Ferrari 360 - A Quick Impression

"Green Mountain Car Guy" (williamleedy) 02/05/2015 at 14:50 • Filed to: None

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I know we are all reeling from the lack of articles about Doug's Ferrari recently, so, I thought I would help him out before he gets too deep into his Skyline!

Before I get started though - this won't be a full review. My time with the car was indeed on a track, but, the cars settings were very controlled and seat time very limited.

( Full disclosure: Ferrari wanted me to drive this car so little they likely wouldn't let me drive one even if I asked. But, Exotic Rides was willing to let me take a few laps in the car in exchange for some money.)

During a recent vacation in Cancun, Mexico I drove two different vehicles; A 2014 Chevy Aveo rental car ( !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ) and the second was a 20?? Ferrari 360 Modena F1. It's also worth noting, before taking any of my impressions seriously, that, not including seeing them around occasionally and watching Top Gear, my entire experiences with Ferrari's are as follows: I once sat in the drivers seat of a 348 and made engine revving noises in my head.

*please forgive my fashion sense.....it was hot and I wasn't sure if they were going to let me wear sandals.

The car sits low and wide and I've always thought it was a good looking car. Not striking like an Aston or imposing like a Mercielago, but, handsome and understated (when it's not in my-eyes-are-burning red). First walking up to it, it looks like things will be a little dainty or fragile - especially when you look at the gear selector in the center console. But, the steering wheel, the paddles are thick and sturdy feeling, the seats seem really nice and are very supportive for the task that lay ahead. This example has 52k kilometers and a few interior blemishes like the seat bolsters and the passenger airbag cover. Having seen pictures of the insides of these cars many times, I thought I would enjoy the feel of the interior more than I did - perhaps it's just that the instrument cluster feels like it's a decade old as I still like the center stack and two tone dashboard. And, best of all, unlike the 348 I once sat behind the wheel of, I didn't feel like the pedals belonged to the passenger.

In exchange for some money and a short class on what under and over steer are as well as how to sit in a car properly, they let me take the car for 5 laps (1 warm-up, 4 hot) in automatic mode with an instructor sitting beside you to keep you in line. (fortunately, his English is much better than my Spanish.)

After some fiddling with buttons and completely forgetting how to put the car into gear (just pull on the + lever, dumb ass) we were off and walking. The warm up lap goes by and I get myself oriented with the track layout (which I really like except for the kink in the front straight). Then, the fun part begins!

*The front straights on the left I kinda wish were just one straight to get a little more speed and the are some corners in the upper half that cut way in that we didn't get to use - so it was basically around the outer perimeter. Also, I must have missed the donut circle, dammit.

Letting this car rev is definitely the best part. I have an RX-8 that I drive in the summers, so, I'm no stranger to a 9k RPM redline, but, this is even more intoxicating. This V8 definitely wails with the best of them and like chocolate or ice cream (mmmm, chocolate covered ice cream) the more you have the more you want. The power isn't like the Hulk kicking you in the nuts, but, it is plentiful and definitely comes on smoothly and easy to control (as far as I can tell). As an entry level foray into the supercar market - it does feel like it's fast enough to get you into a lot of trouble with the law, but, not so insane that you get into trouble with the ditches and telephone poles. The downside is that because I was relegated to automatic mode, I didn't really get to hear it except a handful of times running up the main straights - during the back twisty part of the track it was comparatively and sadly silent as I tooled around in 4th gear.

The brakes are awesome and only really needed at the end of the far straight. Stamping on the clampers to get from 100mph to 40 takes what feels like 5 feet. Or maybe it was 6 feet. The turn-in is sharp with the wide front tires and lack of weight up there and even though I wasn't pushing it THAT hard it still felt well balanced and showed only a hint of understeer when I was going perhaps a little too fast into a couple of the corners. But, it still felt very composed and controllable. I've heard before that these can be a little tricky at the limit, but, since I wasn't anywhere near the limits of this car, I can't really comment on that. The poor thing bumbled around like I was on my way to church with it.

