2002 Ferrari 360 Reviews

I could be suffering from 'F' lag. It's like jet lag, but you get it from spending too much time in a Ferrari. A couple of days is all right but any longer than this and you simply won't want to give it back. It leaves this horrible, gnawing feeling in the pit of your stomach  an emptiness that just can't be filled. I started to feel this way shortly after handing back the keys to the fabulous 458 Spider on Friday afternoon. The first day you're too cautious to enjoy the experience, the next day you start to get the hang of it and by the third day you and the car begin to bond  then just as suddenly it's over . . . VALUE Big breath. It kicks off from $588,000 with various carbon fibre bits and pieces extra for ludicrous amounts of money. Not even my surgeon mate who owns a Porsche can afford one of these babies. This is a bloke who works 90 hours a week and can remove a brain tumour through your nose. In which case, what the hell hope is there for a paper bagger like me? DESIGN It's incredibly low and wide, almost too wide for our driveway gates which in part contributes to its fantastic handling. Push the button and the Pininfarina styled, mid-engined sports car magically transforms into an open topped roadster, with two seats  one for you and anyone game to be your passenger. There's a penalty for this convenience because you lose the transparent engine cover of the hardtop. Most people comment on how quiet the car, that is until the baffles open and the exhaust gives full vent to the V8. Then you can hear it coming from a block away. ENGINE It's powered by a 4.5-litre naturally aspirated V8 that delivers 419kW of power at 9000 revs and 540Nm of torque at 6000 revs, enough mumbo to propel the mid-engined Spider from rest to 100km/h in a withering 3.4 seconds. The old 'quarter mile' takes 11.4 seconds and it has a top speed where permissible of 320km/h. The state of the art V8 features direction injection and a dry sump, with fuel consumption of 11.8 litres/100km from the 86 litre tank. Although it has a trip computer, the one thing it doesn't tell you is average fuel consumption  suffice to say we got just under 500km from the 86-litre tank. But, as the service manager pointed out, if you can afford to own one, you're not going to be too concerned about how much fuel it uses. DRIVING We were tentative, very tentative at first. But the Spider is actually very easy to drive once you get the hang of it. Several "take me for a rides" later, we were banging through the gears like a pro. The V8 is hooked up to a seven-speed twin clutch Getrag transmission that operates as an auto, or you can change gears with the large, steering wheel mounted change paddles. Doing so elicits a much more satisfying response, with a jolt each time it changes up  bang, bang, bang! The sound is to die for. Various drive modes are accessed through the Manettino flip switch affixed to the steering wheel, from wet to sport to full off for the traction system. Reverse is engaged via a button at the the foot of the centre instrument console and there is even a button for raising the front of the car so it doesn't scrape over driveways. The JBL audio system is secreted somewhere behind the dash and the controls are accessible only though the right hand of the two computer screens which doubles as a huge digital speedometer. VERDICT It's a cruel world. How can something so spectacularly good remain so impossibly out of reach. Then again what is the point when the speed limit is 110km/h and it can do 320km/h, with plenty of cops wanting nothing better than to put your red feather in their cap   the disconnect is enormous. Ferrari 458 Spider Price: from $588,000 Engine: 4.5-litre V8 , 419kW/540Nm Transmission: seven-speed twin clutch auto, RWD Thirst: 17.2L/100km (as tested), 11.8L/100km combined cycle 0-100 km/h: 3.4 seconds  

A fleet of 11 supercars, which included two Bugatti Veyrons, have sold at auction for just 3.1 million euros (approximately $4.4 million) in France. The cars originally belonged to Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, the son of Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, but were seized by French authorities during a 2011 investigation over the alleged theft of public funds in the African nation. The cars were seized at the President’s 101-room mansion near the Champs Elysees in Paris and included the aforementioned Bugattis -- which are priced at the equivalent of $1.5 million in overseas markets -- as well as a rare Ferrari Enzo ($1.7m overseas), a Maserati MC12 ($1.5m overseas), a Porsche GT2 RS ($560,000 here), a Ferrari 599 GTO ($569,000 overseas), a Rolls-Royce Phantom ($1.1m), a Maybach ($1.1m), an Aston Martin Vanquish ($472,000) and a pair of Bentleys, including an Azure ($750,000 here). According to International Business Times, the cars were sold by auction house Drouot and most had little or no mileage on them. Considering that a Bugatti Veyron alone, even used, will set you back more than a million dollars, the winning bidders have made quite the deal. Other items seized from the President’s Paris residence included vintage wines, jewellery, and paintings by renowned artists such as Degas and Renoir. Court documents reveal that the 11 cars were among a larger fleet of 26 exotics that were shipped to France from the US in 2009 at a total cost of $12 million. Many have since been transported on to Equatorial Guinea -- despite most of the roads there being little more than dirt tracks. The documents also reveal that an arrest warrant has been issued for Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue for the charge of misuse of public funds. The government of Equatorial Guinea is allegedly trying to appeal the case and have the investigation blocked on the grounds of diplomatic immunity, since it claims the Paris mansion where the cars were seized was part of the country's embassy. www.motorauthority.com

