1999 Ferrari F355 Spider review: Retro Road Test

There’s no such thing as a cheap Ferrari, but the F355 is – whisper it – a bit of a bargain. It’s around a third of the price of a new 296 GTS, for starters.

OK, the F355 does offer less than half the power (380hp vs. 830hp) of the newer Ferrari, but it certainly isn’t half the car. Not by, um, half.

Launched in 1994, the F355 was the shot in the arm Ferrari needed. Its 348 predecessor was derivative, dynamically deficient and, according to many road testers, inferior to the much cheaper Honda NSX.

Maranello needed to up its game, and it did so with svelte styling, F1-inspired aerodynamics and a red-blooded V8.

Spider that flies

The car I’m driving today is a 355 F1 Spider: ‘F1’ because it has Ferrari’s ground-breaking semi-automatic gearbox and ‘Spider’ because, well, it’s a drop-top. Shame the heavens above Blenheim Palace have just opened…

Not that owner David Bagley is worried. As one half of the team behind Salon Privé – the exclusive classic and supercar show held each summer at Blenheim and the Royal Hospital in Chelsea – David is no stranger to exotic metal.

Nonetheless, the F355 has a special place in his heart: “It was on my bedroom wall as a kid – I’ve always wanted one,” he explains. “And it took me a long time to afford one, so this car’s a keeper.”

Paddle to the metal

Driving David’s pride and joy on rain-soaked roads initially seems a daunting task. Lest we forget, this is a 24-year-old car with no electronic safety aids. Yet the Ferrari feels so intuitive and immediate that I quickly build confidence.

Its ride is surprisingly supple, its hydraulic power steering just sublime. And its compact size means you can blast along narrow country lanes where new supercars – 296 GTS included – fear to tread.

The F1 ‘flappy paddle’ transmission is more of an acquired taste. It’s clunky in traffic, but improves the faster you go – culminating in savage, foot-to-the-floor upshifts in Sport mode.

Most buyers still prefer Ferrari’s iconic open-gate self-shifter: a fact reflected in five-figure price differences for manual cars. But don’t write-off the F1 ‘box, especially if you regularly drive in the city.

Rush for the redline

As the clouds clear and the tarmac dries, we reach a quiet A-road: time to stretch this prancing horse’s legs. With a modest 268lb ft of torque, the Ferrari’s flat-plane-crank V8 doesn’t fully come alive until 5,000rpm.

Then, show pony turns to stallion, as hedgerows become a blur in an intoxicating, head-spinning rush for the redline.

And the noise! Drive it with brio and the 355 howls with the hard-edged intensity of a racer – a mechanical cacophony amplified further in David’s car by a freer-flowing Capristo exhaust. It’s feral, ferocious and borderline anti-social, just as you’d hope.

Old-school excitement

Ironically, the car the Ferrari most reminds me of is the original Honda NSX. The 355 is faster and ultimately more exciting, but both offer a focused and gloriously analogue experience that today’s turbocharged, tech-heavy supercars struggle to match.

Even after nearly 20 years in motoring journalism, including driving quite a few Ferraris, the F355 ranks as one of my all-time favourite cars. I’d have one in a heartbeat.

Prices start at around £70,000, rising to well beyond £100,000 for the best, low-mileage cars. But you’d better hurry: this modern classic Ferrari won’t be a bargain forever.

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