348 SP new review.

[Silver360]

 

[Nosevi]

Nice vid. It seems like every time someone drives a 348 they are surprised by how good and fun to drive they are. Sure by modern standards they aren't that quick (although they are quicker than the performance figures he gave, think those were closer to a 328) but on UK roads in particular they are quick enough to have fun without losing your license. Just a real blast to drive.

 

[Silver360]

Yes , I think once you have ridden all well most of the boy racer genes in yourself , absolute performance drops down the pecking order of what makes a great car to drive .
Factor in U.K. roads in terms of speed traps , pot holes , gen congestion, social responsibility etc etc then performance dilutes further .
It’s an age thing too .
Iam just over 60 .
I was 25 when I got my 911 a G60 . Ragged it to death when my mates had XR3 s and GTI s in the late 80 s .
At that age absolute performance was king bcz you could meter it out , unleash it .

Mid 30 s I had a Testarossa my first F car and yes I did see 185 mph and sure it was straight line quick .
It couldn’t handle , had heavy steering and was physically massive to daily unlike the diminutive 911 G60 .

2002 I had a F360 F1 ( traded the Testarossa) …wanted to be like Schumacher he had flappy paddles going round in circles on the TV most Sundays .
Various F owner events early noughties I though I had the dogs wedding tackle the lated thing from Marenello.
Never really bonded with it always felt it was a technological tour d force and I was just a passenger at the whim of all the ECU s and various nannies doing all the work . Bit like a chimp holding the steering wheel .

Went through ( as well as to compliment) various other sporty 2 nd and 3 rd cars looking for “ that feeling “
Renault sport spider , Alfas , to name a few .

Retired and bought a Dino GT 4 @ auction thinking a plaything do er upper with a prancing horse badge .
It’s a 208 . Always liked the Gandini penned Bertone style .

By now old enough and I think wise enough to cut through journalistic and social media opinionated BS on cars .
You get the age where you don’t care what the “ herd “ think inc cars .

What a revelation driving the GT4 ! Where has this been all my life ? Light nimble responsive chassis loverly engine etc etc .
Being a 2.0 L well down in absolute performance at the “ camshaft arms “ bar room bragging = who cares ?

I fancied another F car a bit more luxurious, but still analog. Also with investment potential.
Needed to be a cabriolet.
Didn’t want any elecrotwackery shackling me to main dealers evey time a dash light comes on .
Didn’t fancy a depreciation new ish 488 or 458 ..aside similiar to Testarossa they are wide cars in terms of using everyday .
Disappointed with the 360 and whole flappy paddle experience.
The GT4 reconnected me with gated Ferraris . Who cares about cog swapping speed in real life driving ?

Took a deep dive into a 355 Spider , but put off by the unreliability of the hood mechanism and it’s 1/2 way nudge to electrotwackery….you know adjustable dampers the motronic 5.2 and it’s size . It’s a few inches all round bigger than a 348 .

Didn’t really want a 328 or 308 as too close to the Dino .

348 SP …..so few in the U.K. and as the guy said in the vid it’s just you and ABS .

I have a 2.9 boxster as well it’s a kinda yard stick .The 348 SP had a far more supple , comfortable ride bags more charm .
Pretty similar performance wise FWIW ? The Ferrari edges it at the mid to top end . It looses out on slower cog swapping which is part of the appeal as the guy in the vid pointed out .

I think there are 67 348 s on the DVLA reg of which 17 or so U.K. Spiders of which 3 or 4 Giallio .
Ferrari manufactured more F40 s than 348 SP s worldwide .

Not why after 35 yrs or so the bar room guys in the “ cam shaft arms “ keep perpetuating Luca MdZ s throw away remark ? When 348s come up in conversation?


Realise theses days young lads coming through do “ monthly’s “ change cars frequently and absolute performance + electrotwackery, tech on board , Nurmberg ring times and influencers pull there buying strings . Plus they don’t want any DIY maintenance as they can’t do any . They are wholly reliant on the main dealers .

This leaves huge gaps in the near and true classic F market , aging F market .

348 s are rare bread and connoisseurs drivers cars .

