As the service writer a dozen years ago for an exotic car tuning shop in Sarasota, Fl. I had the pleasure of driving a number of different high end, and exotic sports cars. By far my favorite cars to drive were the F355 Spider, with the manual gated shifter, and a F355 Berlinetta with the F1 tranny. Everything you said in your review was spot on Marcus, and having driven the F360 & 430 I must say the F355 had better feel, nevermind the soundtrack, which is amazing. That being said these cars are a major pita to work on because most service requires an engine pull, but imho it is worth it. What a wonderful machine.
That's exactly the point...I had one, a GTS in 2014. But luckily I bought it first hand with 28 tsd km on the odometer with cam belt made and for 58k Swiss Francs. Sold it for a lot more later and now I have a 993 Cab from 1998 in excellent conditions. The maintenance is much less, but it makes lot of fun too to drive
I've owned 3 in the last 25 years and they are so bitter sweet to own. Each time l sold my previous two I swore it'd be my last, but when they're running they're such an amazing car... definitely the end of an era.
Good for you!!...and I thought I was the only one who's crazy enough to own 3 of them. '99 355F1 Berlinetta, '99 355F1 spider and '99 355F1 Serie Fiorano and all three Rosso Corsa over Tan.
I own a 08 F430 spider F1. The F1 in my car is actually very nice and relatively smooth. Many years ago I was in a showroom looking at a yellow 355 With the F1. I asked the salesman; so how is this F1 transmission? The guy actually quietly said to me “it’s awful”. I guess he didn’t want the sales manager to hear him. I appreciated his honesty.
adopting the glove method! love it. And the shot of the car stopping in the right spot at the pump was excellently executed. What a sound. Ok thats the end of jumbled thoughts commenting.
I've got an AP1 S2000, '08 STi Hatch, $200K '18 NSX (pictured left next to my Corvette Z06/07) a $100K RAM 3500 Dually, vacation home in Lions Bay BC, and I don't think I can afford this car.......but I wish I could....
This is one of the best videos I've watched and I guess that is due to the fact that you shon the light on all the aspects as to why this car is special... Really stood true when you said you'd take it over an R34 GTR and stock for stock oh fuck me. Absolutely but when one thinks of a GTR you think big single, and all the right noises and look. Video well done Marcus, you made me appreciate the F355
Older Ferraris looked absolutely stunning and sounded even better, but I just can't believe Ferrari got away with their abysmal reliability issues for so long and at the price the cars commanded. Yes, high performance, high horsepower supercars just have more stress placed on the components, but it's not as if it can't be done. Just look at Porsche. My Uncle had a 1998 911 that he daily drove, then passed it on to my cousin when she went to college. It had 220k on the clock when it was parked and ran great (it's been just sitting there for a number of years and it breaks my heart to see it being neglected). It's almost as if Ferrari was giving the finger to everyone in the supercar market while saying "Yeah, it's gonna break down. You're going to buy it anyways because it's a Ferrari. Nobody cares if you own a Porsche, but they care if you own a Ferrari, so give me your damn money"...and people did. Gripes aside the design language of this thing is amazing and, like you said, something we won't see again for many reasons. Complexity can be cool when done right, but it seems as if every single manufacturer today told the designers "Put as much stuff as you can on the car. We want angles and vents everywhere even if they don't make sense". It's all just so busy and cluttered. The 355 though? Sleek. Sensual. Sexy. Today's Ferraris are like that hot girl that went overboard on the tattoos and piercings. Yeah she's pretty, but she put a bunch of stuff on her body she didn't need.
MSRP on this f355 was $285,000. R34 GT-R was $45,000. kinda funny how the two have met in value now over all these years. JDM was the value option at the time, and now the ferrari is! (kinda...)
Yess, the F355 is a all time great car. BUT it is sensible and expensive. It is a keeper, but there is allways something to do. I had mine now since 2010, for 11 years - the average costs (inkl. insurance and tax ) are 7000 Euro per year. And I'm NOT at the official dealer, but have my own mechanic expert...and - I'm in heaven when I drive it.
If this F355 had a very heavy steering, it's possible that the power steering system was removed from the car. The F355 has a fairly light steering feel and is very easy to manoeuvre for parking.
