The Ferrari 360 Modena arrived in 1999 replacing the 355. It would remain in production until 2005, when it was replaced by the F430. Between 199 and 2005, almost 18,000 Ferrari 360s were built, made up of 8,800 hard tops of ‘berlinettas’ and 7,565 soft tops of ‘spiders’.
Where the F355 had utilised a steel chassis, the 360 used an all aluminium space frame, making it 40% stiffer and 28% lighter despite the 10% increase in physical dimensions. The 360 had less kerb weight, more displacement, more power and more stowage space than the 355 it replaced, making it an easier car to live with.
Named after the town of Modena – birthplace of Enzo Ferrari, the 360 was once again powered by a mid-mounted V8 engine. This 3.6 litre, high revving power plant made 395hp with the redline set at 8,700rpm – a whole heap of fun with the engine right behind your ears!
0-60mph can be done and dusted in just 4.6 seconds, with the top speed limited to 175mph… although allegedly the 360 would top out at more like 183mph.
From the factory the 360 could be chosen in Silver, White, Blue, Yellow, Grey and Black… but as Jeremy Clarkson once pointed out whilst ordering his 355, it’s not easy to order a Ferrari in any colour other than the iconic Rosso Corsa.
Here at Wizard Sports and Classic we are very fond of the 360 – especially when finished in Rosso Corsa with Beige Leather and Bordeaux carpets.
What the 360 did for Ferrari was make the 355 a more drivable car that’s easier to live with, built on a more engaging, lighter chassis with a little more poke and power. An accessible Ferrari that you can actually use day to day… The perfect Le Mans transport as shown in the photos below!
The 430 and 458 that followed the 360 pushed the mid-engined Ferrari into a different realm completely.
Whereas the 360 was a refinement of a genre with it’s improvements over the 355, the 430 introduced a new era of cars from Ferrari who were entangled in battle with the now-more-mainstream Lamborghini Gallardo.
Arriving in 2003, the Gallardo was an affordable supercar that did more than nibble at Ferrari’s market share. To compete with the Gallardo, the might of the Volkswagen Audi Group Budget and it’s 513hp, the replacement for the Ferrari 360 would need to up it’s game by some distance.
The 430 of 2004 upped the power from 395hp to 483hp, with the first Ferrari 458s arriving with customers 5 years later in 2009 – now producing 562 hp, almost 200hp more than the 360 Modena!
As we write this in 2022, it’s easy to see that each Ferrari since the Modena has been pushing the horsepower boundaries even further. In 2015 Ferrari dropped displacement from 4.5 to 3.9, giving the Ferrari 488 almost 700 horsepower… a figure that would be vanquished in 2019 with the arrival of the F8 and it’s 710 hp.
What the Ferrari 360 Modena offers is a natural progression and refinement of the brand. The history f the 360 Modena can be traced all the way back to the original Dino 426, a car that only had 192 hp and yet is still heralded by collectors and enthusiasts to this day.
A 360 Modena is the perfect balance of usable power and a sense of practicality, before things got all out of hand with the horsepower and top speed battle between manufacturers. It’s a slice of Italian purity from an age where Ferrari sat on it’s own in the marketplace, building cars that were meant to be driven and enjoyed without too much thought to what other manufacturers were building. It’s because of this single minded purity that the 360 stands apart from the cars that followed, making it one of our favourite Ferraris from the last 50 years.
Our Ferrari 360 is of course finished in Rosso Corsa, and features a rare manual open gate transmission. There can’t be many better feelings that working your way through the gearbox with 3.6 litres of old fashioned naturally aspirated Italian V8 power… We appreciate that cars are getting more powerful, more capable and more advanced… but we’re much happier staying in the past, thanks very much!
Find out more about this car here
