Page 120 - Wayne Carini's Guide to Affordable Classics

was denoted, featured four valves per cylinder, double overhead When the 348 launched, it was available as a 348 tb berlinetta
cams on each cylinder bank, Bosch Motronic fuel injection, and produced about 296 horsepower and 238 lb ft of torque, beating the 328 by 30 horsepower. Engine power was passed through a transversely-mounted five-speed manual transaxle to the wheels. The new 348 had independent suspension for all four wheels and disc brakes outfitted with an anti-lock braking system.
hardtop or a targa-topped 348 ts. The price was about $105,500 for a berlinetta. That was less than the price of a new Mondial, with which the 348 shared an engine but little else. One thing that the 348 really had going for it was looks, based on its intentional resemblance to the more powerful Testarossa. The performance specs were also impressive: 0-60 mph in 6.0 seconds and a top speed of 166 mph. By the end of 1993, Ferrari upgraded the engine to 316 horsepower and dropped the 0-60 time to 5.4 seconds, and that engine specification held to the end of 348 production.
From 1989 to the close of production in 1995, Ferrari produced 8,844 units of the 348. More targas and later, true convertibles, were made than hardtops, and the open-top cars tend to be worth more money today, but as always with Ferraris, condition, provenance, and maintenance history are all-important.
The 348 Elaborazione
If you wanted the rarest of 348s, consider the 1990-92 348 TB Elaborazione. Over those three years Zagato modified ten 348 coupes with a new body style that presaged the F355 design. These coachbuilt Ferraris look stunning, and typically trade for more than $200,000 on the rare occasions when they’re seen at auction.
Dramatic improvement: the Ferrari F355
Luca de Montezemolo was keen to leave his mark on the Ferrari brand, and sales had been falling through the recession of the early 1990s. Rather than cut back, Montezemolo doubled down on a new entry-level (such as it is with exotics) Ferrari. When he took over the company in 1991, Montezemolo immediately sent the designers and engineers back to the drawing board. Another clean-sheet design was commissioned and ultimately became the F355, although most people drop the F and just call it a 355. The
THIS PAGE: At first, the 348 was offered as a Berlinetta hardtop or a targa-topped ts model. Later, a true convertible Spider was added. The targa-top models are the most common.
118Wayne CariniAffordable Classics