The F355 is Ferrari's only link between its classic motoring heritage and modern day technologies, a seamless blend of old and new and the F355 is truly all the better for it!
Embracing Modern Technologies
Ferrari has strong roots in motorsport and is renowned for producing hand-built, raw, drivers cars. The 355 is slightly different however...
Whilst the F355 remains to be Ferrari's last hand-built sports car, it was the first to truly embrace the eras modern technologies which helped shape the company into what it is today.
So the F355 is a sort of 'sawn song' to the classic, driving heritage synonymous with the Ferrari name, whilst blending in modern technology of the time to create a car that is both iconic and true to its roots, whilst embracing technology that make it a useable, everyday sports car.
A Riposte to the NSX
The 355 is based on the same platform as its predecessor, the 348 a car that wasn't all that well received, it was by no means a bad car, but it simply didn't look the part when sat next to Honda's venture into supercar territory with the NSX. A car that reimagined the term, 'everyday supercar' and trumped the 348 in pretty much every way. Ferrari needed to come up with a response and quick, enter the F355.
Whilst this car is based on the 348 it has advanced leaps and bounds ahead of its father and in turn heralded the return of the Ferrari name and effectively brought the company back from the brink.
"the F355 is a sort of 'sawn song' to the classic, driving heritage synonymous with the Ferrari name"
Now the F355 is by no means rare, more than 11,000 examples were produced but, values have doubled and in some cases even tripled over the past 10 years and will no doubt continue to climb as there are few Ferraris that a worthy of the title 'iconic' and fewer still that evoke such desire and emotion in people as the 355 does.
F1 Implants
As we all know most, if not all enhancements of road cars stem from motorsport, namely Formula 1. For better or for worse Ferrari took its success from F1 in the late 80's to develop a single-clutch, automated transmission. When the F355 F1 was released in 1997 most teams on the grid at the Grand Prix utilised their own version of this transmission setup.
This 'flappy paddle' gearbox as it is commonly known was dubbed rather fittingly, the F1. Now the discerning supercar owner could feel like Michael Schumacher behind the wheel.
However fast forward 20 years and a quick trawl through the classifieds and you'll find the manual cars command around a 30% higher premium than its F1 counterparts. mainly due to purists still relishing that driving engagement that you get from the rifle-bolt-like feel from the open gated transmission.
A V8 Symphony
This brings us on nicely to that 3.5 litre V8, an engine that has the highest specific output per litre of any naturally aspirated car on sale. But its not the stats that impress us, its the noise. A soundtrack so evocative when your right foot gets a little too heavy, but can still be quiet and restrained when you just want to cruise through the town centre, unnoticed until you hit the next white and black sign indicating for you to open the taps again and crank that soundtrack up to 11.
"fast forward 20 years and a quick trawl through the classifieds and you'll find the manual cars command around a 30% higher premium than its F1 counterparts"
Lastly we get to the looks of the 355, there's not much to be said in this department as every time we look at the car we get a little lost for words whenever we lay eyes on this gorgeous machine, so we thought the best way was to leave you with this stunning selection of images taken for our latest asset to join TheCarCrowd platform and allow you to get lost in its beauty for yourself...
If you want to find out more about our own F355 coming to the platform then just click below!