The maintenance stigma is way over blown. I own two of them. By now all the expensive 355 issues have been addressed with these cars. That said, parts are relatively inexpensive compared to other Fcar models. The cambelt service is another debated issue. I’ve seen 10 year old belts on these cars with 30k miles on them. The belts breaking is Not the issue, it’s the hydraulic belt tensioner and tensioner bearings. Once those have been replaced with Hill Engineering bearings and updated tensioners I’m willing to bet they last indefinitely.
Sorry guy, but in regards to the steering wheel I've to correct you. The Ferrari F355 was first time shown in March 1994 at the Geneva Auto Salon. The very first versions (1994-1996) of the new F355 had the Bosch Motronic 2.7 and the full 380 PS and a more aggressive torque curve. And in the very first production year of the new F355 it came with a 3-spoke steering wheel and without airbags (at least for the european markets; maybe the north-american markets had airbags right from the beginning). The later versions (1996-1999) got the Motronic 5.2 from Bosch and still had 380 PS (at least that is the official statement; in real we could talk about 360 PS). The F1 paddle shifter was available. Ohh, and it got the ugly 4-spoke steering wheel and airbags. Interesting fact: The much nicer 3-spoke steering wheel (with airbag!) from the later Ferrari 360 (from 1999 onwards) fits perfect in the F355, too. Easy to replace and the airbag stays functional.
That sounds correct for non-US/Canada cars. The F355 was released for model year 1995 for the US/Canada markets, with the Motronic 2.7 and the 4-spoke airbag steering wheel (likely due to the supply schedule in Europe and airbag regulations in the US). By the 1996 model year everything lined up with the rest of the world as non-US cars got the airbags and everything went to Motronic 5.2.
I have owned mine for 15 years, love the dam thing. It's in a very rare dark red and a manual (here's a video of it th-cam.com/video/q85ftRJoDjc/w-d-xo.html ). Mine is only one of two in this colour in the UK. Mine has one of the original capristo exhaust that some may have seen and heard on my youtube videos. th-cam.com/video/EUVYZDSwX34/w-d-xo.html I have always worked on my Ferrari's mu self from the testarossa to my old 328. The 355 is not as bad as people say it is for maintenance especially if you work on it your self. Once you have changed the headers for aftermarket ones just like other models like the 360 and f430, then they dont have to be done again. Yes the cambelts have to be changed every 5 years or so, but it really is not as bad as people think. Great video man 🤗
@Shane Fiero hi thanks. The capristo is a level one. Like I said I had one of the first before they became more popular, before all the gimmicks with electronic valve opening ect. I still own the car. Glad you enjoyed it 🤗
Hi, many moons ago mate. I left about 12 years go. I dont need them or miss them. I do everything on my ferraris my self. There is absolutely nothing that I dont know about the 355. in fact back in the day while still on fchat, I was one of the first handful of home mechanics who removed our own engines to do the cam belt change. That was my self and another guy called RF.
Wow I didn't realize that second video (fly-by one) was yours. I used to watch that video over and over and over again. In fact it was THE video back in 2007 that had finally convinced me to go with a level 2 Capristo (over the Tubi) coupled with Hyperflow cats on my first 355F1 Berlinetta. With a second 355F1 spider slotted in between, now I'm on my third 355F1. This time a Serie Fiorano. I'm still debating whether to stay with Capristo again or to go with a Kreissieg instead... Cheers to the 355!
When anyone mentions the word "Ferrari" to me, one of the very first images that comes to my mind are of this car. Not the 458, not the 488, not any of the new stuff. It's this. The F355.
Amazing sound and one of the reasons I owned MR2s was its resemblance to the F355. After learning about the headaches of owning a F355, it seems it'll be a "hero" I don't want to meet...
👍Excellent review. I like the sound of the Capristo exhaust on this generation of Ferrari's eg(2CV Bread van Ferrari). I have the SR20DET jet tag, i would like to get an LS3 6.2L jet tag, but they're hard to find.
Hey! We shot a quick update on Charles' Bayside Blue GTR recently that will be up in a few days! We also have plans for a longer, more in depth episode in the future
So I have this list.. A list of cars which I would (want to) buy if I had a lot of money. Like billionair money ,right. And a F355 GTS manual in this blue and with those silver 5 spoke wheels is on that list.
