Ferrari F355 Spider

It’s been slightly more than a month now since the last write-up and it’s already the New Year. I would like to wish a Happy New Year 2016 to all YOUR DREAM AUTO followers and readers. One of the things that I hope to do is to have more articles this year compared to the last which was a year that was full of adventures and I must say it ended pretty well. To kick off this year, we have a reasonably rare Ferrari F355 Spider which has been gaining some momentum in it’s value and collectability recently. 

The Ferrari F355 was the predecessor to my favourite Ferrari of all time, the Ferrari 360. The Ferrari F355 was produced between 1994 and 1999 of which slightly more than 11,000 units were built. There were 3 different body styles available mainly the Berlinetta which was the hard top coupe, the targa top also known as the GTS and the Spider convertible. The particular model this write-up is about is the Spider Convertible where there were only less than 4,000 units built.

The F355 came with a 3.5 litre V8 engine. With the base of the engine derived from the earlier Ferrari 348, the F355 had a slight displacement increase and a new 5 valve per cylinder head. This car also came with high-end Connolly Leather for it’s interior (as you can see from the photos). As for the gearbox, there were 2 types available. Mostly were fitted with the 6 speed manual (this car has the 6 speed manual gearbox) and there were a few later models fitted with the F1 transmission which was also carried forward to the later Ferrari 360.

All in all, the F355 was a 90’s Ferrari which was curvy but still has it’s sharp ends which I love. Below are some shots of an F355 Spider that I came along sometime last year and I must say it was breathtaking. Though I must warn you, the F355 Spider like most Ferraris and super cars is certainly a tight squeeze to get into for ‘slightly’ larger people if you know what I mean. Well, sit back and enjoy the RED fiesta photos as well as a detailed video of a similar car attached below.

The video:

The History of Ferrari

Ferrari… hhmmm… Well, I’m sure most of you guys get excited by just the mention of that name itself or your jaws would just drop when you see one of the road. Today, I’m going to be giving a brief history on this particular make which is always associated with speed or otherwise known as the prancing horse. The company’s story officially began in 1947 when the first Ferrari emerged from the historic factory entrance on Via Abetone Inferiore in Maranello. The 125 S, as it was known, embodied the passion and determination of the company’s founder, Enzo Ferrari.

Enzo Ferrari was born in Modena on February 18th 1898 and died on August 14th 1988. He devoted his entire life to designing and building sports cars and, of course, to the track. Having been made an official Alfa Romeo driver in 1924, within five years he had gone on to found the Scuderia Ferrari on Viale Trento Trieste in Modena which assisted mostly gentlemen drivers in racing their cars.In 1938, Enzo Ferrari was appointed head of Alfa Corse but quit the position in 1939 to set up his own company, Auto Avio Costruzioni, which operated out of the old Scuderia buildings.This new company produced the 1,500 cm³ 8-cylinder 815 spider, two of which were built for the Mille Miglia in 1940.

Enzo Ferrari

All racing activities ground to a halt, however, with the outbreak of the Second World War and, in late 1943, Auto Avio Costruzioni moved from Modena to Maranello. The end of the war saw Ferrari design and build the 1,500 cm³ 12-cylinder 125 S, which made its competitive debut in the hands of Franco Cortese at the Piacenza Circuit on May 11th 1947. On the 25th of the same month, it won the Rome Grand Prix at the city’s Terme di Caracalla Circuit. Since that fateful day, Ferrari has garnered over 5,000 victories on the world’s tracks and roads, becoming a modern-day legend in the process. In order to meet growing market demand, Enzo Ferrari sold the Fiat Group a 50% stake in the company in 1969, a figure that rose to 90% in 1988.

Ferrari’s share capital is currently divided as follows: 90% Fiat Group, 10% Piero Ferrari. After the founder passed away in the late 1980s, the shareholders decided to relaunch the struggling company, appointing Luca di Montezemolo as Chairman in 1991. Under the latter’s guidance, Ferrari returned to predominance in Formula 1, launched a string of new models and opened up new markets whilst still retaining the core values from its past. Ferrari also embarked upon Formula Uomo, a major renovation programme that puts employees firmly at the centre of company life by creating a bright, safe, innovative and eco-friendly working environment. Up to now Ferrari’s list of racing plaudits read as follows: 15 F1 Drivers’ World titles, 16 F1 Constructors’ World titles, 14 Sports Car Manufacturers’ World titles, 9 victories in the Le Mans 24 Hours, 8 in the Mille Miglia, 7 in the Targa Florio, and 216 in F1 grands prix.

Ferrari F1 cars from 1950 - 2010

The legendary symbol used by Ferrari has heroic origins. It was first adopted as a personal emblem by a highly decorated Italian World War I pilot, Francesco Baracca, who had it painted on the fuselage of his aircraft. At the end of the war, Baracca’s parents offered to allow Enzo Ferrari use the Cavallino Rampante (Prancing Horse) symbol. He adopted it as the logo for his racing Scuderia, placing it on a yellow shield in honour of his hometown of Modena and topping it with the Italian tricolour. The classic Ferrari red, however, was simply the colour assigned by the International Automobile Federation to Italian grand prix cars in the early years of the last century.

I’ve also attached a pic with a few of the famous models manufactured by Ferrari from the 1950s to the mid 2000s. I’ve also done write-ups before on some of my favourite Ferraris such as the Ferrari 308 and the Ferrari 360.

Famous Ferrari models from 1950 - mid 2000

Article source: auto.ferrari.com

Ferrari 360

It’s finally time for me to write about my favourite Ferrari of all time. For those of you who have been following my previous write-ups such as ‘Ferrari 308’ you would have guessed it right, it’s none other than the Ferrari 360. The Ferrari 360 was the successor to the Ferrari F355 and had a production run from 1999 up to 2005 and there were around 17,000 units built in it’s various specifications. 

Two of the common models produced were the 360 Modena which was a hardtop coupe and then there was the 360 Spider which was a convertible. All models were two-seater models. As to most of the Ferrari’s ever built, the Ferrari 360 was a rear mid-engined car. It was powered by a 3.6 litre V8 engine which generated up to 400 bhp. It came with two transmission variants of which one was the 6 speed manual and the other was the F1 electro-hydraulic manual which gives the driver the F1 feel.

Towards the end of the Ferrari 360 production, there was a limited edition model built which was called the Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale. There were slightly more than 1,000 units built and this was a car built with track usage in mind of which many of the interior luxury was stripped off as well as lightening exterior parts such as bumpers, etc ,etc.. Even the brakes used were Brembo carbon ceramic brakes. With all this lightening, the weight of the car was reduced by more than 100kgs. It is definitely not a Ferrari for you if you are looking for all that luxury refinements.

I’ve personally not got too close to a Ferrari 360 before. Earlier, all I could afford was just admiring it from far and also just walking past it without being able to actually feel the car. Haha.. I actually dream to have one by time I hit 40, I’m sure most of you guys would know what I mean. Well, just recently someone known to me actually gave me the chance to feel the car and as a bonus, it happened to be the limited edition Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale. I was actually getting more that I had ever dreamed off. It was a dream come true for me, though I didn’t have the chance to feel the car on the road or go for a drive or even hear the Challenge Stradale roar as the owner was not around but there was that satisfaction inside me. The photos in this write-up are of the Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale. So sit back and enjoy.

As for the sound of the Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale, here’s a video of it’s roar.