven't confirmed yet.
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I would def do the wheels, big brakes, suspension lowered, and maybe strip out the interior..but not the wing. Unless you plan on really tracking the car.

 

They look great !!!!

 

those are sexy!

 

I have no issues with tribute cars and in fact find many of them interesting. The only time I do take some offense to them is when people put all the badging on them and swear up and down they are original. There is a local guy with a Lambo Countach kit car. I have been told he tells everyone how it is a real Countach. When he get's challenged on the fact it has a Chev V8 he says he pulled the V12 and put the V8 in to make more power. And what about the interior that looks different and the Mustang II front end? Not sure how he answers that. Plus he is dressed head to toe in Lambo gear.

There is also a guy on youtube with a beautiful 997 Porsche Turbo that he turned into a GT2 RS clone. He put the GT2 RS badging on it and when questioned said it belongs because his car has all the same parts as a real GT2RS. Ok, but it's not a GT2RS so why badge it as such? There is no shame in not being able to afford the real thing. And to drive around with the badging in my opinion is making you out to be a fraud/sham. I would love to build a 288 GTO tribute car with a modern drivetrain - think Singer Porsche - but I would never badge it as a real 288 GTO.

 

I've never removed my standard front bumper, so I am not exactly sure what it looks like, but I have removed my standard rear bumper. Our cars have crash supports built into the bumper and they make up significant portion of the weight. Without the crash support, the bumper will be very light. 10lbs and 7lbs will be about right for those bumpers. It is also vacuum infused which makes the bumpers stronger than Ferrari's wet laid Kevlar challenge bumpers.

I'll take some pics of the insides of the challenge bumpers so you can see the difference. There is a crash support much smaller than the ones on the standard bumpers. Whether or not that will matter in a crash... who knows? Depends on the extent of the accident I guess.

What prices did he quote you for the pieces and carbon engine lid?

 

Those will lighten your car considerably, Jim. You can easily fabricate transitions for the brake ducts.

CF bumpers are great, but take care on the street or on the track for that matter...

.
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Lol. Where is this gold mine Barry?

 

That's Classic Coach's backyard, Ken.

 

Thanks guys.

Ken, yes the bumpers have an aluminum reinforcement bonded inside, front is similar.

The Canadian bumpers on my car have even more fiberglass. There's no void between the mounting points it's just all filled in so they weigh a ton.

Even the rear bumper subframe seems like it is more reinforced. Voids filled in with metal on both sides. Going to rebuild it in alloy.

Agreed with both of you guys, crashing is definitely something I don't want to do!

 

Same here, Jim. I've been lucky so far. I've put over 6,000 track miles on my F355 Challenge without incident. I was lucky here approaching Turn 8 at Watkins Glen last year. The F430 challenge I pointed by decided to drop its left exhaust tip in front of me. It bounced unpredictably and just missed me as I swerved first to the right and then to the left...






[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2h0B0PbARI[/ame]







Whew!

 

The track crew retrieved his tip when I reported the incident. I saved him a bundle replacing his entire exhaust (the tips aren't available separately).

All that holds the tips on are a couple of spot welds. Another Ferrari design wonder!

.
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You are my hero!

 

I think I'm getting the hang of it, FBB.

 

Nicely done! That could have had a much worse outcome.

 

Thanks, Jim. Yes, I know. Like many other drivers, I wear a full face helmet but drive with the visor up. When I realized what happened, I quickly flipped my visor down and then went through those maneuvers to avoid the exhaust tip. From that point on, my visor is always down when I'm on the track.