The noise this car makes is beautiful. I love that steering wheel too. I’m not sure exactly where you get your info from but I don’t think this is a rare gearbox like you say. Every used model I saw on autotrader had the F1 gearbox. I did not see one gated manual. I’m not a hater, just wondering if that is correct. And tbh, I can’t believe you said you would take this over an R34. I’m gonna have to disagree with that statement.
This with the gated shifter is perfection. Unfortunately it's very well known to be a maintenance nightmare. There's no way in hell I'd put up with the running costs and have the Auto gearbox...
Best-sounding? Absolutely not. Best-driving? You must be fucking high. Big step up from the 348 but the 360 was really the birth of modern Ferrari, with somewhat reasonable maintenance cost, decent suspension, and respectable build quality.
Thats funny that before I liked this video it had 430 likes lol. Another Ferrari to try out perhaps? But, now that youve tried the 90s Ferrari, try another, the Lamborghini Diablo and tell me its not better than the Ferrari.
Its probably got the old style Tubi exhaust which does not offer the f1 crescendo, it has to be a Tubi Evolution muffler or Capristo for it to offer the real sound the F355 us known for. The old tubi sounds worse than a stock exhaust.
It's a lovely car with a fantastic engine, but also the beginning of Ferrari's obsession with automatic transmissions. The beginning of the end of driver engagement, and it started with an absolute donkey of a gearbox. Awful.
A real man’s Ferrari ain’t a Ferrari unless it’s a manual, rear mid engine and 12 cylinders , the rest are just for posers.......it’s all about the feel of the drive.
one of the best looking rear ends of any car ever made
dnorthro Ferrari F430 is my favourite rear
Helped inspire one of my favorite Air Jordan’s too
dnorthro agreed
It's just sexy.
+1
As the service writer a dozen years ago for an exotic car tuning shop in Sarasota, Fl. I had the pleasure of driving a number of different high end, and exotic sports cars. By far my favorite cars to drive were the F355 Spider, with the manual gated shifter, and a F355 Berlinetta with the F1 tranny. Everything you said in your review was spot on Marcus, and having driven the F360 & 430 I must say the F355 had better feel, nevermind the soundtrack, which is amazing. That being said these cars are a major pita to work on because most service requires an engine pull, but imho it is worth it. What a wonderful machine.
I agree. One of the greatest Ferrari's ever made. I've had mine 12 years. Wonderful. A keeper.
Love the looks and sound of the F355, just afraid to maintain one
That's exactly the point...I had one, a GTS in 2014. But luckily I bought it first hand with 28 tsd km on the odometer with cam belt made and for 58k Swiss Francs. Sold it for a lot more later and now I have a 993 Cab from 1998 in excellent conditions. The maintenance is much less, but it makes lot of fun too to drive
Yep the maintenance costs would scare me off!
My annual service cost the about the same as my BMW m2. Cambelts every 3-4 years are £1200 which is the biggest expense.
I've owned 3 in the last 25 years and they are so bitter sweet to own.
Each time l sold my previous two I swore it'd be my last, but when they're running they're such an amazing car... definitely the end of an era.
Did you have one of each model? Anny of them have the 6 speed manual?
@@4Peta20 Two were spiders. The 1st one was a 1997 F1 and it was nothing but trouble.
My current 355 is a 1998 GTS with the 6 speed manual.
@@timjenkins7019 That's cool man. What kind of problems did u have with the 1st one? I bet that GTS is sweet!
Good for you!!...and I thought I was the only one who's crazy enough to own 3 of them. '99 355F1 Berlinetta, '99 355F1 spider and '99 355F1 Serie Fiorano and all three Rosso Corsa over Tan.
I own a 08 F430 spider F1. The F1 in my car is actually very nice and relatively smooth. Many years ago I was in a showroom looking at a yellow 355 With the F1. I asked the salesman; so how is this F1 transmission? The guy actually quietly said to me “it’s awful”. I guess he didn’t want the sales manager to hear him. I appreciated his honesty.
adopting the glove method! love it. And the shot of the car stopping in the right spot at the pump was excellently executed. What a sound. Ok thats the end of jumbled thoughts commenting.
