It's often said that clothes make the man. For me, colors make the car. The F355 was the last of the wedge shaped mid-engined V8 Ferraris and in Le Mans blue with a bright red interior and canvas roof, this Spider is striking. For sale in California, this Ferrari is made even more attractive by eschewing the F1 gearbox in favor of the traditional 6-speed manual.
1996 Ferrari F355 Spider
This is perhaps the rarest and most striking of all F355 Ferrari Spiders. It is the only known Le Mans Blue with a Bordeaux interior in the world in this configuration. The only other known Le Mans Blue with a Bordeaux interior is located in England and it is right and drive and has the terribly slow F1 transmission. This is a classic color combination that was very popular in the 50s and 60s and found on period Ferraris and Maserati.
The typical shrinking leather dash on the F355 was just addressed with thousands spent on new leather. Similarly, the red leather cover for the top is also new. The red leather interior, including the very expensive option of a full red leather dash and matching steering wheel, is in excellent condition as are the beautifully contrasting navy carpets with matching Ferrari original navy floor mats.
A full belt service was just performed in March of 2013 and the Ferrari is running flawlessly. The top was serviced and is working as it should. The top is navy blue. I have known of this car since 2005 when it was for sale in Greenwich CT by Hunting Ridge Motors. (I even have photos from when the dealer offered the car for sale back then.) They sold the car to a gentleman in California. He proceeded to hit the curb with the right rear wheel and cause damage to the front bumper on the lower left side. This bent the lower control arm and the drive shaft. For reasons unknown to me, the owner was paid off and the car then sold at an insurance auction for a very substantial sum several years ago. I attended the auction but was outbid. There was no body damage and no mechanical damage.
The damage was very typical for performance cars that owners often fishtail when applying too much throttle, e.g., bending a lower control arm and damaging a wheel on the right rear. Inspections are welcome. See for yourself how nice a car this is with just 17k miles! And she drives like she has only 17k miles. Tight and solid! The 355 is a great investment. It's the end of the Enzo era inspired cars and they made very few with just over 3k spiders being made for the world. Compare that to the 360 where Ferrari made more than 13,000 of that model! This is the end of the small, svelte go kart like handling Ferraris.
It sounds more like an F1 car than any other Ferrari (except the F1 cars of course). It has 5 valve per cylinder. It is the last of the Ferrari with a manual transmission and a true throttle cable as opposed to indirect drive by wire found in the 360 and later cars. It is the best shifting, best driving true sports car from Ferrari.
The 458 is a sweet ride but it is over $200k, only comes with an automatic transmission, doesn't sound as good as the F355, and arguably as a spider doesn't look as good as the F355. If you are wanting a true classic yet modern Ferrari experience, the F355 is the only car that fits the bill. Fast, fun, sounds great, great to look at, limited production. These cars will only appreciate. Spring is just around the corner. Miss this one and you miss this irreplaceable color combination in a low mileage classic. Manual and tool kit included.
High retail for these F355 Spiders is running in the $65,000 to $75,000 range, so this F355 is priced attractively, especially considering the mileage, transmission and, for me, irresistible color combination. These F355s have aged gracefully and I doubt that they'll sink in value much more. If you have the means, now is the time to snag one.
-Paul
