There’s a certain taboo surrounding the idea of a modified Ferrari. Messing with something as supposedly sublime as Modena’s finest is enough to cause a sharp intake of breath among any car nut – even if it just involves some gentle tweakery of engine or suspension.
Wide arches are a touch excessive...
What you see before you, however, is not gentle tweakery. This particular 348 TS has been subject to a hefty whack with the bodykit stick, combined with a socking great thump of extra power supplied by a pair of turbos strapped to the original 3.4-litre V8. Subtle, it is not. There will be those that consider it an all-out assault on the attractive lines and sonorous V8 of the
standard car
. But equally, there will be those that reckon it adds an amusing dollop of OTT aggression, not to mention earth-shattering performance, to what would otherwise be a fairly ‘ordinary’ (if any Ferrari can be called such a thing) 348.
Whichever side of the fence you come down on, you must admit that the 4.4-second 0-62mph time quoted in the advert is really very quick, even by modern standards. And its exclusivity is beyond reproach; the seller reckons it’s one of only two cars in the UK, and there can be few more across the rest of the globe. What’s more, if, as the seller suggests, a Bonhams value of £50,000-60,000 has indeed been placed on the car, the asking price of £34,995 seems something of a steal.
... it does have a 550hp twin-turbo, though
Of course, the bodykit does give this 348 an overwhelming whiff of ‘I wanted an
F40
, but I couldn’t afford one’. Which is, frankly, not cool. We’ve seen Ferrari replicas before, of course, but usually they’re made out of Toyota MR2s or Peugeot 406 Coupes – not other Ferraris. And the not-at-all-hardcore targa top doesn’t exactly sit well with the motorsport-style slatted engine cover and deep-dish split-rim wheels; indeed, one wonders just how well the roofless shell copes with the extra twist of that turbo conversion. Snap oversteer, anyone?
We’re not entirely sure what to make of this 348, then. On the one hand, we want to deride it for being an overblown fibreglass-laden lump that’s trying to be something it’s not – but on the other, its cartoonish kit and mammoth power both give it an appeal as a snapshot of the gaudy excess of 80s supercar culture. So what do you reckon, PH – nouveau-riche nightmare or superlative supercar oddity?
FERRARI 348 TS KOENIG
Engine: 3,405cc V8, twin-turbo
Transmission: Five-speed transverse manual, RWD
Power (hp): 550
Torque (lb ft): N/A
MPG: N/A
CO2: N/A
First registered: 1990
Recorded mileage: 8,000
Price new: N/A
Yours for: £34,995
See the original advert here