What is the most collectible Ferrari challenge car?

I still like the yellow with white wheels better on this one.....IlDottore

 

And to think the car almost won another championship but some deer got in the way.

 

Super cool!

 

No, sorry. I just have the North American Challenge results I posted.

 

I had to vote for the 348. I've already voted with my wallet...twice. Vvassallo and I own 98856. It's ex-Ferrari of Washington, the car Jim Place drove. It's currently modified per "358M" specifications as outlined in the Prancing Horse magazine #190, with a 355 subframe and rear sheetmetal. We track it a couple of times a year, and agree it's a lot faster than we are. I recently acquired 98451, a ts Challenge car. I'm resurrecting it from 7 years in a garage and returning it to the street after what appears to be mainly race duty judging from mileage of only 8k.
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The 348 was the original challenge series.

 

OK. Bet is on. From what I remember, they made more 360 "Hot Wheels" Challenge models than your cars. At the time I ran scalecars.com and bought many Steve Earle Ferrari F355s models and talked at great length with Mattel about all 1/18 scale Ferrari Challenge models.

I might actually have had more of my Ferrari Challenge 360 model made as well although not by just Mattel. My car was available as a Mattel 1/43, bBurago 1/18, and BBR 1/43 scale in resin. Having said that, yours has had better resale value.

Woo Hoo! I'm famous!

 

Your car had not only the most 355 Challenge models, it was almost literally the only F355 Challenge model in 1/18. Bang did a large number of 1/43 scale models and BBR had some 1/43 scale kits available in resin, but the only other 1/18 F355 model was a transkit that used the UT F355 Berlinetta model.

 

355 is the prettiest and I'm told by the previous owner that mine is one of 17 RHD challenge cars of which it is one of 3 built at the factory with the extra bracing, raced for one year and then bought by the previous owner ... Satan
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hi moretti

as i understand it there were 18 RHD uk cars

and 3-4 aussie RHD cars


what year is your care (what is the vin)?


the last 3 UK cars were virtually full factory cars, though MHT who did the work for maranello still had to bolt the rear wing on.

the early cars came as road cars with the carpets out and roll cage mounts pre welded in and a box of race parts that needed to be fitted and it got progressively more pre built as each year passed.

there are two versions of the car the 96 and 98 versions though many 96 cars had some of the 98 bits added such as the rear wing

of the 3 factory uk rhd cars

111507 is still racing (i saw it saturday at racing days)

111454 mine is now retired and street legal (sort of)

not sure where 111593 is (anyone know)??


theres a list here

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/australia/194841-rhd-355-challenge-cars.html

 

this is my current list:

