What's the worst Ferrari ever made?

The same cars keep coming up whenever this question is asked, early Mondials, 348, perhaps the 400 series.
They may have had one or two shortcomings but as everyone has mentioned it's like picking the worst super model.

But I'm surprised at the number of times the 456 has been mentioned

 

Since when has Luca di Montezemolo's opinion meant anything?
The guy bleeds blue blood if you scratch the surface. Everyone else at Ferrari bleeds red.
He single handidly broke up the greatest creative team scuderia Ferrari had seen in a very long time just to satisfy his inflated ego
Luca di Montezemolo wouldn't know the spirit of Ferrari if the ghost of Enzo woke him one night and kicked him up the butt.
The dude is a Fiat executive with a born to rule complex left over from his mommy telling him di Montezemolos are special and not to worry that no body likes him.
Two bits will get you a cup of coffee.
His opinion and two bits will get you a cup of coffee thrown at you in any tifosi frequented establishment you'd care to enter.

 

LOL!

The 348 is a fantastic car. Anyone who thinks it isn't has never driven one. The Mondial is not fast, but it's also a fantastic car. Drive one. See it in person. The worst Ferrari ever made is still a great car. They just don't make bad cars.

Birdman

 

The next one due for release.

 

and then won two constructor's championships in a row? works for me.

 

"Least best" is a fair description.

 

I havnt driven one, but 20 years of reading about them have taught me that it is an awesome car even by todays standards.

 

+1, the designers must have been sleeping when they designed it.

 

Too funny!

I'd say the 348.

 

Mondial 8, based on both styling and performance. Never driven one, but I'll never forget reading a car magazine article (can't remember which one) in which the author describes driving down a country road in an 8, and pulling out to pass some old heap o' junk. The driver of the heap floors the throttle, resulting in a drag race that the finds the author, to his horror, losing ground to the beater, ultimately having to pull back in behind. Ultimate humiliation, and unforgettable (and unforgivable) for an impressionable young Ferrari worshiper.

 

I had a Mondial 8 for 4 years. If your budget won't allow anything more expensive, it is a good buy. Having said that, I would not buy another. My Fiat Spider is really more fun. And, for the cost of a major on the Mondial, I can buy another mint Fiat.

Other than the 8, all the other Mondials are great cars (and YES, nice looking) , and I would get a 3.2 in a minute.

 

I always liked the 3.2 coupe lines.

 

The EFI 308's...........not the QV's........but the 2 valve cars.

 

I'm a little surprised it took to the 2nd page for the 400 automatic to make the list of ugly supermodels.

 

I've owned 2 348s. They were ok cars, but other than great looks, they were nothing special, not really fast, nor great handlers. The 355 on the other hand was fast, handled, and worked well. I've got a Mondial t now, and while it's a bit slow, it looks good, and is a neat car to drive around Tahoe.

I suspect the worst Ferrari ever made was one of the 250 GTs which were underpowered at the time, and now are waaay overpriced.

Art

 

If we can include prototypes in this, I would like to nominate this gem:
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Since the question does not ask for an answer based on subjective or objective considerations, I will limit my non-mechanical oriented response to the subjective only. If I was to see one Ferrari, standing alone, with no others to compare to, I would likely have a WOW factor response, no matter what the Ferrari model, due to its heritage and limited production basis. Where I live, if I see 1 Ferrari a month, other than mine, it is unusual. They are all special in their own way because they tell a stroy of the history of the company, inextricably intertwined with a racing heritage-second to none--especially cars whose origin can be traced to when Enzo was alive. With that said, I must respectfully disagree with Ferraridude, ChristianF, RossoCorsaItaly and Ameer20 on their listing of the Mondial (even though several of them did not specify which model 8, QV, 3.2 or T). I have owned a 308 and now a Mondial. My 1989 Mondial t is a better car than my 1980 308, yet I believe them to both be great cars. Watch the movie, Scent of a Woman with Al Pacino, and I defy you to say anything other than the Mondial is a very sleek, sophisticated and sporty car---very cool. Its ambiance, so to speak, is in its GT personna yet, I get every bit of F1 magic when I step on it and I can hear (and feel) the sound of that melodic engine. So the bottom line is that those who took the bait to render an opinion (their right, of course) in which any Ferrari is listed as "worst made" in any order of preference, are going to be met with caustic, yet friendly, response from those of us who love our particular model, be it a 348, 400i, Mondial or whatever has Italian blood from Ferrari running through and through. ps: your opinion doesn't count --much-- unless you have one. Just my opinion.

 

456 and 612?????
That is plain crazy talk.

 

i have not driven all the ferraris, and i bet few of us have. but of the ones i have driven or owned, the 348 was definetely the worst. it was a gts, so the roof leaked of course. it had a terrible hot start problem whcih left me stranded all the time. the battery connection must have had a short because it was always dying too, even when brand new. the tranny was awful. the engine wasnt particularly good either. disappointing. glad i sold...for more than i bought it for !

i have a 456mgt as a daily driver now, and i cannot understand anybody even considering it in the 'worst' column. everything works well, and it is still getting looks. ok, its not as great as the 512 tr or bbi, but it seats 4 and i can pick up my kids from school. for the money, i cant think of any other 4 seater i would rather have.

 

I still think that this particular car is still "the worst".

Mind you I love 308s. They are pretty, iconic, reliable and fun. But when I think of what makes a car the worst, I think of a car that makes a step hugh backwards.

People pick on the 348 as being "the worst". I had one and it kinda sucked. Seats were too small and electric gremlins plagued the car. But the bonus here is that there are a ton of upgrades out there. But the poor 1980 308 is kinda stuck at being the victim of EPA laws.

 

If only you had that little gem today. It would be worth some serious beanage!

 

I was going to nominate the mondial but this is better hahahaha

 

Despite your generous citations from pseudo-scholars and ancient scribes, you have no idea what you are talking about. The 348 is the most bullet proof model in the entire V-8 line-up. Every negative criticism can be addressed and upgraded and, in fact, on nearly every car they have been.

No, the worst production Ferraris by far are the 365/400/412 line-up followed by the Mondials. The market never gravitated to them and prices remain abysmal, which is to say that they are great deals for entry level Ferraris on cars that have had decent maintenance. Bad versions are dark pits of maintenance and may be parts donors at best. There are minor exceptions, like the manual trans 365/400/412's (we never got in the US) and the 348t's, but by and large these models are the least appreciated among the Ferraristi. Personally, I think that their bad reps are not deserved, except for the decision to put a GM de-geared Turbomatic 400 auto box in the 365/400/412 models.

If it were not for the collector value, I'd say that the 206/246 line is pretty weak too since these cars aren't even recognisable as Ferraris except by experts or fans. There are no factory badges and Enzo downplayed the model so many times. They are sport little runabouts, but hardly up to Ferrari performance levels and they are quite expensive to operate for what they are - little Fiat V-6 sports coupes.

 

The 308 2Vi was not a huge step backwards. I've driven all of them and none of them are that fast. The QV is about the same until about 75 MPH when it starts to pull away a little bit. The carbed cars sound cool but are not that much faster. The 1978 and 1979 cars are about the same. In mentioning that you are a 308 fan, maybe you should pick the 2V injected mondials as "the worst."

Now I'm just respectfully disagreeing with you. No need to tattle on me

 

I hate to admit it but my favorite model - the 308 2Vi (specifically the 81/82) would probably be it...

Ironically, I would own one before a 360