Hey 348 guy's!

Oh, Mr. JDAVID.... your number is up !!

 

Not all 348 Challenge cars are road legal.

All 348 SS cars should be street legal, however.

 

In 1994 32 (USA) factory challenge TB's were made and 13 TS's. There were also 15 SS's made in 94, all the rest were spiders. All these cars were and are street legal cars. In those days, Ferrari also sold "challenge kits" which contained all the bits and pieces to prepare a street 348 for the series. Anyway, the factory challenge cars differed from other 348's in that pads for installing a roll cage was already in the car. Mechanically, the motors had a little hotter ecu's and "challenge exhaust". They were also lighter and had harder suspension bushings. Some came with ID plates similar to SS plates. See below. When I owned one, I did extensive research and concluded about 1/2 were actually used in the challenge races. The rest were left as street cars. Some people bought them without knowing they even had anything special since not all had ID plates.

Dave
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Depends on how you define challenge car. Any 348 could be converted to challenge specs and raced. There were 45 "factory" challenge cars built in '94 (32 tb, 13 ts). They were all sold with a street title.

Once converted to challenge specs you had to sign a waiver that you would not convert back to road car. Officially any car raced in challenge series is not street legal. However some are driven on the street as they do maintain a title.

If looking for a street car, 348 SS maybe better buy. Even '94 street challenge will still have the challenge suspension and ride a bit stiffer. If looking for a factory challenge, look for one with as little race history as possible, straight tub/frame, and street interior.

I have a '94 factory challenge that raced 5 races in '96 series. Great shape. Never wrecked. I love it.

 

LOL! Well, it's always confusing from Ferrari. However, this thread http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?p=135269625#post135269625 says that there were two types of 348 Challenge cars: Challenge race and Challenge Street 348's.

That thread also says that 348 Challenge race cars are *not* street legal, and includes 2 348 Challenge owners.

Your mileage may vary.

 

That's sort of true. There were 45 "factory" challenge cars imported into US in 1994. All 45 were sold in street form from dealer with street title. I think you could get a credit option with delete of the cahllenge kit. The factory challenge cars still had to be converted to a race car with a challenge kit. Actually all 348 tb and ts in '94 were factory challenge cars.

ANY 348 could be converted (many of the earlier cars in '94 series) to a race challenge car by a certified dealer. This was also with the challenge kit. Once converted the owner had to sign a waiver that that car would not be converted back to a street car. Many were though. Sometimes by second owners or even dealers. They still maintain a street title.

In later '95 and by '96 355 challenge cars were built as race cars by the factory and were not sold with titles.

 

I do not know of the waver since mine was a street car, but I do know of one that was raced that most definitely was used as a street car in the late 90's. I can't say positively that it was all kosher, but there never seems to be anything 100% positive from Ferrari, not even on modern cars.

Dave

 

Dave,

I hope no one from DOT/EPA monitors this site. Mine was raced in the '96 series. It is now driven on the street. I called the dealer that sponsored the car and they would not even talk to me. They denied even any service records on the car. I have pics with there name all over it though.

Go figure.

Richard

 

I have a Ferrari 1992 348 GTB Series Speciale (No. 9 of 100) with 10,000 miles. This car is in showroom condition with the noted below:

1. New Ferrari Floor Mats
2. AM / FM Sony Stereo with CD Player
3. New Ferrari Exterior Body Shields
4. New Stainless Steel Interior Gauge Trim Rings
5. New Pirelli Tires
6. Ferrari Tool Kit
7. All Manuals
8. All Maintenance Records
9. Alarm System
10. Upgraded GTB Suspension and Exhaust (Additional 20 bhp / Total 320 bhp)
11. Upgraded Carbon / Leather Seats
12. Corso Rosso Red Exterior (Flawless)
13. Corso Rosso Red Front Spoiler Shield (Good for the dips)
14. Interior is flawless, LOOKS NEW (No wear anywhere)
15. Minor Service recently done.
16. (2) sets of Keys
17. (5) Ferrari Flags for the shop or garage
18. This car does not leak. The engine is in excellent condition. Sounds like a Ferrari, and it turns heads at every corner. (Wear sun glasses
19. Recent major detail. Absolutely gorgeous.
20. The engine compartment is immaculate.
21. All electrical works correctly except the clock which is scheduled to be fixed shortly.
22. Stainless Steel Shifter Knob and Foot Pedals
23. Air conditioning system is excellent. (More than cold)
24. Car was recently smogged in California, passed easily.
25. Rims are excellent, no curb rash or dings.
26. Scheduled for a Minor in mid April.

