Which is the best F-car to start with?

I agree with the posters below;

1) buy what you can afford to maintain - worst case! meaning engine or transaxle. I've seen enough $10k bills from 12cylinder fcar owners for major services (always because they love the car and want to give it that extra protection and because the engine's out anways) to use that as a baseline. Lots do their own maintenance, but not an option for me.

2) buy what turns your crank - if it's a 12, 8, 6, carbs/fuel-injection, styling, history, performance, track, driver, concours - whatever.
In talking to owners these cars seem to be much more reliable than I'd anticipated given the stories (when driven regularly), but worst case does happen. If it's just raw performance you want with low maintenance costs then I'd suggest a Z06, WRX STi, or M3.

for some this is a 360CS, an Enzo, a 308GT4, or any of a few dozen options inbetween. There is strong consensus in the press and this group that 328's are a good balance for reliability, low maintenance costs, and the ferrari styling. although performance is weak vs any of todays cars. Any year - but there is a perceived premium for the ABS late-year models (which I consider unwaranted). Remember though - never to trust non-owners like me! After the first drive I had of an f-car (348tb) I realized how much "book knowledge" gets spread around vs real owners. I wanted more headroom than the 328 though, so I'm looking at other options.

There's also much less difference between the models - all the ones I've experienced have that F-car feel. And yes - I'm as biased as they come.

Good luck and let us know where you end up!