The 90s for Ferarri was just perfect. F50, F355, F456 & F550. All should be considered as art!
finally someone does a good review on my favorite car!
Nice to see you again!
Nice racing gloves
Probably the best sounding V8 Ferrari ever. The 360 and F430 sound muted by comparison.
The 355 is bay far my favorite. I remember the doors being super heavy and the sound intoxicating
The F355 is truly one of a kind. Good review!
I've got an AP1 S2000, '08 STi Hatch, $200K '18 NSX (pictured left next to my Corvette Z06/07) a $100K RAM 3500 Dually, vacation home in Lions Bay BC, and I don't think I can afford this car.......but I wish I could....
This is one of the best videos I've watched and I guess that is due to the fact that you shon the light on all the aspects as to why this car is special... Really stood true when you said you'd take it over an R34 GTR and stock for stock oh fuck me. Absolutely but when one thinks of a GTR you think big single, and all the right noises and look.
Video well done Marcus, you made me appreciate the F355
Good shit Marcus old supercars> new supercars
Older Ferraris looked absolutely stunning and sounded even better, but I just can't believe Ferrari got away with their abysmal reliability issues for so long and at the price the cars commanded. Yes, high performance, high horsepower supercars just have more stress placed on the components, but it's not as if it can't be done. Just look at Porsche. My Uncle had a 1998 911 that he daily drove, then passed it on to my cousin when she went to college. It had 220k on the clock when it was parked and ran great (it's been just sitting there for a number of years and it breaks my heart to see it being neglected). It's almost as if Ferrari was giving the finger to everyone in the supercar market while saying "Yeah, it's gonna break down. You're going to buy it anyways because it's a Ferrari. Nobody cares if you own a Porsche, but they care if you own a Ferrari, so give me your damn money"...and people did.
Gripes aside the design language of this thing is amazing and, like you said, something we won't see again for many reasons. Complexity can be cool when done right, but it seems as if every single manufacturer today told the designers "Put as much stuff as you can on the car. We want angles and vents everywhere even if they don't make sense". It's all just so busy and cluttered. The 355 though? Sleek. Sensual. Sexy. Today's Ferraris are like that hot girl that went overboard on the tattoos and piercings. Yeah she's pretty, but she put a bunch of stuff on her body she didn't need.
Wow, that's a beautiful color for a 355. Would love a manual GTS in that color...
MSRP on this f355 was $285,000. R34 GT-R was $45,000. kinda funny how the two have met in value now over all these years. JDM was the value option at the time, and now the ferrari is! (kinda...)
Yess, the F355 is a all time great car. BUT it is sensible and expensive. It is a keeper, but there is allways something to do. I had mine now since 2010, for 11 years - the average costs (inkl. insurance and tax ) are 7000 Euro per year. And I'm NOT at the official dealer, but have my own mechanic expert...and - I'm in heaven when I drive it.
What's the retail price on one of those? More than you can afford pal....TOYOTA SUPRA 2JZ
355 design lines are the epitome of pop up cars.. sleek simple and timeless.. it aged so well for today it looked better than 360 or 550 imho..
Jeffrey Suhartanto Agreed. The 360 looks like shit.
Always wanted one but scared of the maintenance and part availability
The 90’s lol 😂 the good days
Richard Mahoney Back when you didn’t think latex gloves and face masks were needed for a car review.
If this F355 had a very heavy steering, it's possible that the power steering system was removed from the car. The F355 has a fairly light steering feel and is very easy to manoeuvre for parking.
Thank you very much for this. I Loved this video. Keep doing what you are doing sir. :)
The maintenance stigma is way over blown. I own two of them. By now all the expensive 355 issues have been addressed with these cars. That said, parts are relatively inexpensive compared to other Fcar models. The cambelt service is another debated issue. I’ve seen 10 year old belts on these cars with 30k miles on them. The belts breaking is Not the issue, it’s the hydraulic belt tensioner and tensioner bearings. Once those have been replaced with Hill Engineering bearings and updated tensioners I’m willing to bet they last indefinitely.
