Guide: Ferrari 360 Modena & 360 Spider
Background
After the 348 had divided opinion and been dynamically eclipsed by some of its rivals, Ferrari returned to form in spectacular fashion with the much-loved F355.
Launched in 1994, the F355 was arguably the best junior Ferrari ever; it looked as good as it went and blew the competition into the long grass. From a commercial perspective, it also did wonders for Ferrari’s balance sheet.
However, rapid pace of development meant that, five years after its arrival, the F355 was necessarily replaced.
Launched at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1999, the new 360 Modena was the first production Ferrari to be constructed entirely from aluminium. The chassis, body and suspension wishbones were all made from this light weight material while a mix of aluminium alloys were used for the engine and transmission castings plus many of the remaining suspension components.
Ferrari had first experimented with an aluminium spaceframe back in 1987 when the ugly but technically interesting 408 4RM prototype had broken cover. Twelve years later, the chassis technology pioneered by by the 408 4RM had become a production reality.
In addition to the materials used for certain aspects of its construction, the 360 was also a visual departure from its illustrious predecessors; the delicacy and beauty of those junior models that came before was superseded by impressive albeit sterile aerodynamic efficiency.
Like the 348 and F355, a full Spider was offered in addition to the fixed-head Berlinetta (which was dubbed the Modena in recognition of Enzo Ferrari’s birthplace). However, unlike all previous iterations of two-seat junior Ferraris, the 360 was not offered as a Targa (GTS).
Nevertheless, the 360 swelled Ferrari’s order books to unprecedented levels; as global economies boomed during the dot-com era, Ferrari had a two-year backlog on their hands within a matter of weeks.
Twelve months after the 360 Modena’s debut, Ferrari launched the Spider variant at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2000.
Both body styles were offered with a choice of either a standard six-speed manual gearbox or Ferrari’s optional semi-automatic F1 transmission as debuted on the F355.
Chassis
Under the skin was a brand new Tipo F131 AB spaceframe chassis fabricated from extruded aluminium. To keep weight down, thicker welded sections were used where strength was a key consideration and thinner bonded sections were adopted elsewhere.
The chassis was developed in conjunction with Alcoa. It had a 2600mm wheelbase which was 150mm longer than the outgoing F355. Track was also widened to increase cockpit space.
Despite having been around 10% bigger than the F355, the 360 chassis weighed 28% less yet was 40% stiffer.
Independent suspension was via double wishbones with coil springs and electronically controlled Sachs dampers. Anti-roll bars were fitted at either end. Anti-dive and anti-squat geometry was also installed.
The continually adjusting Sachs dampers were manufactured in aluminium. They adapted according to parameters such as steering angle, road speed, braking effect and acceleration to optimise handling. The driver could choose from either Sport or Normal damper settings via a button on the centre console.
330mm cross-drilled and ventilated brake discs were fitted to each corner along with four-piston light alloy calipers. A Bosch 5.3 system controlled the ABS and ASR traction control. This also offered a choice of Normal and Sport modes or could be switched off completely if desired.
New 18-inch Speedline aluminium wheels were a stylised version of the classic Ferrari five-spoke ‘star’ design. They measured 7.5-inches wide at the front, 10-inches wide at the rear and were originally shod with Pirelli P Zero tyres.
Track was 52mm wider at the front axle.
Power steering was fitted as standard.
Duel fuel tanks with a combined 95-litre capacity were fitted either side of the engine, up against the rear bulkhead.
Engine / Gearbox
The 360’s Tipo F131B engine was an enlarged and uprated evolution of the superb power unit created for the F355 - a naturally aspirated dual overhead camshaft 90° V8 with five valves per cylinder, variable valve timing and dry-sump lubrication.
The block, cylinder heads, sump and sundry castings were constructed from light alloy. Connecting rods were titanium.
As per the F355, bore was kept at 85mm. Stroke was extended from 77mm to 79mm for an overall displacement of 3586cc (a gain of 90cc).
New equipment included a flat-plane crankshaft and a Bosch Motronic 7.3 engine management system with drive-by-wire throttle and variable back pressure exhaust system. Air flow was optimised into and out of the engine.
Cosmetically the motor was dressed up with distinctive red crackle finish intake plenums.
Compared to the F355, compression was lowered from 11.1:1 to 11:0.1.
The horsepower rating went from 375bhp at 8250rpm to 394bhp at 8500rpm (equivalent to nearly 110bhp per-litre).
There was also more torque on offer (and much lower in the rev range): the F355 had pumped out 268lb-ft at 6000rpm whereas the 360 developed 275lb-ft at 4750rpm.
Ferrari offered a choice of two six-speed gearboxes that were mounted in unit with the engine
Standard equipment was a traditional six-speed manual. Available via the options list was the latest electro-hydraulic F1 automated manual system that incoporated carbonfibre gear selection paddles mounted behind the steering wheel.
The F1 system had been improved for the 360 so that, upon sensing an input from the driver, the throttle opening was adjusted during the shift process to automatically smooth out the gear change. Upshifts took just 150 milliseconds.