There was one let down though, well, other than being forced to not row my own (well, pull my own....ummm, that doesn't sound right...). And that is a piece of hardware that sits between a beautiful engine and big rear tires. It's full of gears and a also comes with couple of levers that sit at either side of the steering wheel. Perhaps it has some settings that could be adjusted, perhaps in manual mode I would've had more fun with it, perhaps it's just because it's a 1st generation system, but, it has most definitely NOT won me over. The near redline upshifts felt like they took forever and the engagement from a stop was weird - I have to imagine this would be, to put it nicely, interesting to parallel park or even just drive around a busy city. And on the back section where all the fiddly bits are, it was never in the right gear so the moments where you can put your foot down some, it just bogged and tried to upshift, but by the time the next gear was ready, it was back off the gas and into the next corner. Here's something I bet no one has said: I almost preferred the Aveo's 5spd to the flappy paddles of the Ferrari. Which is sad, because the only two things the Aveo should ever have over a Ferrari is rear seat room and trunk space. Well, perhaps fuel economy and insurance costs too. If anyone has a flappy paddled car and wants to let me drive it on a track in manual mode (ohh, the horror!!) I'd be happy to not let my first impression be my only one!

So, it wasn't without it's letdowns, but, the overall experience was awesome and the grin on my face was stuck there for about a week afterwards. Despite the paddles, it was still a Ferrari on a track. If you are ever there it's worth a visit (they have lots of car options up to and including a 458 (maybe next time!!).) and perhaps if you ask nicely they'll let you shift yourself...

Also, if you are extra bored, there's a video! It's like 6 minutes long and the car doesn't even catch on fire!! It will quickly become clear that I'm not a professional, but I am in a controlled environment. The quality isn't as great as I was hoping (you'd think with all the beautiful cars they have that they would've upgraded to some HD equipment by now! Although, the telemetry stuff is probably not cheap...)

As always, I appreciate comments and critiques about anything - and especially anything I can do to improve my writing!

Also, if anyone would be interested in hearing about the actual vacation and the non-automotive things we did (well, other than that... ) let me know in the comments below and I'll spend some time writing about it!

Thank you for reading!

E. Julius > Green Mountain Car Guy 02/05/2015 at 14:51

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Shorts and tall white socks are a surprisingly popular look amongst a surprisingly large group of people at my university.

spanfucker retire bitch > Green Mountain Car Guy 02/05/2015 at 14:55

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Holy shit, Jason Alexander is a regular visitor of Oppo?

Green Mountain Car Guy > E. Julius 02/05/2015 at 14:56

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Ohh, does that mean I'm fashion forward...?? I wear what the cool kids wear!! (first time I've ever said that!!)....wait....perhaps I should ask what university first....

Green Mountain Car Guy > spanfucker retire bitch 02/05/2015 at 14:56

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No soup for you.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > E. Julius 02/05/2015 at 14:58

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...and Ferrari 360 drivers.

McMike > E. Julius 02/05/2015 at 15:14

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Wait, what do you mean by large...

E. Julius > McMike 02/05/2015 at 15:16

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They are (or at least were when I left almost a year ago now) a huge fad amongst the Greek population, male and female, and the Greek pretenders. At my school the Greek population is approximately 25% of the student body, which is about 23,000 undergrads. So adjusting for individual preferences I would say ~4,000 people.

E. Julius > McMike 02/05/2015 at 15:17

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Oh wait I get it now.

McMike > E. Julius 02/05/2015 at 15:32

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And what do you mean my surprisingly? Did you go to some fancy school filled with models and triathletes?

:)

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > Green Mountain Car Guy 02/05/2015 at 15:43

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It won't be long now...

Green Mountain Car Guy > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 02/05/2015 at 15:50

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Well, that's ruined it for me....thanks for that! Aston Martin only from now on so I can lend a bit of class to this place.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > Green Mountain Car Guy 02/05/2015 at 15:51

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Oh come on

Green Mountain Car Guy > E. Julius 02/05/2015 at 15:53

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I guess that makes me a Greek pretender....bring on the ancient ruins, orgies and bankruptcy!

Green Mountain Car Guy > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 02/05/2015 at 15:56

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Well, at least in this one he has a shirt on and isn't leaning against the car like the wiper blade is stuck where it shouldn't be...

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > Green Mountain Car Guy 02/05/2015 at 16:01

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If you want disturbing, I can do disturbing..... shield the children's eyes...

E. Julius > Green Mountain Car Guy 02/05/2015 at 16:02

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Ha you are from a Greek pretender. This is a good thing.

Green Mountain Car Guy > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 02/05/2015 at 16:05

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Ohh hell, don't do that - I'm at work, man!! That poor SLR has gone so far beyond hideous that it's hilarious.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > Green Mountain Car Guy 02/05/2015 at 16:13

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Also Thai hookers in gold