Hi everyone, Vroooom! As I mentioned last week in this () thread, I rented a yellow 2002 Ferrari 360 Modena in Vegas this past weekend. We had the car from noon on Saturday until noon on Sunday and put 301 miles on it. Overall: great experience and a lot of fun! I had never rented an exotic car before, and I highly recommend it as a mini-vacation idea. Lots of fun and a great way to see some sights and places you normally wouldnt. I had been to Vegas many times in the past, but never ventured off the Strip. On Saturday, we took the Ferrari to Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, the small town of Overton for lunch, and then through the Valley of Fire on the way back to Vegas. This was a great loop and made for some excellent driving roads. No accidents, no tickets, and only one stern warning from the Park Ranger. Sunday morning was just a short trip out to Red Rock. Best roads: some of the small side roads around Lake Mead (nice twistys), and the trek through the Valley of Fire (great views; neat place!). I had never driven a Ferrari before and got a lot out of it. Notables: - The sound. Now I know what you guys are talking about! Wow! 4500 to 8500 is just simply ridiculous. I was also very surprised how well sealed the cabin is with the windows up. With the windows down, the car can go from very quite to very loud. - Handling. Very tight, superb. Super solid chassis with no shake over bumps and very confidence inspiring. Much easier to drive fast than any car Ive driven. - The brakes. Again, wow. Ive driven Porsches with nice brakes but this just seemed to be on its own level. Easy to modulate, dead straight, and a TON of grip. - The rear view. Never quite saw it from this angle, but it was very cool - the engine intake sits right in your side view mirrors, and the engine sits right in the middle of your rear view mirror. Neat. - The shape. I just never get tired looking at nice Ferraris. Disappointments: - Lack of low end torque. The car was fast, but really was kind of a pig at low RPMs. This is exacerbated by the very tall gearing. More torque and shorter gearing would greatly improve the car. - Hard to see behind you. Lane changes were tough for me, because there is a pretty big blind spot in the mirror, and you can check even by turning your head. Oh well, I guess just a good reason to drive faster than everyone else. - The rental wasnt bad, but it certainly wasnt as well cared for as your typical Ferrari (or possibly just driven a lot more). The car had 22,000 miles on it. The paint had a lot of chips, and was covered with that protective film all over and a lot of the edges were visible. Because of the films edges, the car really only looked good from 5-10 feet, which isnt like your typical Ferrari. - The rental also had trouble shifting. 6th gear was sometimes very- hard to get into. It just wouldnt go, youd have to put it back in 5th, and then try again. Probably not typically, just something wrong with this car. - Wacked out temperature gauge. Again, not sure if its just this car, but the water temp would get really high really quickly when driven fast for 1-2 minutes. In fact, when this first happened the red temp light came on, so I pulled over and called Rent A Vette (the rental shop). The said its normal, and provided it doesnt stay there and start blinking, every should be ok. Is this really the case? I cant imagine that a $140k car would behave like this. I really dont think the car I drove could survive a 20-minute session on the track. Granted, it was in Vegas and it was a 100 degrees out side, but this still seems very strange to me. The oil temp gauge was always right about 180-200. My personal fun car is a highly modified Porsche 914-6. It has an Andial built 3.6 liter engine, 915 transmission, 993TT front brakes, C2T rear brakes, carbon fiber lids, leather interior, etc. Given the cars similarities (mid engine, rear wheel drive, 3.6 liters), and differences (Ferrari vs 914, etc.) I thought it would be interesting to compare vital specs between the two (see spreadsheet below). Thats it! Fun car, Id really like to try a 360 CS now -Steve
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Fantastic write-up and photos!!! BTW, I like your 914-6! I've heard they're quite go-kartish in their handling. Is this accurate?
Sounds like you had a great experience out there! I had a blast through the Valley of Fire in that very car about a month ago in, and it's a screamer. BUT I do have to nitpick with a few of your comments -- Not sure if it's changed since I last saw it, but that 360 definitely does NOT have a lot of rock chips on it, especially for a rental. In fact, that car is in better shape than a lot of the 360s out there driven by private owners. I hope you weren't expecting to get a showroom-mint car from a rental company... As for the film, perhaps you haven't seen a 360 that's had the film on it before, but the edges are _always_ visible....(it should probably be called a "nearly invisible" bra... But it's far less visible on a yellow car than on a red or black car. And most of the 360s I see these days have the film, so it is pretty typical actually... I had no problems whatsoever shifting from 5th to 6th last month. The 360 gated shifter definitely takes some getting used to, especially if you've never driven a Ferrari before. FYI. Great pics, btw...thanks for sharing! nlh
You've got to be the first person I have heard say "tall gears" when talking about a 360. Every Porsche guy that rides in my car comments on the short gears. The GT3 for example has about the same speed at max rpm in 3rd that the 360 has in 4th. And I really find the low end torque to be quite good, similar to GT3. Maybe earlier 360s had different mapping or something? The bad shifting and overheating were definitely problems. I've never had either on my car, even on hot track days. Gary
