Do you think that a 348 will become a classic?

Congrats on your purchase...but I hate to tell you they did not go up in value this year.

 

The ones worth buying are holding their value, to say the lease.

 

just my $.02 worth. The 348 is an unfortunate design....can you say Toyota MR2? Even if it didn't look like a Toyota it is a very uninspired mediocre design...I know, I know all that is subjective...so if you like it great. Just seems like a de-sensualized 328 to me. The 355 was not much better but it is better so I think it will always overshadow the 348. The next f-car with some real character was the 360 which was of course only a redo (with modern touches) of the 246 Dino. But good for Ferrari....the 246 is quite possibly the most beautiful car ever produced.

Having said all that .... if a classic is the ultimate example of the style of the era....yeah it may become that...I just feel that artistic expression in general in the late 80s/early 90s will not be remembered fondly in any field...Curt Cobain excepted.

 

Respectfully and politely, I completely disagree with those observations.

Not for one minute do I think the 348 will age as well as a 308/328. But,

1. From my reading, the 348 was never meant to have a relationship with the 328 -- sensualized or de-sensualized. It was a ground-up redesign.

2. If you think the 355 has more "character" than a 348, we must have different definitions of character. YES, the 355 is superior in many ways. But come on.... the power steering alone on a 355 kills the "character" experience for me.

3. 360 is a restyled Dino? YES, the Dino is possibly the most beautiful car ever made by mankind; it was touched by God himself. NO, I see no meaningful resemblance between a 360 and a 246GT/GTS


No worthwhile artistic expression of the late 80's/early-90's??

Mon ami, the world is much broader than Nirvana. I submit the outstanding paintings and photography of Jennifer Bartlett and Cindy Sherman as simply two American names that pop into my mind without even looking abroad.

.

 

hey guys,

imo, there is absolutely no way a 348 will become a classic, theres just too many...maybe a 348 speciale...

_rP

 

Classic or not... when you are standing next to the road and you see one showing up from the distance I still say.... wow !
And when I see my wife driving away into the distance and I see our 348's huge wide and low rear getting smaller... what a car man...

Classic, what is a classic?

You need to know already something about Ferrari's to see the difference between a 348 or 355. Ok, the rearlights...
The 355 (SAME BODY !) was built until the end of 1999. Some spiders were even listed on the streets in 2000. That's just a few years ago man...

 

Turn it up They made under 10,000 of them. They made over 20,000 each of 355,360 and the 430 is following in their foot steps over the next 4 years. The newer models will become less desireable,cause even now they are everywhere. The older 246,308,328 and the 348 are the go man!

 

absolutely the 348 will become a sought after car. why ? it is a unique design , only brother to the TR . yes the 355 is similar, but when you add the door strakes , wow. it gives it the unique exotic edge. it may not get to Daytona $ levels, but it will hold value and gain as years go by . BTW , i never can understand why Daytona's have gotten to the levels they have....? if there are few of the m out there, somebody will pay top dollar, because they can. ever watch the guys on barrett jackson ?! they over bid on almost everything because their testosterone gets in the way.

 

I don't think the production numbers will hamper the value of the 348. In Cavallino magazine they list the following production numbers:

77-80 308 GTS 3219 made
82-85 308 GTS QV 3042 made
84-91 Testarossa 7177 made
85-89 328 GTS 6068 made
89-94 348ts 4228 made

So, since everyone here thinks the 308/328/TR will be classic, I don't see how production numbers can be used to justify 348 not being classic.
BT

 

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I completely agree. When I was in the market for my first Ferrari, I was looking at 308's. (I still want a nice 308). I also subscribed to all of the car magazines back in 1989, and I clearly remember the criticism of the 348 redesign, and the way I thought the car looked in pictures.

However, my wife and I were at Italian Car Fest down in TX a few years ago and we were walking around the cars and I was showing her the 308's and 328's, and she said "those are sexy, but this is awesome". She was pointing at a 348. She had no idea the age of the car. Her idea of a Ferrari was the cars she had seen in the movies and on TV (308, TR, Daytona Relpicas, etc).

She's an artist and a designer by trade, and I trust her opinion. The more I looked at the 348, the more I agreed with her and I bought one.