Drive a Ferrari with a Mercedes f1 cap😅
Sorry guy, but in regards to the steering wheel I've to correct you.
The Ferrari F355 was first time shown in March 1994 at the Geneva Auto Salon.
The very first versions (1994-1996) of the new F355 had the Bosch Motronic 2.7 and the full 380 PS and a more aggressive torque curve.
And in the very first production year of the new F355 it came with a 3-spoke steering wheel and without airbags (at least for the european markets; maybe the north-american markets had airbags right from the beginning).
The later versions (1996-1999) got the Motronic 5.2 from Bosch and still had 380 PS (at least that is the official statement; in real we could talk about 360 PS). The F1 paddle shifter was available. Ohh, and it got the ugly 4-spoke steering wheel and airbags.
Interesting fact: The much nicer 3-spoke steering wheel (with airbag!) from the later Ferrari 360 (from 1999 onwards) fits perfect in the F355, too. Easy to replace and the airbag stays functional.
That sounds correct for non-US/Canada cars. The F355 was released for model year 1995 for the US/Canada markets, with the Motronic 2.7 and the 4-spoke airbag steering wheel (likely due to the supply schedule in Europe and airbag regulations in the US). By the 1996 model year everything lined up with the rest of the world as non-US cars got the airbags and everything went to Motronic 5.2.
I actually think the F355 Spider is the best looking of the range. They are so sexy
I have owned mine for 15 years, love the dam thing. It's in a very rare dark red and a manual (here's a video of it th-cam.com/video/q85ftRJoDjc/w-d-xo.html ). Mine is only one of two in this colour in the UK.
Mine has one of the original capristo exhaust that some may have seen and heard on my youtube videos. th-cam.com/video/EUVYZDSwX34/w-d-xo.html
I have always worked on my Ferrari's mu self from the testarossa to my old 328. The 355 is not as bad as people say it is for maintenance especially if you work on it your self. Once you have changed the headers for aftermarket ones just like other models like the 360 and f430, then they dont have to be done again.
Yes the cambelts have to be changed every 5 years or so, but it really is not as bad as people think.
Great video man 🤗
@Shane Fiero hi thanks.
The capristo is a level one.
Like I said I had one of the first before they became more popular, before all the gimmicks with electronic valve opening ect. I still own the car. Glad you enjoyed it 🤗
Hi, many moons ago mate. I left about 12 years go. I dont need them or miss them.
I do everything on my ferraris my self. There is absolutely nothing that I dont know about the 355. in fact back in the day while still on fchat, I was one of the first handful of home mechanics who removed our own engines to do the cam belt change. That was my self and another guy called RF.
Wow I didn't realize that second video (fly-by one) was yours. I used to watch that video over and over and over again. In fact it was THE video back in 2007 that had finally convinced me to go with a level 2 Capristo (over the Tubi) coupled with Hyperflow cats on my first 355F1 Berlinetta. With a second 355F1 spider slotted in between, now I'm on my third 355F1. This time a Serie Fiorano. I'm still debating whether to stay with Capristo again or to go with a Kreissieg instead... Cheers to the 355!
When anyone mentions the word "Ferrari" to me, one of the very first images that comes to my mind are of this car. Not the 458, not the 488, not any of the new stuff. It's this. The F355.
My MR2 was inspired by this car. They actually put a Turbo Mr2 and this F355 against each other and the MR2 won.
A Ferrari is a Ferrari but I would take a mint mr2 sw20. Dare I say it looks sexier than the Ferrari.
Nothing screams like a 355 the others don't have that high pitch race car sound besides the V12
@10:58 ah so that's how you say the name I always wondered lol
How would you compare the sound, experience, power, handling etc to Russ's 2GR MR2? I don't expect it to match just wondering how it stacks up.
Amazing sound and one of the reasons I owned MR2s was its resemblance to the F355. After learning about the headaches of owning a F355, it seems it'll be a "hero" I don't want to meet...
Dark blue is the best looking color on 99% of Ferraris
If you even think about getting an f355, you gotta get a manual.
Change Capristo Exhaust, much better screaming 👍
“Automated manual gearbox” sounds suspiciously similar to “sequential manual gearbox.” SMG? Run!
Has someone commented "more than you can afford, Pal " ? 😂😂😂 i cant be the first one.
