Page 127 - Wayne Carini's Guide to Affordable Classics

THE BACKSTORY
The first cars to wear the Cavallino Rampante were from Alfa Romeo’s prewar racing team, developed for racing in partnership with Scuderia Ferrari. After the war, Ferrari began making road cars under his own name, but always maintained that Ferrari’s road cars were developed to fund the company’s racing efforts.
That attitude has a lot to do with Ferrari’s offerings to this day. Ferrari road cars have tended to have 12-cylinder engines mounted in front of the driver’s cabin. These were grand touring machines, meant to be fast and comfortable on the highway. For sporting use, Ferrari started development of mid-engine cars starting with the Dino SP (sports prototype) racing machines in 1961. By 1967, Ferrari had transitioned its rear-mid-engine design to road cars starting with the Dino 206 GT. At first, the mid-engine Ferraris carried small-displacement V6 engines, but in 1973 the Dino 308 GT4 graduated to a V8 and that changed everything for Ferrari sports cars since that time.
Starting in 1975, Ferrari announced the 308 GTB, which carried a transverse-mounted V8 engine, with a five-speed manual transmission driving the rear wheels. This was the model associated with Tom Selleck in the Magnum P.I. television series. The 308 was succeeded by the 328, 348, and then the F355, which was built through the 1999 model year.
A Ferrari for the new Millennium
The Ferrari F360 was a critical breakpoint in Ferrari’s mid-engine history for a number of reasons. All the previous mid-engine V8 cars had been built on steel chassis, but the 360 was constructed almost entirely of aluminum, with a space frame made from both castings and extrusions. Ferrari consulted with experts at Alcoa to get the best alloy for strength. The goal was a 10 percent larger cabin in a car that was lighter overall. The effort was a success, reducing weight by 28 percent compared to the previous F355, while simultaneously increasing chassis stiffness by 40 percent.
Like the 348 and F355 that preceded it, the F360 carried its V8 engine longitudinally - along the long axis of the car, with the transmission behind the engine. This design pushes the passenger cabin forward and contributes to the 360’s rear-biased balance, with the scales revealing 42 percent of the weight on the front
Ferrari 360/F430
wheels and 58 percent on the rear. This design imbues the 360 with lively handling and the nimbleness of a sure-footed feline.
The 3.6-liter DOHC engine utilized a flat-plane crankshaft, five valves per cylinder, and fuel injection to produce an advertised 395 horsepower and 275 lb ft of torque. Buyers could choose between a six-speed manual transmission or an F1-derived six- speed automatic gearbox. Either way, the 360 delivers impressive performance. Ferrari stated a 0-60 time of 4.6 seconds and a top speed of 183 mph. At its launch, the F360 lapped the Fiorano test track a full three seconds faster than the F355.
The larger cabin should not be discounted, as it makes the 360 a more attractive choice for weekend trips as well as more frequent use as prosaic transportation. Not only is there more space for the driver and passenger, there’s more room for luggage as well. The bodywork was designed by Pininfarina to be sinuous and sleek, making the 360 one of the best-looking performance sports cars of its era. Since this was to be Ferrari’s bread-and-butter consumer car, all those factors were important.
TOP: The 3.6-liter engine features a flat-plane crankshaft that contributes to the ferocious howl that characterizes the 360’s exhaust note, but engine vibration can crack the engine mounts and weaken the timing tensioner bearings.
ABOVE: Trimmed in handsome leather and with good ergonomics, the 360 Modena’s cabin is attractive, but the buttons and plastic surfaces can become sticky to the touch, which is an issue that afflicts most examples out there.
The fully adjustable suspension offers Normal and Sport modes that the driver can select at will.
Wayne Carini  Affordable Classics  125