MODEL VIN YEAR LHD BASE COLOUR COUNTRY CITY
355 98673 1995 LHD unknown US
355 98674 1995 LHD yellow US
355 98684 1994 LHD red EUR
355 99555 1994 LHD black EUR
355 99728 1994 LHD yellow Unknown
355 99791 1994 LHD red EUR
355 100208 1995 LHD unknown US
355 100330 1995 LHD yellow US New Jersey
355 100385 1995 silver AUS Melbourne
355 100433 1995 LHD red US Celebration, FL
355 100463 1994 LHD red Unknown
355 100537 1995 LHD red US
355 100608 1995 LHD red US
355 100704 1995 LHD Barchetta red US Glastonbury, CT
355 100804 1995 LHD black US
355 100972 1995 LHD red EUR Sweden
355 101046 1995 LHD red EUR
355 101267 1995 LHD red EUR Spain, Madrid
355 101305 1994 LHD black UK
355 101338 1995 LHD red US
355 101358 1995 LHD yellow US
355 101386 1995 LHD white JAP
355 101427 1995 LHD yellow US
355 101443 1995 LHD red US
355 101454 LHD Unknown
355 101502 1995 RHD red AUS
355 101508 1995 LHD red EUR
355 101515 1995 RHD red UK
355 101523 1995 LHD red EUR
355 101528 1995 RHD red uk
355 101541 1995 RHD red uk
355 101554 1995 RHD red UK Teignmouth devon
355 101609 1995 LHD red
355 101638 1995 LHD red EUR Finland
355 101640 1995 burgundy Unknown
355 101786 1995 LHD Custom Color EUR
355 101825 1995 LHD red JAP
355 101995 1995 LHD red US Miami, FL
355 102457 1995 LHD black US Naples
355 102458 1995 LHD red US
355 104104 1995 LHD red US
355 104182 1995 LHD red US
355 104210 1995 LHD red US
355 104236 1996 RHD red AUS Melbourne
355 104266 1996 LHD red US FL
355 104295 1995 LHD red EUR
355 104377 1995 LHD red US
355 104404 1995 LHD red US
355 104415 1995 LHD red US Yountville, CA
355 104416 1996 LHD red JAP Tokyo
355 104424 1995 LHD black US
355 104427 1995 LHD white US
355 104453 1995 LHD red US Los Angeles
355 104461 1996 LHD red EUR Switzerland
355 104478 1995 LHD white US "New Orleans, Louisiana
"
355 104490 1995 LHD yellow US
355 104504 1995 LHD silver US Southlake, Texas
355 104513 1996 RHD red UK
355 104516 1996 LHD Bordeaux US
355 104546 1996 RHD red Unknown
355 104601 1996 RHD red uk
355 104618 1996 RHD red UK
355 104633 1996 RHD uk
355 104646 1996 LHD Yellow US Miami, FL
355 104674 1996 LHD Red
355 104677 1996 LHD Yellow Unknown
355 104678 1996 LHD Yellow Unknown
355 104689 1996 LHD white Unknown
355 104699 1996 LHD red Unknown
355 104700 1996 LHD red Unknown
355 104702 1996 LHD red Unknown
355 104703 1996 LHD Unknown Unknown
355 104711 1996 LHD red Unknown
355 104718 1996 LHD black Unknown
355 104725 1996 LHD TDF Blue EUR
355 104841 1996 LHD red Unknown
355 104842 1996 LHD red EUR
355 104853 1996 RHD yellow UK
355 104854 1996 LHD Unknown Unknown
355 104867 1996 red UK
355 104868 1996 LHD Unknown Unknown
355 104894 1996 LHD Unknown Unknown
355 104895 1996 LHD Custom Color SA Cape Town
355 105027 1996 LHD red EUR
355 105195 1996 LHD red New Zealand Hamilton
355 105208 1996 LHD Unknown Unknown
355 105218 1996 LHD yellow EUR Switzerland
355 105518 1996 red UK
355 105538 1996 Titanium UK
355 107290 1997 RHD red UK
355 107355 1997 LHD Unknown Unknown
355 107816 1997 LHD TDF Blue US Cresson, TX
355 107845 1997 LHD Custom Color US Miami, FL
355 107868 1997 RHD red UK
355 107892 1997 RHD red AUS Perth
355 107952 1997 RHD red UK
355 107953 1997 RHD red UK
355 107954 1997 LHD red US NY
355 107966 1997 RHD red UK
355 107977 1997 LHD red EUR Spain, Madrid
355 107979 1997 RHD red UK
355 107980 1997 LHD red US Austin, TX
355 107981 1997 LHD red US Palo Alto, CA
355 107988 RHD Unknown
355 107989 1997 RHD red AUS melbourne
355 107993 1997 LHD red EUR Germany, Hannover
355 108130 RHD red UK
355 108155 1997 LHD red US MT
355 108192 1997 LHD Le Mans Blue US NJ
355 108350 1997 LHD red US Plano, TX
355 109852 1997 RHD red AUS Canberra
355 111454 1998 RHD red UK
355 111483 1998 LHD Custom Color US NJ
355 111507 1998 RHD red UK
355 111519 1998 LHD red JAP
355 111592 1998 LHD Custom Color US Sterling, VA
355 111593 1998 RHD red AUS
355 111648 1998 LHD red UK
355 111774 1998 LHD Unknown US
355 111787 1998 LHD Unknown US
355 111840 1998 LHD Unknown US NC
355 111869 1998 LHD Unknown US
355 112280 1998 LHD Custom Color US Buford, GA
355 112336 1998 LHD TDF Blue US CA
355 114420 1999 LHD red Unknown
355 114496 1999 LHD red US

 

My personal experience is that the 348 Challenge cars were/are bullet-proof. They just don't break! Steve Maxwell has a twin turbo with 600+ horsepower that he races! and drives to work every day. I have sat in one as the driver money-shifted from 5th to 1st at 100mph, spinning the car instantly (True story. He now has a lock-out). No damage. That was 10 years ago and he still races it.
I personally have a 1994 which has never been raced and is pristine at 40,000 miles. Starts instantly with a twist of the key no matter how long it has been sitting. So let me ask Ferrarichat members a question:
My car has the standard factory seats and wheels (no question about its Challenge credentials). It has always been treated as a street car. If I could find the 3 correct factory pieces I am missing: wheels, seats, roll bar, should I convert it to a race car?
Does anyone have a line on these parts?

 

I would keep it a street car. If it hasn't raced up until this point, I'd keep it as one of the few unraced 348 Challenge cars. There aren't that many of them. I just sold one of them. That said, you can put the wheels, seats and part of the rollcage (just the rear hoop, not the full cage) in a street car. I know of a car that is, or very soon will be, outfitted that way.

There's more to the Challenge kit than just the wheels, seats and roll cage. That said, the roll cage is virtually unobtainium. Every 3-4 years one seems to pop up for sale on FChat, but the last one was 3 yrs ago (I bought it). The seats are similarly scarce. I got extremely lucky with the seats and bought them off of FChat as well for a very nice deal. Eurospares shows the seats listed (n 2 sizes) with prices on their web site, but you'd have to call to verify whether they really have them in stock. The wheels are also a bit rare, but far more available and seem to pop up for sale on FChat 2-3x per year. Pricing varies from $2000/set to $4500/set, depending on condition, whether they've been refinished etc, and the seller's desire to sell quickly or sell for a premium.

 

Mark is right, both about the VERY MANY other parts required, and their scarcity. If the car has no Challenge Series race history, what's the point?
Any why do you want to endure the noise (Challenge exhaust), heat (no a/c, insulation, etc.), and harsh ride (Challenge suspension), none of which is inconsiderable, for a car that isn't tracked?
As I've opined before (having owned 2 Challenge race cars), their appeal lies in their role in Ferrari Challenge Series history, and this car won't have played any such role regardless.