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The 355 is my favourite Ferrari, by a country mile and then some. When asked i've always said i wanted it in red, or yellow. ..but i have to say that this blue.. It does amazing things to the lines of the car. Making me fall even harder than before. Synergy defined, imho.
Fantastic video Jay. I always watch your videos start to finish...as opposed to fast forwarding through others who spout on about their latest supercar being sent around the world to be driven by rich boy with other rich boys with no information whatsoever. Top man and keep them coming. Ps....did the F355 sound better than the LC500....!
This is an irretrievably pretty Ferrari, only bettered in my opinion by the 512. Both deeply compromised but so utterly gorgeous. Sadly my F experience has been limited to a 360; the first ‘sensible’ model. But as for the most desirable car for me, since you asked at the end…you have already driven it. Audi Quattro Ur1 all day long. The RR was clearly the best I owned but the WR is the one I will remember to my grave. I drive tractors now.
J - the F355 GTB manual is my hero car. It blew me away when I drove it. Did my wife like it? Too raw she said. Is the air conditioner reliable? Of course not. But for the 20 min test drive - it was the total dream.
Funny on your views on Rosso Corsa, I don't like front engined Ferraris in RC but the 355 I think looks ok in RC but as with all Ferraris I would always go for a non RC car apart from the ones where you have no choice. I also owned an RC 550 but it was a case of buying the best car available but I would have preferred a darker coloured one
Thanks to my crypto broker and her gaining strategy, I'm definitely getting myself one of these. Investing with Miss Eve Myers has been the best decision of my life
The steering can be fixed one of two ways; a thicker washer on the pressure regulator in the pump, lowering the pressure, or take the steering rack apart and swap the torsion bar inside for a heavier one.
My dad had a F355 GTS F1 in silver and red interior and that looked awesome. The F1 box was like being kicked in the back when you shifted from 1st to 2nd under any load. I agree, one of the prettiest Ferrari's ever made. The main issue was starting the bugger. Battery was always flat despite using the isolator and getting to the battery (hidden behind the front wheel) was a real pig. However, when it did run and you revved it to the 8500 red line, it was like a banshee screaming in your ears.........pure heaven.
Just leave the car on a trickle charger. There is no reason for a battery to go flat with the battery cutoff switch activated. Are you sure the car didn't have some kind of aftermarket devices wired directly to the battery?
@@ImperrfectStranger This was going back 20 years when trickle chargers were not as well know. Nothing aftermarket on it, but the battery isolator does not turn everything off . Also the garage it was in had no electric.....hence finding out the hard way where the battery was. There was a charge point with easy access in the engine bay, but this did not work.
Before buying my F355, I test drove a friend's '95 F355 and couldn't believe how light the steering felt. I really disliked it, however I still kept my sights on finding a 355 for myself since it was my dream car. When I finally found it and test drove it, I was pleasantly surprised at how great the steering felt. It was perfectly weighted, IMO. So I bought the car and enjoyed if for 4 years. I see someone's commented on how to improve the power steering. I'm proof that it can definitely vary from car to car. Thanks for the review. I see a 355 in your future.
I will always remember Clarkson announcing that he loved it so much on testing the F355, that he had driven to the nearest Ferrari dealer, x Egham from memory, and ordered one. For me it is the most beautiful mid engined Ferrari, period and the last of the pop up headlights defining era which also defined my seminal years.
Do you know that Blu Pozzi and Blu Swaters were the names given to praise the dealers (In France and Belgium)? How cool and Ferrari-style way to give you the gift that will stay for the generations. Imagine doing a good job, selling lots of the cars and one day, you get the letter from Maranello stating that they will name every car in those colours with your name. And I do agree that blue 355s are the most amazing looking cars. There was one in Italy for 1 week with the similar spec (Swaters and no sport seats) with the super high premium (+50% to the similar red) and it was gone in days. This is the value of the perfect spec in Ferrari. All the Best James. Keep on hunting.
@@JayEmmOnCars Charles Pozzi is still active and is the largest Ferrari dealership in the world (16 000 sqm in Paris). Jaques Swaters has sold his collection few years before "joining" Enzo but the 456 was the model that had the Blue Swaters for the first time to celebrate 40 years of the partnership in the early 90s.
Your reviews are so completely enjoyable! Thank you for taking the time to make these out of love and passion! I always learn something new about the cars you’re lucky enough to drive and enjoy. You shoot and edit…and mic your results perfectly. The time you put into these productions does not go unnoticed. For the true car lover…you are a gift…! Cheers! Looking forward to the next! 💥💥
Jay, with all the great content you've provided over the years, it's hard to imagine that you're still finding brilliant vids that completely captivates us!! That 355 in this body and color configuration could easily be the "one Ferrari to own". Just beautiful. Thank you for sharing!
