Anyone Owned a 360 and a Gallardo?

Testacojones recently swapped out of his G to get into a 360. I think he misses the G... -

 

Member Clax went from 360 Spider to Murci to Gallardo... search his posts, he's written on this several times.

 

I owned a 360 (and later a 360 Spider) while my brother had a Gallardo, which I often drove. Both the 360 & Gallardo will almost certainly put a 24/hr a day smile on your face, but the choice has to come down to your own personal preference. My 360s were perfectly dependable and I had zero problems with both, as well there have been no problems with his Gallardo.

My only recommendation would be to try and test drive both, as that should make your decision easier.

 

I believe avalon superstar owns both cars.

 

I drove a friends for a few weeks and went with the 360 spider. Just like the way the car was put togther, the sound ect..now i also have a 2001 6.0 and that car is also a blast to drive.

vince

 

Ryalex is correct. I really enjoyed the 360. Fun to drive, very fluid design (much more attractive to me than the F430), easy driveability, and nimble handling. Where the car really fell short (for me) was torque. The car sounds like it's rocketing ahead (glorious sound), but it really doesn't give you that thrust found in a Gallardo or Mucielago.

Both the 360 and G are great cars, depends on what is important to you.

 

You know I do.

 

I currently have both. They're both great cars, but drive very differently. In my opinion, you need to drive both cars to determine which one is best for you personally, after all; you'll be the one driving it.

 

Philip,

They are as different as night and day as has been pointed out a million times... but I guess it’s impossible to really know unless you live day-in and day-out with a horse and a bull… I use the word bull loosely though as the Gallardo is still not a “grown-up” bull in my most humble opinion… a “baby bull” if you will. And please keep in mind this is completely one person’s opinion, and that person has very limited knowledge of and access to technical “specs”.

Ferrari 360 Spider – The Horse

She is all of her name-plate and more… you talk to her when feeding, spend way too much time grooming and think about her excessively when she is asleep.

The 360 handles a little better than the Gallardo when pulling out of curves and navigating around the New England pot holes. It’s very subtle but I notice it. I am not sure which direction, but where you sit in both cars is different. I think that in the 360 you sit further back in relation to the gravitational center. So this could entirely be a perceived feeling. The 360 has less power of course and the engine note has a higher pitch (standard exhaust system on mine). Especially the top end… kind of has a sexy whine… a b!tch horse in heat maybe. Still it’s a very impressive sound and very unique.

It seems to me the Ferrari is better styled in a classical sense. The interior styling is simplistic but still has modern touches. When I look at the exterior paint (Rosso Corsa) of the 360 next to the Gallardo (Rosso Metis) there is no comparison. The Rosso Corsa looks as if it has 20 layers to it and you feel that if you were to touch it, your hand would sink as if you put your hand a bucket of paint. It’s simply drop-dead gorgeous. And my 360 is a Spider which of course means her top comes off. No comparison there… the exhilaration of driving with the top down is difficult to put into words. All the clichés are in full effect. If I could only get both b!tches to drive with their tops down, I really would have pictures to share. Let me go ask...

In the looks and attention department, you will get plenty. More than I ever wanted or expected… it’s an older age group (25-35) and more women notice than with the Gallardo. My wife hates me driving either car without her as I hit the clubs and nightlife frequently. Actually, she hates me anyway so who gives a crap what car it is… Also the color might have something to do with the differences in attention. And it’s hard not to notice any convertible in beautiful weather. But my 360 is unfortunately not going to be a daily driver… weekends only, no snow (he he), hours of hand waxing and absolutely no mods. A set of floor mats to cover the factory mats and that’s it. I took delivery of the car from Miller Motorsports with just over 3000 miles and the previous owner was fanatical… the car was perfect in every way. Manuals in plastic, sticker still intact, film over all of the mirrors, etc. So drilling holes, changing the wheels or even the stock radio gives me nightmares… Cons?

What bothers me most is the pampering... I think it’s more mental than anything, but I feel obligated to treat this car with respect. And that can take away from the experience of ownership if you let it. If you feel the same way, make a list of everything you want and shop for the perfect car. I made my list and got it exactly right from the start. Other than that I’ll have to own the car awhile longer to see about reliability and needed service.

Gallardo – The Bull

Another perfect mascot to appropriately associate with a car. For the G it may be closer to a "bull that realizes how big his brothers are hung", but it unmistakably still has a big, fat, bull cock if its own. 'mmmmk....

A lot of power when you need it the most. And for me that’s usually when I have to prove myself to the 100’s of Japanese rice-cake car’s (all with Lambo doors) that frequent the Boston area. The car roars when it talks... even in sub-degree weather when I go into a tunnel I have to roll all the windows down and hang my head out the window like a dog… you smile like a drunk. The Gallardo has a deep, dark tone to it and you find yourself making it speak every chance you get.