> As for the film, ... the edges are _always_ visible... Yes, I understand, but this car seemed to have more film than normal. It was not only on the front bra, but also around the wheel wheels and mirrors. Plus there were lotsa bugs out (or maybe they just die easily at 100+ mph ), and the car got pretty dirty in 300 miles and the dirt really made the edges show up. If it was my car, I'd rather live with some rock chips than how the film was presented on that car. Rock chips give a car character. Plus, I've seen some cars with the film applied with greater care. The edges can be made to wrap around seams or under badges/mirrors, so it is less obvious. > Talk about tough shifting! I always had trouble with 2nd gear on the 915's : Oh, I agree, the Ferrari shifted much better than my 915, except when it literally wouldn't go into 6th. I don't know what's up with that, I'm pretty certain it wasn't driver error. But it should shift better than a 21 year-old Porsche transmission (it's from an 84 911). > You've got to be the first person I have heard say "tall gears" when talking about a 360. I'll admit, I really thought you were wrong until I just checked the math (see spreadsheet below). I'm quite surprised that's how the gearing works out. Maybe it just felt that way to me because the powerband is "peakier" than most cars I'm familiar with. My car used to have the old Porsche 901 transmission which did about 80 mph in 3rd and 100 mph in 4th. I've also driven a track prepped Caterham which did max 120 in 5th (probably limited by both gearing and aerodynamics ). That's short gears. > ... overheating were definitely problems. I've never had either on my car, even on hot track days. Good to hear. It may have just been a sensor/gauge issue, but if it was accurate, this car would not have come close to being able to survive a 20 minute track session. And don't get me wrong - while I do have a couple of nit picks and everything wasn't -perfect-, I loved the car and had a great time. It's all about compromises and the Ferrari's strength far outway any weaknesses. It was -a lot- of fun to drive! Another note, and part of my motivation for renting it: I'm 6'6" (38" inseam) and found that I fit fine in the 360. Not roomy, but definitely comfortable and had pretty good driving position (would like to figure out if its possible to bring the steering wheel closer). I was originally considering a 355, but could not come even close to fitting in it. -Steve Image Unavailable, Please Login
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Nice writeup, Steve! Btw, how much did your rental bill come out to at the end if you don't mind me asking?
ROFL! "girl appeal: F360 - high, for the wrong girl 914-6 - high, for the right girl" That's pretty good, sums it up perfectly. Sounds like you had a great trip. I had a Maser coupe reserved with these guys, for a trip down to Sedona. In the end I decided I'd just save the cash to buy my own, and canceled the reservation. I seem to remember that it was gonna cost around $1600 for maybe 3 days and a few hundred miles.
In the US, the Modenas seem to be about a $ grand a day. In Europe it is about half that (liability discount due to lower ratio of lawyers per capita?). There is also a package that it put on by a group of enthusiasts where you pay $600 and spend a day switching between 360, Gallardo, 911TT, etc....I keep seeing it in one of the Brit classic car rags...I am thinking it is time for a business trip ! http://www.rent-a-vette.com/car-rental-rates.html PS, Viper is $349 a day, but they probably make you take out obligatory life insurance...
Very amazing and beautifull pics for me ! Such great landscape, perfectly matching with a magic car !! Stunning !!
The fee was $1100/day + $2/mile. Ended up being about $1600 or so... I was happy with everything about RAV except for some unexpected "administration fees" and taxes that I wasn't told about up front. I challenge them on that and they said it was because they are at the airport/etc/etc. Whatever, still worth it. > BTW, I like your 914-6! I've heard they're quite go-kartish in their handling. Is this accurate? > The 914/6 is a legend of a car. The market hated them, the owners loved 'em. Yes, I love my 914. It's such a fun car to drive, and it may have similar performance specs, but very different experiences. I've actually owned the car for almost 14 years now - I got it right before I turned 16 and have owned it since. I originally bought it for $2600 and have since put many multiples of that into it. A 914 feels like it handles like a go cart, until you drive a Caterham (1200 lbs). And a Caterham feels like a go kart until you actually drive a shifter kart (500 lbs). But yes, the 900 lbs weight difference between the 914 and 360 makes a huge difference and makes for two totally different experiences. -Steve
I must say I expected different results based on my own experiences with that very car being the first F-car I had ever driven. However if you find your self just as happy or even happier with your present car then you have the game beat and you can save tens if not hundreds of thousands and be just as happy.
very interesting write-up! thanks for the info and i look forward to possibly doing this one day. casey
I'm with you. And I don't know what market hated them. The flares on the wheels look soooo cool. Andf the orange reminds me of Mclaren orange. I love the picture of the rear side mirror. You should frame it. Anyone buying an exotic may want to try the rental route first. It may well be worth it to see if you really want to go there.
Thank you for taking the time to write this up. I rented a 348 spider 3 years ago on my honeymoon, and lets just say I need to get a ferrari now! (355 spider or 355 GTS). I will cry at my first repair/maintence bill however since after 3 porsches I'm used to $80 oil changes once a year and $600 tune ups every 5 years, but I've caught the fever... One of the funniest and accurate quotes I've seen in some time on F-Chat: "In Europe it is about half that (liability discount due to lower ratio of lawyers per capita?)."
Wow...what a stunning color! I will have to rent a 360 for myself one day...but I do admit that owning would be a truely rewarding and significant experience in itself.
Great thread! Great experience! Thanks for sharing! Reminds me of the times I drove rental-Ferrari's myself... those cars really are addictive! Can't wait to own one myself! Here's a write-up of my most recent Ferrari drive... 3 days with a F355 Spider last year in August... (pics are reposted at the last page) http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26536%20