My blu sera on red 348ts is also a wonderful and rare spec. I bought it because I absolutely love the Momo Ghibli steering wheel coupled with the manual steering. I also prefer the 348 gauges, the center console stack, and the interior styling over the 355. But wow, what a 355 to feature Jay. Beautiful. Blu LeMans looks very close to my blu sera. (My 348 spent many years in England, serviced by Ferrari Centre in Maidstone--it's now in Seattle, USA.)
Did you know? The length, width, height, and wheelbase of the 348/355 are all within an inch of the DeLorean? It seems Pininfarina benchmarked a Giugiaro design when they set out to replace the 328.
If you don't like the airbag steering wheel in a 355 - and it is hideous - just change it to one from a 360 (if you want an airbag), or an earlier Ferrari (if you don't).
Owned a 95 Rosso barchetta 355 for a while. After replacing headers, valve guides, valves, and what seemed like everything else it was great. Almost $30k in ‘stuff’ to do though, insane. The maintenance of one of these things is not to be underestimated
@@amgpagoda Hindsight is 20/20. It's not always easy to avoid. Its also a way to get in with limited funds when prices are rising - more expensive overall at time of purchase than buying a sorted one but you'd miss the boat otherwise as funds aren't available for a sorted one. A risky game but not unreasonable if you go in with your eyes open.
@@amgpagoda ALL 355s have header and valve guide issues. Ferrari didn't learn to use heavier gauge steel for the manifolds and sintered steel valve guides until very late 355s and 360s. The OBD1 cars (only 1995) had the fewest issues as they have fewer exhaust sensors, but still had issues a plenty... Fabulous cars but that $10k major service bill every 3-5 years just sucks. 360 and especially 430 are a far better cars with less maintenance.
Always loved the 355 ever since i was a kid, definitely in my top 3 cars ever. Had the good fortune to drive one around a track a few years ago and it sounded, drove and handled EXACTLY as I'd always imagined it would when I was sitting in my room looking at the poster on my wall when I was around 11 years old.
The rot set in with the 360, certainly stylistically. The 355 howl is exquisite. The 288 GTO remains my favourite post 1970 Ferrari but this is in the top 3.
The 360 is beautiful in my opinion and has the same engine architecture and noise as the 355, just a little more displacement (hence *360* ) and power. Also with a gated manual 🤌 Also the 458 is pure beauty.
Just to dispell the myth. It costs me £1250 for a belt service which includes oil and brake service. Lot of people comment about belt costs have no idea and just spout out utter crap. Yes you will spend a lot of money if you buy a dog like any other car that hasn't been maintained properly...
The sound of that is so much better than the 458 (which gets so much praise but sounds pretty rotten), and even the 430. I know people don't like to modify Ferraris, but if there is an exhaust that can improve the sound of a 458, it's a must-have. (I do think the whole 'you can't modify a Ferrari because it's sacred' idea is nonsense - and it's possibly mostly down to that whole certification con-job that Ferrari having going on where they charge you thousands to prove your Ferrari is a Ferrari - can't believe anyone ever went along with that.)
F355 works very well in Rosso when equipped with a Challenge rear grille. Also, if you can find a Challenge exhaust you’ll transform the sound too (albeit near deafening).
Color opinion, this dark blue looks much better on the 355 than the red, but that yellow looks absolutely spectacular in my opinion. Catches the eye much more.
I own a F355 GTS non airbag version in Rosso Corsa and black interior. I like this combination and how it looks! But one of the best things is the sound of the engine in almost every rev range, especially in a tunnel, extrem! What I also like very much is the way of schiftung in the open metall link. i also own a 458 Speciale, which is also an outstanding car, but I like the clean shape of the F355, it‘s not as aerodynamic as the 458, but it‘s the shape of a ferrari what I have imagine every time in my life, how a ferrari have to look.
I've always had a soft spot for the 355, especially spiders in blue or silver, I remember seeing one being gunned at Brooklands auto italia day, utter perfect 'Ferrari noise'.
