RE: Ferrari F355: PH Heroes
Discussion
Gus265 said:
Resolutionary said:
When I was about 12, a friend of mine used to live down a private road in Coombe near Kingston. We used to walk around with his then hi-tech plug in camera for a Nokia mobile phone and do a rudimentary bit of car spotting around the posh bits of Wimbledon and so on.
One afternoon I remember us having seen a lot of Porsches, an Esprit and a Morgan thingy, but this particular and very long side road we went down had many beautiful houses, but nothing interesting parked out front.
We'd nearly given up when we approached one of the last houses. Sitting pretty was a 355 Spyder in red. I remember yelling at my friend with my jaw open at what had to be the most majestic car I'd been up close and personal to in my life thus far.
We took a crappy photo, just for our records, and as we went to leave the owner appeared on a balcony above us, and asked if we wanted to have a look. Within the hour, he'd taken both me and my friend for separate drives up the long road and back down again, the manual transmission seeming like the slickest thing I'd ever witnessed. His wife / mistress was hot as heck too.
It was something I'll never forget - and an experience that etched the 355 into my minds hall of fame.
My pleasure “Resolutionary”. That car and mistress long gone now. Replaced by younger models of course. One afternoon I remember us having seen a lot of Porsches, an Esprit and a Morgan thingy, but this particular and very long side road we went down had many beautiful houses, but nothing interesting parked out front.
We'd nearly given up when we approached one of the last houses. Sitting pretty was a 355 Spyder in red. I remember yelling at my friend with my jaw open at what had to be the most majestic car I'd been up close and personal to in my life thus far.
We took a crappy photo, just for our records, and as we went to leave the owner appeared on a balcony above us, and asked if we wanted to have a look. Within the hour, he'd taken both me and my friend for separate drives up the long road and back down again, the manual transmission seeming like the slickest thing I'd ever witnessed. His wife / mistress was hot as heck too.
It was something I'll never forget - and an experience that etched the 355 into my minds hall of fame.
HardtopManual said:
First question anyone asks me when I get out of mine. Which is rather confusing, as the replicas, even the really expensive ones, are so far away from the real car's proportions that they stick out like a sore thumb.
Absolutely agree, I had the same thing with my355, ridiculous really as the replicas really are atrocious.
daytona111r said:
1781cc said:
BlueEyedBoy said:
Was a hero, drove one, no longer.
Beautiful car, but interior was a big let down, the driving position shouldn't be underestimated as been quite bad with the pedal offset and didn't feel that fast.
I had just got out of my Cerbera which felt like a rocket ship when I got back into it.
Totally agree with this, I did exactly the same thing on an Everyman racing day but in my case it was my twin turbo Supra that made the F355 seem slow and unwieldy Beautiful car, but interior was a big let down, the driving position shouldn't be underestimated as been quite bad with the pedal offset and didn't feel that fast.
I had just got out of my Cerbera which felt like a rocket ship when I got back into it.
Edited by BlueEyedBoy on Wednesday 29th August 07:55
Edited by daytona111r on Thursday 30th August 15:45
Still my favourite looking car of all time (and noise!), just wish I had a chance to get a drive of one on the road after my sour Thruxton experience. One day.
Lovely to look at , so much nicer than the current breed of look at me Ferraris. But awful noise - like every other V8 Ferrari except the F40 . Seen plenty on track and , without exception, they sound literally monotonous - generic flat plane chainsaw buzz. Driven an earlier V8 - just the same awful racket .
coppice said:
Lovely to look at , so much nicer than the current breed of look at me Ferraris. But awful noise - like every other V8 Ferrari except the F40 . Seen plenty on track and , without exception, they sound literally monotonous - generic flat plane chainsaw buzz. Driven an earlier V8 - just the same awful racket .
Well it goes to show, Ferraris are not for every one. You like what you like.I used to dislike Ducati V twins, hated the noise the engine made for decades. But now, some how I have come to own a couple
But as I said you like what you like Erudite geezer said:
May one be bold and proffer that yellow wing shields would compliment the blue paintwork and complete the package, visually.
Go over to the Ferrari forum and suggest that wing shields should be fitted to non-homologation cars, and stand well back :-)Today, I think they spoil the lines of the 355. Tomorrow, I'll probably refit them. Then take them off. And put them back...
"...better for today than most modern alternatives."
Finally, the bleeding' obvious has found ideal wording.
This conclusion applies to just about anything from the 90's and 00's when compared to current equivalent offerings.
It could be the single best phrase ever written by a motoring journalist.
Finally, the bleeding' obvious has found ideal wording.
This conclusion applies to just about anything from the 90's and 00's when compared to current equivalent offerings.
It could be the single best phrase ever written by a motoring journalist.
Midgster said:
Back in 1998, test drove a TVR Cerbera 4.5 and an F355 (cant remember which model), the TVR won hands down in every detail for me back then (so I bought it) and if current values are to be ignored and not brought into the decision, if I had the choice today between the two, I'd go for the TVR again. The only slight niggle is I do love the 355 to bits and barring a lottery win, I know I'll never own one where if I'd bought the 355 back then, I could afford a Cerbera today.
Interesting to hear of several people on this thread praising the Cerbera. When it came out in 1996 it was my dream car! I couldn't get over how fast It was. I remember the 4.2 version hitting 179 at Bruntingthorpe in an Autocar test, beating all sorts of Porsches and Ferraris and being beaten by only one car- still a good terminal speed today TBH and the 4.5 was even faster, although never by as much as you'd expect in the few road tests they published. I've still got all the original road test articles.The Ferrari was and is a beautiful car and my favourite Ferrari until the 458 came alone, but it only reinforces how much faster modern cars are!
Just seen this!
I bought the Maranello demo car at 6 months old in 1997 and still have it.
The rubbery paint on the dash has gone tacky which is really annoying. I had the door handles stripped and resprayed but not the rest.
Overall for handling, noise and driver involvement it is hard to beat - no electronic driver aids and 6-speed manual. It is still fun!
I bought the Maranello demo car at 6 months old in 1997 and still have it.
The rubbery paint on the dash has gone tacky which is really annoying. I had the door handles stripped and resprayed but not the rest.
Overall for handling, noise and driver involvement it is hard to beat - no electronic driver aids and 6-speed manual. It is still fun!
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