I desire a Ferrari 360 with extremely low mileage. I am willing to sell if the price is right. Make me an offer. See attached pictures.

Darryl
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My wife (an attorney) has taught me to think like one. I have to wonder if the waver is mererly to let the dealer and FNA off the hook should someone return the car to the street, even though it is no longer street legal after the mods. However, this waver may not really stand up. The cars have real, street legal titles. I do not see why any DMV would deny a registration unless it had to pass an inspection first, which is unlikely. Does FNA notify every DMV in the US that the car is no longer legal? I doubt it.

Dave

 

Im of the opinion that the last year of any model car is the best. All the bugs have been worked out and every update that needed to be done, is done! Im also of the opinion that no exotic toy would really be a toy if it didnt have a drop top.

Sunlight on your face, wind in your hair. A feeling you never forget. Thats priceless.


1995 348 Spider - Mint condition, 21,000 miles. I too wish to update to a later model.


My bottom line is $65,000. Thats giving it away.
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Well, I'm sorry guys, but you'll have to peel my 348 from my cold dead hands...

 

FNA did not keep records of s/n of cars that raced in early series. I don't think there would be any way for DMV to know if car had been put back into street form. I think the street legallity issue is with cars that had slicks, fixed mounted racing seats, racing harness, and roll cage. All of which are illegal on the street. You're probably right about the waiver.

 

FALSE!! 348 Challenge cars were all converted street cars that could easily be converted back to road spec. Even in race trim, they should be street legal. The factory Challenge cars also were street legal.
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Is that a recent pic of your car?
The paint looks phenomenal! Like new!
What is used on the finish?

 

Ingenere, please see post #15. That race cars could be made legal was not my point, by the way.

 

Questions on your car did you paint the engine hood black? Did you add the challenge script to it? I've not seen that script on any SS cars except the cars that were raced in the series in '93 and '94. What no. SS is yours? Didn't mean to sound like I was giving you the 3rd degree, only asking for hisorical reasons to keep info on these cars straight. Regards, Vern

P.S. I think what ND was getting at was that some race equipment is illegal for street use, roll bars etc. ie; the rollbar option for the 360 was not available on US cars.

 

Vern, the CH cars we were delivered at the dealer had the script on them and were in street trim as is his. The big crate I have mentioned before that was delivered with the car had all the race parts in it. It was a very comprehensive kit. It even included a 1/2 liter can of racing brake fluid.

There is still one wandering around the bay area that is street stock and never converted. Last I saw it was a very clean car.

 

Thanks. The photo is a few months old. I use Finish First, car covers and alot of TLC!

There is a pretty interesting story about my car and if you PM me I'll go through the whole thing.

I have had the car for 16 years and there were some 'specialle' mods done by FNA when they were trying to unload the remaining 348s that nobody wanted.

The deal with the original Challenge series was that it was for 'lightly' modified road cars. Those mods were primarily for safety reasons. The only performance changes that were allowed were suspension.

 

Hi Brian, I knew the '94 challenge cars had the script on them I didn't know that Ferrari imported any '93 cars (SS)that were actually challenge cars from the factory, that would have had the script. I thought that the series started here in the US in '94 and the cars used then were converted SS's or earlier 348s converted or the few challenge '94 cars. Have to laugh at myself I still have an original crate/box from one those kits from a '95 355 car that was converted, don't ask me why I guess I thought it was cool. I like that 1/2 liter brake fluid thing LOL. Regards, Vern

 

The car in the pic has SS rear lights and as Vern noticed black rear deck. Factory Challenge cars were made in '94 only. They did come from the factory with the script challenge on the back, but not all. They all had SS paint jobs with color painted lower panel and rear deck. All 45 factory challenge cars were delivered in street trim from the factory.

Other converted race cars had added script.
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Richard, those tail lights aren't the SS tail lights. The SS cars were uncovered, no grill work(the red car on Pg. 1). what seems kind of strange is that only the '93 US(100) SS cars had the uncovered lights. even the few '94 SSs were covered, from what I have seen, like in the above attached pic. Regards, Vern