Dark blue is nice on the F355, and indeed the 550 maranello, & the Roma also. Darker, deeper reds much nicer than rosso corsa. Manual, it has got to be, naturally. GTB - best looking, GTS gets you top off action, but retains most of the shape - much like with the respective Dino 246 variants. I'd take either. The full convertible F355 is disgusting to behold in their company, at least top down. Early 3 spoke steering wheel is so much nicer. (Why are airbags mandatory when seatbelts are? They're not even a particularly effective safety feature. In fact "taka" airbags were exploding and killing people.) The rear looks better in full body colour I think. Cool seats, as mentioned, learnt something there. The engine air intake thing - looking at the dual individual intake version, it looks like it may have higher airflow capacity so is quite conceivable for it to make more power especially at higher revs. Lovely car. The sound is... belissimo!
Gosh what a lovely sound to that engine!! 😮😍 if I had the money a F355 is definitely the one I’d go for. The sound, the looks, that feeling! Plus an older Ferrari love those.
Well for time being as more approachable and daily dream car - late model Legacy 3.0R Spec B with a manual. Its incredibly rare compared to prefacelift you tested a while back especially here in eastern europe. All i ever seen were few automatic versions. Also want one without the push start which subaru added in 2008 as an option or might have even forced it as full spec for Spec B, so i guess a twist key, wagon, 6 speed manual late model spec B in some nice shade ideally dark blue or dark red(only was available just after the facelift before they switched the palette to just boring set of silvers). If it's silver i might just repaint it i guess. As for a dedicated weekend car.... not sure i fight with myself on what kind of car i want. From 5th gen Celica to MR2 and more expensive offerings. Italian cars do tempt me even for the daily wagon bit, but 159 and other Alfa's just turn me away with both horrid reliability issues and awful transmissions. Styling tho...especially on 156 and 159 interior's is just something else.... I just never can understand how Alfa can do some things so amazingly well while crapping the bed at everything else...
Best sounding Ferrari V8/ flat plane V8 hands down. There is a detailed article on Road and Track ( I think) Which details the header abd exhaust design and why it sounds so good.
Spot on, my dream spec too. Early, pre airbag manual berlinetta. Luckily I found mine 15 years ago and could never sell it. Just wonderful every time you get in it, or even look at it. I think one of the greatest Ferrari's made and one you can still red line when the road allows, and my god, the noise when you do. Congrats on the 300k, been with you since the early days. You get it.
Congratulations on hitting 300k James👏 I watch several RU-vid motoring chanels and yours is the best! Just a thought, have you ever considered a euro trip in one of your Ferrari's as a celebration?!
A properly pretty ferrari, like its grandparents the 308 / 328 cars. I think they look great in the gun metal grey metallic that ferrari did at the time.
Christ ALIVE!!! This car in this spec is giving me a Kryten style double Polaroid. The 355 is the only Ferrari that’s really got my heart racing, the early one with pre airbag wheel and in yellow and of course a manual, however this car is the stuff of absolute dreams.
Thankyou jay, another great 355 video. I have owned my 355 for 18 years. Its one of two rosso barchetta spiders in the UK. (it's in my vids if you want to see it) Its certainly a keeper.
Jay, I must say - you have exactly the same taste as me. Navy Blue over Black/Tan, w. the gated 6-Speed, the early steering wheel and the challenge grille has been my dream configuration since I was also a child (I was 5 when the F355 was introduced). The only exception that I’d make is perhaps a change to a deep, dark forest green if navy was unavailable. It’s my genuine hope that should this kind owner ever decide to part with this car, you’re the first person he contacts. Regards. 🙏🏻
that's awesome, may not be as fast as a 458 but it sounds just like a 458 while being smaller and more analog. I grew up with the 360, 430, and 458 but this generation of ferrari is starting to appeal to me more and more. Manual versions aren't rare, they aren't super bougie to appeal to people that just want to be seen in an expensive car, and they're much smaller than the new stuff so it won't be stressful to back into spaces and navigate a city if you wanted to
One of the most glorious sounding cars ever made! And also among the last Ferraris where rare specs like this happened only because the owners just spec'd them to their own unique tastes and not because they wanted to get featured in Instagram's "top 10 rarest specs of the week" list. My dream F355 would be an early Berlinetta or Spider in BRG, Verde Mugello or Verde Zeltweg, brown/beige interior, manual of course and the optional Challenge rear grille.
The spec on that is awsome!!! My dream car & spec is the blue F40 that used to belong to Sam Moores the photographer/RU-vidr. Always loved the F40 but that one is perfect!!!