The guy in the vid was spot on .

 

[Sexybeast]

Yes , I think once you have ridden all well most of the boy racer genes in yourself , absolute performance drops down the pecking order of what makes a great car to drive .
Factor in U.K. roads in terms of speed traps , pot holes , gen congestion, social responsibility etc etc then performance dilutes further .
It’s an age thing too .
Iam just over 60 .
I was 25 when I got my 911 a G60 . Ragged it to death when my mates had XR3 s and GTI s in the late 80 s .
At that age absolute performance was king bcz you could meter it out , unleash it .

Mid 30 s I had a Testarossa my first F car and yes I did see 185 mph and sure it was straight line quick .
It couldn’t handle , had heavy steering and was physically massive to daily unlike the diminutive 911 G60 .

2002 I had a F360 F1 ( traded the Testarossa) …wanted to be like Schumacher he had flappy paddles going round in circles on the TV most Sundays .
Various F owner events early noughties I though I had the dogs wedding tackle the lated thing from Marenello.
Never really bonded with it always felt it was a technological tour d force and I was just a passenger at the whim of all the ECU s and various nannies doing all the work . Bit like a chimp holding the steering wheel .

Went through ( as well as to compliment) various other sporty 2 nd and 3 rd cars looking for “ that feeling “
Renault sport spider , Alfas , to name a few .

Retired and bought a Dino GT 4 @ auction thinking a plaything do er upper with a prancing horse badge .
It’s a 208 . Always liked the Gandini penned Bertone style .

By now old enough and I think wise enough to cut through journalistic and social media opinionated BS on cars .
You get the age where you don’t care what the “ herd “ think inc cars .

What a revelation driving the GT4 ! Where has this been all my life ? Light nimble responsive chassis loverly engine etc etc .
Being a 2.0 L well down in absolute performance at the “ camshaft arms “ bar room bragging = who cares ?

I fancied another F car a bit more luxurious, but still analog. Also with investment potential.
Needed to be a cabriolet.
Didn’t want any elecrotwackery shackling me to main dealers evey time a dash light comes on .
Didn’t fancy a depreciation new ish 488 or 458 ..aside similiar to Testarossa they are wide cars in terms of using everyday .
Disappointed with the 360 and whole flappy paddle experience.
The GT4 reconnected me with gated Ferraris . Who cares about cog swapping speed in real life driving ?

Took a deep dive into a 355 Spider , but put off by the unreliability of the hood mechanism and it’s 1/2 way nudge to electrotwackery….you know adjustable dampers the motronic 5.2 and it’s size . It’s a few inches all round bigger than a 348 .

Didn’t really want a 328 or 308 as too close to the Dino .

348 SP …..so few in the U.K. and as the guy said in the vid it’s just you and ABS .

I have a 2.9 boxster as well it’s a kinda yard stick .The 348 SP had a far more supple , comfortable ride bags more charm .
Pretty similar performance wise FWIW ? The Ferrari edges it at the mid to top end . It looses out on slower cog swapping which is part of the appeal as the guy in the vid pointed out .

I think there are 67 348 s on the DVLA reg of which 17 or so U.K. Spiders of which 3 or 4 Giallio .
Ferrari manufactured more F40 s than 348 SP s worldwide .

Not why after 35 yrs or so the bar room guys in the “ cam shaft arms “ keep perpetuating Luca MdZ s throw away remark ? When 348s come up in conversation?


Realise theses days young lads coming through do “ monthly’s “ change cars frequently and absolute performance + electrotwackery, tech on board , Nurmberg ring times and influencers pull there buying strings . Plus they don’t want any DIY maintenance as they can’t do any . They are wholly reliant on the main dealers .

This leaves huge gaps in the near and true classic F market , aging F market .

348 s are rare bread and connoisseurs drivers cars .

The guy in the vid was spot on .

Many thanks for this interesting reply I’ve just purchased a spider the very same as in the clip and I’ve spoken to the owner via instagram who is a very helpful person.
I’m really excited at getting to know the car and over the next few years trusting it more and more. Such a rare car I’m honoured to own it.