Jeremy clarkson had one in red
clarkson aprooved
👍Excellent review. I like the sound of the Capristo exhaust on this generation of Ferrari's eg(2CV Bread van Ferrari). I have the SR20DET jet tag, i would like to get an LS3 6.2L jet tag, but they're hard to find.
the gen 2 mr2 was modeled after this .
The SW20 MR2 came to the market in 1990, 4 years before the F355. The resemblance sure is there, but then as a evolution of the 348TB.
F355 kinda sound like 2 x inline 4 bangers instead of a V8.
That’s because it’s a flat plane crankshaft. So essentially it is 2 x inline 4’s. Just like the 458 and the Ford Coyote 5.2 in the GT500
I was just looking up F355s two nights ago lol
The last of the truly pretty Ferraris 😍.
If you can try find a manual. Those are nice 😍
I need one of these in my life! Just scared of maintenance.
The mantantce is not that bad to be fair, loads of decent specialists out there
Brilliant review
Hey Marcus ! when are u going to make a video on cw collections Nissan skyline gtr r34.
Hey! We shot a quick update on Charles' Bayside Blue GTR recently that will be up in a few days! We also have plans for a longer, more in depth episode in the future
So I have this list.. A list of cars which I would (want to) buy if I had a lot of money. Like billionair money ,right. And a F355 GTS manual in this blue and with those silver 5 spoke wheels is on that list.
That orange peel shot 1:39 orange peel on a Ferrari
It looks like it’s very enjoyable.👍
"More than you can afford pal. Ferrari."
My favorite ferrari
Is this car from Deadmonton?
Nice MR2.
90's was the age of the CD. Cassettes were still availible, but on their way out
The noise this car makes is beautiful. I love that steering wheel too.
I’m not sure exactly where you get your info from but I don’t think this is a rare gearbox like you say. Every used model I saw on autotrader had the F1 gearbox. I did not see one gated manual. I’m not a hater, just wondering if that is correct. And tbh, I can’t believe you said you would take this over an R34. I’m gonna have to disagree with that statement.
This with the gated shifter is perfection. Unfortunately it's very well known to be a maintenance nightmare. There's no way in hell I'd put up with the running costs and have the Auto gearbox...
*cues Goldeneye theme
no we've had all good cd's by then
Best-sounding? Absolutely not.
Best-driving? You must be fucking high.
Big step up from the 348 but the 360 was really the birth of modern Ferrari, with somewhat reasonable maintenance cost, decent suspension, and respectable build quality.
Thats funny that before I liked this video it had 430 likes lol. Another Ferrari to try out perhaps? But, now that youve tried the 90s Ferrari, try another, the Lamborghini Diablo and tell me its not better than the Ferrari.
do you think this small V8 sound better than an RB ? hmm
I think Ferrari copied the MR2.
Why would you wear a mask in a car on your own?
Nice mr2
You pay to play to pay!
just sayin
Wearing mask in a car what are you protecting yourself from?
the is got to be the worst sounding 355 i ever heard. it just sounds broken.
amduser86 nah it’s 👌
Its probably got the old style Tubi exhaust which does not offer the f1 crescendo, it has to be a Tubi Evolution muffler or Capristo for it to offer the real sound the F355 us known for. The old tubi sounds worse than a stock exhaust.
all i can say is ..one of these days
one of these days....and 60k is cheap now a days
You can't buy a f355 for 60k
Driving that thing with the clunky f1 box must b rough
I'm going to subscribe if you tell me you're Canadian
Alberta plates.
R34 are much faster and reliable
Привет Маркус, верни проект в Россию!
Always go for the manual real drivers car
Lose the license plate frame!
It's a lovely car with a fantastic engine, but also the beginning of Ferrari's obsession with automatic transmissions. The beginning of the end of driver engagement, and it started with an absolute donkey of a gearbox. Awful.
A real man’s Ferrari ain’t a Ferrari unless it’s a manual, rear mid engine and 12 cylinders , the rest are just for posers.......it’s all about the feel of the drive.
but those are crazy expensive compared to the V8 - V12 rari are the best but there is no point comparing an enzo to an F430
The 360 was better in every way.