That colour combo is on my wish list. I have a carbon black (dark blue/black depending upon the light) x5 and just love the idea of tan and black interior to go with it. Mines not a Ferrari and it’s on the ULEZ kill list, but it’s mine all the same and I love it. Don’t we just all love our cars? 😀 great video. Nearest thing I ever had was an X1/9 😁
I think I'd look for Fiorano equipped car snd buy the best Manual transmission i could find, retrofit the non-airbag steering wheel snd take whatever color and seats it had. If the colour and seats are that important, I'd buy the best fiorano available while I stayed on the lookout for the perfect car. But really, after agonizing for decades about the exquisite beauty of the Berlinetta, I'm for the Spider. For me any car gets about 1000% better when it's completely open. And with the F355, All the better to hear that engine. Would love to find one with the Tobacco interior. I wonder if any spiders came with the Fiorano pack. 1.
I so very much was hoping through out the vídeo that this was a non powered steering car, particularly when I saw the non airbag steering wheel… I must admit I was a bit disappointed! But the vid is great, and you really kept me on suspense! 😅 and on the end you ended up refering not only that but also the Fiorano pack cars (Evo magazine 355 Fiorano vs Lotus Exige anyone?), you are not only lucky, I’m glad you get to be the keeper of the great cars that you do!!! You mister, you are a true enthusiast!
My F355 GTS was built in November of 1994 and it also has the carbon bucket seats from factory. And being a ‘94 car, it also has the manual gearbox, the non-airbag steering wheel and the Motronic 2.7. But it’s Rosso Corsa over black leather seats and black carpets 😅. The car in the video comes very close to my dream spec which would be exactly like my car, but Blu Swaeters or Blu Pozzi with tan or cuoio interior. I’ve never seen that spec in pictures or in the flesh either, so I’m not swapping mine any time soon. Great vid as always James. Thouroughly enjoyed it!
I'm not a fan of red, but for this very particular CAR, I've noted quite ublieveably so, stance on road, etc. Believe me, trust me it really Really "should be" RED!!!!! And there is no doubt @ it.
I saw one last week near Bagshot: the sound she made was music to my ears - modern Ferraris are simply don’t make sound like that by comparison unless they are driven at very high speeds.
IMHO the F355 strikes the perfect balance between the early V8 cars of the late 70s / early 80s with their high profile tires, creases and grills and the bolder and more aggressive design of later generations from the 2000s onwards. The F355 is delicate yet clean in its appearance. And I agree about the engine noise, the F355 lacks the deeper boomier exhaust sound of the 360/F430/458, but that energetic wail is just perfect.
Brilliant video James! The 355 was the first Ferrari I loved....its an age thing. BTW, and as I'm sure you know, Bell & Sport have ex-Chris Rea's Blue Scuro over Crema early car (manual, no airbag). Bit pricey though, but it is a 1 of 1
Man I love a Ferrari in anything but rosso corsa... And that blue is just stunning. Although, I'd always be nervous driving a "perfect spec one of one" dream car out on the road. Because as James said, you could never, ever replace it.
The "rigidity" argument for Spider is for me a bit fool hardy. I have yet to see any youtuber push the capability of a 355 to a level where chassis rigidity affects anything. Having said that, I have felt the Spider at the limit and it does leave a bit to be desired. Having said that, driving a Spider on the street isnt about utmost rigidity and acting like chassis rigidity or lack therof can make or break a street car is a bit short sided. The way I see this is a sliding scale of experiences. Will the amazing noises and open air that I get from Spider be more or less than the less than 1% of time that I truly need the extra chassis rigidity. Obviously if we are all honest these two things arent even close. I choose not to sacrifice the .0001% chassis rigidity for the 100% open air automotive excellence.
Actually I have 2 unicorn cars that are quite bizzare 😅 One is an accurate Lamborghini Diablo replica with LS1 fitted in it, second is very specific Ford Racing Puma - R2/S1600 Works Kit Car drove in early 2000s by Norbert Guzek - polish rally driver. It's also probably only one Racing Puma that was living or still lives in my country (Poland) except my own 😄 I'm right now in a process of refinishing my own car but after that I'd like to start search high and low for this R2 Kit Car Puma 😄
Love the video, Jay, thank you! That's a gorgeous spec, I love the interior particularly, so many nice details. Our feelings on cars often align, and I recently took ownership of my first sports car, in good part on your advice (C5 Z06). Since you asked for our unicorns: 2019-2020 Shelby GT350 in Kona Blue, no stripes, with the handling package - BUT the normal leather seats instead of the Recaros. B&O sound system and the safety tech pack as well.
In Netherlands there is a white F355 One Off from Zanasi Group Maranello for sale at Munsterhuis Sportscars but left steering.... its great looking, correct steering wheel, same interieur colour etc... (€ 260.000) with 73.416 km.... and as new...
