For Sale Ferrari 355 Challenge OMP Carbon seats (original)

Up for sale is a pair of original 355 challenge (not 348. 355 has larger belt hoops) OMP carbon seats.



Why am I selling?

I’m in a good mood . I rarely offer up for sale unobtanium 355 parts. I’d rather trade for other 355 unobtanium goodies. Get me while I’m good .


Description:

The seats were purchased individually from Japan (not from same car) roughly a decade ago. I never used or installed them. One seat has original OMP seat rails, which can still be purchased new from Ferrari.


Fabric-wise, one seat is in 4 out of 10 condition. The other was in 9 out of 10 condition. I say was because I took the cover off and sold it to @Robb, so he can better match the seats he had in his challenge car. Probably wasn’t a smart move on my part, but what’s done is done . However, he didn’t take the seat and thigh covers. Those are still in original form. Both seats have all their original foam, so it would not be difficult to re-upholster (using the other seat as a pattern).

The condition of the carbon bucket itself appears to be identical. No large visible cracks or anything drastic. Just needs a good ol fashion polish to bring it back to its former glory. There are air bubbles in the carbon from how they were manufactured at the time, which appears to be a standard wet lay-up process.


Why did I remove the cover from one of the seats?

I don’t have a 355 Challenge. I have a 355 Berlinetta. It wouldn’t visually fit to put seats that say “Ferrari Challenge” on them, but I loved the look and shape of the seats. My end goal was to re-upholster these in a better and more durable fabric (alcantara, etc), so I didn’t feel the need for the original Nomex cover. Figured it was best preserved for someone who had an actual challenge car.

I now have 355 carbon sport seats.




*The original Nomex fabric was extremely fragile. Probably more fragile than a cotton T-shirt. If the seats were actually used for racing, 9 out of 10 times, they would probably need re-upholstering by now. If it looks great, the seat was either rarely used (stored away) or it was re-done. My point? It’s not unusual to see these seats in mangled condition. They need reupholstering for the most part, which shouldn’t be too difficult. There is a guy in Japan who restores them pretty well with no foam, the whole works… but that would require shipping these back to Japan.




Price :

These seats are far rarer than 355 carbon sport seats and in most cases, 355 challenge cars only came with ONE OMP seat. 355 carbon sport seats range from $25-$30k on the ultra rare occasions they come up for sale. Happy to debate .


Ask - $25k for the pair.


Here are some old pics. The seats are currently in storage, but will pull put of storage for detailed pics for the serious buyer.






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Here is an old pic of the seat, which was in 9 out of 10 condition before I pulled the cover off and sold to Robb.



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https://www.ferrarista.club/ferrari-blog/purchase-and-resale/how-i-found-and-restored-my-registered-ferrari-f355-challenge-r44/


“The impossible to find part: the seats



In the meantime, I bought a multitude of pieces on the internet in the USA, the Netherlands, and Germany, which is part of the fun. It was an interesting treasure hunt full of pitfalls, scams... The biggest problem was the seats because it didn't have the original seats.



It was delivered with a single OMP seat. I put the leather seats back. At the end of the season, the OMP seats were thrown away because they were no longer approved. Some have been salvaged to have a second seat, so there are very few OMPs left. This is why other Ferrari F355 Challenge are today in Sabelt or other brands.
I was confronted with a lot of scams, for a budget between 20 and 25,000 dollars, with never the certainty of getting the seats. I found sales ads with carbon kevlar, but there were only carbon seats on Ferrari F355.


Desperate, I contacted the OMP factory for seats, but an order for two seats is not possible. OK if the order is for 50 or 60 seats. I tell them yes, we can think about it!! Certainly some Ferrarista’s would have been interested!
I obtain an agreement in principle. OMP needed confirmation from Ferrari to validate the order, but we never got a response. The OMP track has therefore fallen away.


Looking at the ads as usual, I come across another Ferrari F355 Challenge for sale at Cobalt Automobiles, registered, with seats. I call the garage to tell them that I am ready to take back the seats with an exchange of mine + 20,000 euros. The owner thinks about it for two or three days, a priori not against it. In the end, he did not give up on doing the operation. Back to square one.


My idea then is to buy the car to get the seats! This also allows the recovery of the original fire extinguisher. The car was purchased, its owner having driven 37,000 kilometers with it. The seats were recovered in May 2023. The car then went to Le Mans Auto Racing for cosmetic preparation and decaling consistent with its presentation livery in 1995.”








No scam here . And you don’t have to buy a whole challenge car just to obtain the seats.

 

A few inspirational samples.


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@deuce49

 

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/ferrari-348-challenge-kevlar-bucket-seats/

355 challenge seats have never been up for sale on BaT. Here is a set of 348 carbon-kevlar seats. Notice seat and thigh foam is missing on one of the seats. It would be very difficult to re-create the foam for those. My seats have all the original foam for a stress-free re-upholster.

 

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