This car looks like an exotic… no other way to describe it and you don’t have to put on wings, ground effects or blinking LED’s underneath to get noticed. The interior looks like a spaceship next to the 360. Everything is red lights, mini-computer screens and very hi-tech styling. You feel like you are 4 inches off the ground and are laying down flat when driving. It’s a coupe and if you have any issues with tight spaces then this is by far not the car you want to crawl into… and you literally have to crawl in.

You will have scores of 15 year old boys around you at all times. Driving next to you taking pictures with cell phones, trying to climb in when you are not around and smudging up the windows with greasy cheeseburger covered hands. That’s a fact… so get used it. They will hate you, they will love you, and their girl friends will love you even more. But again they're 15 years old, so just be careful

I might change the wheels one day and if a kit pops up for scissor doors where exit clearance is adequate I might do it. Why not? I can drive though a mud puddle and not even notice. It has a few scratches on it, I drive every day I can (rain or light snow) and will trade the car in when it has 80,000 miles and body parts are hanging off of it.

But the Gallardo has always been sick... Dead battery, squeaking brakes, broken front hood, headlight dies, interior parts that come off in your hand, alarms coming on, sh*t blinking at you, etc…. and that all costs money. I don’t think it should have this many problems already. It has 1500 miles on it (I got it at 400) and it’s a bit soon for such crankiness.

So that’s it… If it was a case of having to choose, the Gallardo would win but not by a landslide… and mostly because I like 15 year old little girls (KIDDING!). Also, I would probably end up hiring my Asian neighbor to cut the roof off come summertime. What a blessing to have both and it will be fun to see how I feel after the one year anniversary.

Good luck and either way you’re a lucky man to even be able to choose.

Billy

 

Here’s the Pix – I’m far too sedated to try and figure this out!
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

^ Sorry to hear how problematic your Gallardo is, mine was perfect and no problems, I drove it more than 6,000 miles. For me the Gallardo makes me a faster driver and I exit corners faster than with the 360. Also the Gallardo broke necks when it came to the staring crowds, people of all ages stared, from 5 year olds to the very elderly and yes women did go crazy.

 

Avalon Superstar great write up!!!!

...ever driven a Diablo 6.0??? if yes, Id love to hear what you have to say about that!!

 

The most important thing to me in a sports car is responsiveness...electric, visceral, light-on-its-feet quickness. And this is where the 360 shines over the Gallardo, which because of its extra weight and AWD just feels a bit numb compared to the 360. When I bought my Modena in 2004, the Gallardo was available at the same price, and I chose the 360 for the above reasons. If torque and straight-line performance mean more to you than handling, by all means give the Gallardo a try, it is faster than the 360 in a straight line for sure.

Gary

 

gotta disagree on the paint, to me ferrari is WAY behind in this area...

 

I think they could both do better in the paint department. For this kind of money, they should be painting the cars in multiple coats with wet-sanding between each coat. Heck, even if they charged a few thousand more for the additional labor, it would make sense.

 

One thing is for sure, both of these cars are magnificent machines with unique attributes of there own.

These two cars ended up on my short list as well. Although I haven't owned a Gallardo personally, I have driven one on several occasions. FYI, a friend of mine owns one (he loves it) and it's been very reliable with very few problems (I think he has about 4k miles on it now and he bought it new).

In the end of the day, what pushed me to the 360 were its absolutely beautiful design and the overall driving experience. The 360 seemed more refined to me (but make no mistake, this is a high performance car that requires respect and skill to drive to its highest potential); Billy referend to it as a "horse", I prefer to call it a "thoroughbred". I still get an adrenalin rush every time I take it for a spirited run.

Good advice above, it really comes down to driving both cars to determine what turns you on. It's a very personal choice that only you can make.

Good luck on your decision and the good news is either way you really can't go wrong

Hey Billy, absolutely dynamite story you posted about your drive in the snow storm, best reading I've had in a long time.

 

I disagree on the handling, and fact is now, there are several track time comparisons that disprove your theory.

 

When you can drive like the test drivers then make that kind of comment.....
An experienced driver in comparable cars will beat you regardless.....

MM

 

And 2 experienced drivers, 1 in a 430, 1 in a Gallardo, and the G will come out on top.

And the one thing that the G will also do, is allow a semi experienced driver like myself in a G, to upstage an experienced one, such as supposedly yourself, in a 430.

 

the only thing ill say on this is that, as a less than perfect driver, the G cars AWD does add more confidence Im sure, at least I would have it.

 

did know you owned a 360 as well..the two together looks great..great choices....

 

Of course you're free to disagree, but bear in mind I'm talking here about *feel*, not lap times. Many professional drivers and journalists agree with me, incidentally; in fact I would bet 90% of pro drivers prefer the feel of RWD to AWD. And as I said in another post, all things being equal, RWD is faster than AWD every time in dry conditions.

Gary

 

Im glad you feel that way; arguing Car and Driver or whatever is pointless.
Buy the car you want, you cant buy skill and experience. Which car do you have?

MM

 

Oh yeah, what about dry gravel or sand!?
Image Unavailable, Please Login