Is the F355 One of the Greatest Ferraris Ever Made?

You’d think that picking the best models from Ferrari’s rather impressive, not to mention considerably large oeuvre would be a difficult task. After all, the Italian firm has been producing some of the most desirable sports cars on the planet for almost 80 years now. From the 125S way back in 1947 to the latest 12Cilindri, those maestros in Maranello have been churning out high performing, exotic masterpieces for decades. But mention the F355 to any petrolhead and you’ll be met with nods of approval, grunts of agreement and concurring cries as everyone fondly recalls one of the greatest cars to ever come out of Modena back when, believe it or not, the company was faltering.

The ’80s was a lucrative time for Ferrari. Yuppies had money to burn and red sports cars were high on the list of rich boys’ toys. With models like the 308, Testarossa and F40, to name but three, there were plenty to choose from, all of which were beautifully designed and highly sought after. But alas, just as “Black Monday” put an end to such frivolities for many of those previously mentioned financially furnished fellows, Ferrari’s all-conquering reign at the top of the game would also begin to falter as the ’80s ticked over into the ’90s.

As the dawn of a new decade broke, a car would arrive that would forever change the game when it came to sports car production. Nope, not the F355. We’re talking about the Honda NSX. In 1990, the Japanese giant swooped in and showed the world that high-end sports cars didn’t have to be capricious, unwieldy beasts. With the NSX, Honda paved the way for usable, reliable and controllable super cars that still retained an air of exclusivity and exotic charm that’s par for the course when it comes to such machinery, and Ferrari realised it needed to evolve in order to keep up.

Its latest offering, the 348, was a tad underwhelming. Here was a car that looked every part the Ferrari but lacked the inherent dynamism that fans of the brand were used to, and indeed craved. Something needed to be done and so Ferrari CEO Luca di Montezemolo hastily put together a plan to drastically re-engineer the 348, stick it in a tasty three-piece suit and get it out the door. The result? The F355. A car the bridged the gap, so to speak, between the older generation of hand-built Ferraris and a new wave of more modern performance machinery the company would later become renowned for.

Unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in 1994 the F355 was a game changer for Ferrari. Re-invigorating the brand it was a huge hit, thanks in part to a focus on usability as well as performance – something Ferrari had learned from Honda – and it broke sales records for the Italian firm.

It’s hard to fathom then, that the F355 utilised the exact same layout, proportions and rear subframe as the 348, so vastly improved was it over its predecessor. With a new 3.5-litre, naturally aspirated, dry-sump, flat-plane V8 mounted in midships, the F355 could accelerate to 60mph from parked in 4.6 seconds and on to almost 180 at top whack. This impressive performance was thanks in part to the technology it utilised. Leaning on its F1 know-how, Ferrari nabbed some of that tech and stuck it in the F355’s engine, resulting in a lightweight lump with five valves per cylinder that chucked out 380bhp. Molto bene.

The F355 looked the part, too. It was compact with clean, slender lines and pop up headlights – everything you could possibly want from a new Ferrari then – and it handled like a dream to boot. With power steering and electronically adjustable dampers the F355 could be driven in either comfort or sport mode, greatly increasing its usability. Couple that with a sublime gated six-speed manual (a six-speed auto/manual paddle shift was also offered in ’97– the first of its kind in a production Ferrari) and the F355 gets pretty damn close to driving perfection. This is still before the proliferation of electronic driver aids don’t forget, so getting it right in an F355 remains an incredibly rewarding experience.

Originally only available as a coupé ‘Berlinetta’, a convertible spider and Targa-topped GTS later came along in ’95. The F355 wasn’t just for the road, however. Ferrari introduced the track-prepared Challenge model too, also in ’95. Intended for use specifically in the single make Ferrari Challenge race series, a concept that is alive and well today with various Ferrari models, the Challenge cars came with a whole host of factory options that turned them into race-ready trophy hunters.

The F355 then was something of a renaissance for Ferrari. Hitting a peak in the decadent ’80s the company would lose it’s way for a time but came out swinging again in ’94, producing not only one of the best sports cars of the decade, but also one of the best Ferraris to ever grace tarmac, and it hasn’t looked back since. Today the F355 presents as a cracking and affordable (relatively speaking) modern classic Ferrari, the drive-ability and excitement of which hasn’t diminished one iota. Prices start at around the £75K mark for decent examples but depending on mileage and condition can easily hit double that figure. Whatever your budget though, let’s raise a Bellini to the F355 as we wish it a happy 30th birthday. Saluti!

Find your perfect Ferrari F355 from dozens of models currently listed on Car & Classic.