I think the 348 is just one of many examples of an automitive "icon" being replaced, only to be appreciated more by the next generation than the market it was originally designed for. I've seen time and again young people (okay, well younger than me) stop in their tracks to take cell phone pics and generally gawk at my car. Whats funny is that it's happened with the car parked next to new Bentleys, Lambos, Porsches, and even my friends 360.

I wouldn't discount the 348 being considered a classic anymore than I would any other car that represented a departure from the expected norm at the time. I do know that appreciating, preserving, and maintaining Ferraris historically pays greater dividends than doing the same with a Toyota or an Acura ;-)

 

308/328 are future classics?! WTF?

 

Wow! Only 4228 made?

How many Spiders were made?

 

Yup, and out of everyone in the world, and I own one of them.

As far as a classic, nah, but the 348 will become THE Ferrari to hot rod, and that will make it very desirable.

 

No, there were more 348's made than that.

---------------------------------------------------------

Total World production of 360's

Coupes Total - 10,000
Standard Coupes - 8,500
Challenge Stradales- 1,200
Race Cars – 300
Spiders - 7,500

Total: 17,500 (over 5 years)

----------------------------------------------------------

Total World production of 355's

F355 B = 4,915
F355 GTS = 2,577
F355 Spider = 3,714

Total 11,206

----------------------------------------------------------

TOTAL WORLD PRODUCTION of 348

348 - TB 2,895
348 - TS 4,230
Spiders – 1090

Total: 8,215

-----------------------------------------------------------

 

A collector's classic? Nope. I think it will be a classic due to its design, and somewhat due to its infamy, much the same way a Corvair is, but never a million dollar car.

The real question you may be asking is "Will it retain value or appreciate?" If so, then I believe it will.

I strongly believe that the 348 will become one of the first hobbyist Ferrari tuner's platforms of choice. The two major gripes I hear about the 348 are always handling and power, both of which there are ample upgrade options for with more entering the market monthly. It is easy to work on, is relatively modern in design and style, and has good doucmentation.

If we see a big HP upgrade kit in the future, which I think is inevitable, these will become great track cars and awesome drivers for the money. Imagine what would happen if aftermarket parts also drove maintenance prices down dramatically.

I think the 348 will be popular and in demand, not from the traditional Ferrari purists but more from the enthusiasts. It could end up being writing a new page in Ferrari's history. Guess we'll have to wait and see.

 

Dam. Missed you saying this Ernie, but I agree 100%.

 

Hey, I have one of those!!

What I am amazed at, is the spider production numbers. 1090 units built, yet 16 of 20 (DRAUTOS.COM) 348's for sale are spiders . I don't get it


EDIT: THere are currently 19 348's for sale.....7 TS, 12 Spiders. No TB's Does this mean tb owners hold on to them longer?

 

I think its one of the last DIYers (348).
that's what I liked about the car and one of the reasons I bought one.
personally I think they should have done away with the climate control and
just used knobs and switches but that's just me.
classic, I don't know. what makes a car a classic? highly sought after??
I think they'll be sought after for first time buyer at some point if not already.
does that count for anything?

some cars that are considered to be classics, are just old cars to me.... )
define classic.

 

Don't forget the 348 Speciale !!!

 

I had a friend react the same way when I told him how low the numbers were.

My best hypothesis is formed from my own experiences so far:

A) I didn't realize how fast there things really are until I owned one.

B) I can't keep myself from driving like a maniac

C) I can't be truly happy driving like a maniac unless I have the added peace of mind that a hardtop offers!

A + B + C = more spiders for sale.

 

Become a classic? Man, I sure hope not for a long, long time. In my experience, the surest way to squeeze the fun out of a car is to label it a "classic". What happens then? Well, we get a financial windfall if we sell them. But wait....you mean we have to sell them? Our beloved 348s? And all we get in return is money. Where's the fun in that? Or, we have to be so careful driving them because of their value the fun is sucked out of it? No way. Wouldn't it be great if a 275 was just an old 12cyl car? Buy it and drive it all day! Have fun at the redline! Where are they? They're in garages, that's where! Yuk! P-too!

 

Note, of the 1090 TOTAL Spider production noted below, I've seen elsewhere on 'chat that only about half that came to the U. S. That strikes me as being not too many.

 

Not as long as Chris owns one!

 

Yup!

Since it's ONLY a 348

Huh G




btw: how many 360's were built again??
82,000?