WHY IT’S MIKE LE CAPLAIN’S PICK FERRARI HAS YET TO CREATE APRETTIER CAR THAN THE F355 (OR PERIOD 456) – PLUS IT SOUNDS AWESOME
Ferrari had ground to make up after the 348’s unusual looks and twitchy driving dynamics failed to impress buyers who still revered the preceding 308 and 328.
And boy did it ever deliver with the F355, whose elegant yet aggressive lines – penned by Maurizio Corbi at Pininfarina – looked sublime from just about every conceivable angle whether as a fixe-dhead GTB – the only model available at launch in 1994 – Targa-top GTS or convertible Spider (both of which were introduced in 1995).
Those lantern-jawed looks didn’t flatter to deceive when you put your foot down, either; the 355’s new fiv-evalve cylinder head wrung a whopping 375bhp (to the 348’s 296bhp) out of its flat-plane crank V8 and its modified six-speed manual gearbox righted many of its occasionally truculent predecessor’s wrongs. Michael Schumacher wannabes, meanwhile, would doubtless have been thoroughly aroused by the ‘flappy paddle’ F1 automated manual that became an option in 1997.
At a stroke Ferrari’s V8 middie must have caused many a sleepless night at rivals Porsche (996-era 911), Honda (NSX), Lotus (Esprit V8) and TVR (Cerbera); Lamborghini didn’t get around to introducing its own riposte, the V10-engined Gallardo, until 2003, by which point the F355’s 360 successor was already well into its dotage.
Modena rammed its advantage home in 1995 by introducing the Ferrari F355 Challenge race series, whereby those particularly portly of wallet could order – and then compete in – a stripped-out F355 racer based on a standard F355 GTB with a manual gearbox. Just 18 officially made it to the UK in RHD form.
Tifosi who lusted after the F355 when it was new have clearly been eyeing their more recent values with some interest because prices have risen consistently in recent years with the sort of car that would have commanded £50-70k six or seven years ago now closer to £80-90k.
That said, marque hopefuls should take heart from recent results that include WB & Sons’ 1996 GTS, which sold in January of last year for £78k and Manor Park, whose 1996 example mustered an encouraging £71,300 in July 2022. Interestingly the pair of 1999 GTSs that Historics offeredat auction in April 2023 (for £95-110k and £48-57k respectively) failed to sell.
All that said, it would take a brave soul to bet against F355 values going anywhere other than upwards in the next few years as its successors become ever more complex and reliant on forced induction.
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