Six-speed manual cars came with an M suffix at end of the chassis (F131 AB M). An E was used for F1-equipped examples (F131 AB E).
Transmission was through a single-plate clutch and limited-slip differential.
Bodywork
Pininfarina’s radical new bodywork was fabricated almost entirely from aluminium panels riveted to the chassis. Exceptions were the fibreglass bumpers and side skirts.
Among the 360’s most distinctive new features were its McLaren F1-style dual air intakes mounted either side of the nose to feed fresh air into the water radiators. The traditional central egg-crate grille (which had admittedly been a dummy item on most recent mid-engined models) was no more. Instead, the central section of the front apron was raised so air could pass under the car’s completely flat bottom and feed the massive rear diffusers.
It was this advanced underbody aero that meant Pininfarina did not need to integrate the kind of spoilers that had been commonplace up until this point.
After much time spent in the wind tunnel, the 360’s drag coefficient ultimately came out at 0.335. Tellingly, the new model managed to create four times as much downforce as the F355.
Like the F50 and 550 Maranello, the 360 did not come with pop-up headlights. Instead, high intensity homofocal clusters were mounted under clear acrylic covers.
Down each flank, 250 LM-style shoulder-mounted cooling scoops fed fresh air to the engine.
In another departure from convention, the 360 Modena did without a flat rear deck and traditional flying buttresses. Instead, it came with a fastback profile with an integrated glass screen that put the engine on full display.
The truncated tail fascia was home to a pair of traditional circular light clusters. Either side of the diffusers, twin exhausts poked out from cooling apertures that mimicked the distinctive intakes used at the front of the car.
Interior
As per the exterior, Pininfarina’s design for the cockpit was completely new.
One of the most noticeable additions was an array of natural aluminium trim panels. They were applied to the instrument fascia, centre console, transmission tunnel and lower door panels.
The rest of the upholstery was leather. Unless specified otherwise, black leather was for the upper dash, handbrake grip, the three-spoke steering wheel, the majority of the A-pillars and forward corners of the door panels. Coloured leather was used for the seats, the rest of the door panels, the A-pillars and roof, the upper rear quarters, B-pillars and handbrake gaiter.
Standard equipment included twin airbags, air-conditioning, electric windows, electric mirrors and a stereo.
The instrument binnacle housed a large 10,000rpm rev counter with a 340kmh / 220mph speedometer off to the right. Underneath the speedo was a digital fuel read out. To the left of the rev counter were a trio of small gauges (water temperature, oil temperature and oil pressure) plus a cluster of warning lights.
Behind the seats was a much larger luggage area than any of the 360’s predecessors.
Options
Through the Carozzeria Scaglietti personalisation programme, buyers could request out of range paint colours. Interior surfaces with unique upholstery shades were also available.
In addition, Ferrari offered a range of conventional options to include sports seats, four-point harnesses, electric seats, Daytona-style perforated bi-colour seat inserts, seat piping, a CD player, split-rim Modular wheels, the F1 transmission, a leather covered roll cage, front and rear Challenge grilles and a set of fitted luggage.
Weight / Performance
Despite its considerably larger dimensions, the 360 Modena weighed just 40kg more than the F355 Berlinetta (1390kg as opposed to 1350kg).
Top speed was an unchanged 183mph.
Manual gearbox derivatives had a 0-62mph time of 4.4 seconds which was three-tenths quicker than before.
A 360 Modena equipped with the F1 transmission could hit 62mph from a standstill in just 4.2 seconds.
360 Spider
The 360 was the first junior Ferrari designed from the outset with a Spider variant in mind.
The Tipo F131 AD chassis used by Spider featured reinforcements to the sills, front section of the floorpan, windscreen frame and rear bulkhead.
A pair of tubular steel roll bars were mounted behind each seat, outboard of which were swept fairings that further increased rigidity and housed the electric roof mechanisms.
The Spider’s canvas roof (which came in either black, blue, grey or beige) took around around 30 seconds to raise or lower. When down, it was concealed underneath a full width panel that electro-hydraulically opened up.
As per the 360 Modena, the Spider came with a glass engine cover, but this was now positioned flat on the rear deck.
To improve cooling, the intake manifolds were moved towards the centre of the engine.
At 1450kg, the 360 Spider was 60kg heavier than the fixed-head variant.
As a result of its higher drag coefficient (0.36), top speed was 3mph lower (180mph). The 0-62mph times for manual and F1-equipped variants were a tenth-of-a-second slower.
End of Production
360 Modena production was discontinued in 2004 when the F430 was introduced.
By this time, 8800 cars had been completed.
Of these, 2630 were built with the manual gearbox (352 of which were right-hand drive) and 6170 with the F1 gearbox (702 in right-hand drive).
The 360 Spider stayed in production until 2005.
7579 Spiders were built in total.
2119 of these were built with the manual gearbox (of which 478 were right-hand drive) and 5460 with the F1 gearbox (513 in right-hand drive).
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Ferrari - https://www.ferrari.com