Six years after it was named Telstra South Australian Business of the Year, Australian Clutch Services is delivering motor components to a range of export markets. Chief executive Brenton Jordan said the Wingfield-based business had seen significant growth in exports, particularly to Europe. “We have set up a distribution site in Poland with our own warehouse and we can cover (delivery to) most of Europe overnight,” he said. “In European areas we specialise in a lot of 4WD and off-road products. France is our strongest export market currently.” ACS also had distribution centres in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth to meet domestic demand. Established in 1988 by Mr Jordan, ACS supplies re-manufactured and new clutch components and systems.  The business employs 32 staff and operates from a purpose-built facility at Wingfield. “The next market we want to move into is the American market,” Mr Jordan said. “We are going to develop product for high-end vehicles such as Corvette, Lamborghini and Ferrari. “(The US) is very competitive and that's why we’re only looking at a niche segment of the market.” Earlier this year, ACS won three awards at the Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association's trade show: Best website, Best Stand and Best New Aftermarket Product (Performance). Mr Jordan said ACS was a good local success story amid much “doom and gloom” in the Australian automotive industry.  

It may have been depicted reversing out a second-story window during the movie, but a surviving and fully-functioning Ferrari replica made famous by the 1986 film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off will be auctioned in August. One of two functional examples created for the cult film, the Spyder will go under the hammer of Mecum Auctions at this year’s Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in California. This Ferris faux Ferrari was not used for the defenestrating destruction towards the end of the film, but was used for the airborne “I'm a professional” carpark valet scene, which apparently took nine takes to get right. Both working movie cars were used for this shot, and both apparently ended up with broken front suspension. Officially known as a Modena Spyder California, the replicas were built for the film by California firm Modena Design and Development.  This particular example was bought back by one of its creators -- Neil Glassmoyer-- in 1988, and has owned it ever since. Mirroring the styling of Scaglietti’s original Spyder California prototype, the fibreglass-bodied replica is built over a tubular steel chassis, with a 427 cubic inch (7.0 litre) Ford V8 mow residing under the bonnet. A 260 cubic inch (4.3 litre) Ford V8 was originally used, but the 373kW engine was fitted to the 1200kg roadster as part of a ten-year restoration that was completed in 2010. Incidentally, genuine Ferrari 250 GT Spyders came with a 206kW 3.0 litre V12 engine.    The exterior of the Modena Spyder California remains as per Ferris’ day off, with red paint and tan leather offset by authentic touches like Borrani chrome wire wheels, Smiths instruments, and a Nardi steering wheel.  The whereabouts of the second working replica is unclear, but the (rebuilt) ‘out the window’ car is reputed to be on display at the Planet Hollywood restaurant in Cancun, Mexico. The value of the example up for auction remains uncertain, but is unlikely to approach the US$10.9 million paid for an ex-James Coburn genuine example by British radio personality Chris Evans in 2008.  

Every young boy dreams of being able to fly and driving a race car. The Ferrari F12 Berlinetta realises both ambitions. It is — until the launch of the hybrid La Ferrari — the fastest Prancing Horse in the road-registered stable, hitting 200km/h in 8.5 seconds, or less time than most cars take to hit 100. It defies supercar conventions by being smaller and cheaper than its predecessor, the 599 GTO. And if grandma keeps the tacho under 4000rpm and has a light right foot, she can safety drive it to the shops. A lot more car for a lot less money should motivate potential owners to at least test drive the F12 — and the first example landed in Sydney last week. The $691,000 sticker price undercuts the 599 GTO by $200,000. That makes cheaper than a Lamborghini Aventador — though still more than double the cost of a pair of Porsche 911 Carrera 4Ss. Standard gear runs from carbon-ceramic brakes to a Bose sound system, voice activation of the stereo and phone, satnav, magnetic suspension damping and a massive boost to the occupants' egos. Where do I start? As the Ferrari flagship, the F12 gets the latest and greatest toys the Maranello masterminds can conceive. Engineers took the 6.3-litre V12 of the FF, gutted it and fitted lighter and stronger internals. Many components — carbon-ceramic brakes, traction control and seven-speed dual-clutch auto transmission among them — are evolutions of Ferrari's F1 technology. The spaceframe chassis uses 12 alloys, with key components fashioned from aeronautical-grade metals for their lightness and strength. Ferrari doesn't use structural carbon fibre in the F12, arguing the relatively big distances F12 owners clock up make alloy a more practical choice if the car needs to be repaired. Weight distribution is 46:54 front-to-rear, a momentous achievement given the F12's engine is front-mounted, even if most of that weight sits behind the front axle. It looks stunning from any angle but the shape of the F12 is determined by fusing style and stability. The signature elements — the bonnet vent, the "aero bridge" channels above the front wheel arches, the side scoops and the multi-vaned rear diffuser — have been designed using computational fluid dynamics to meld aerodynamics with aesthetics. Slip into the enveloping driver's seat and the big central tachometer dominates the view, flanked by a pair of TFT screens. The left display toggles through various readouts on the car's dynamics and shows which performance setting has been chosen from the steering-wheel mounted knob Ferrari calls a manettino. Each of these displays includes a small digital speedo in the bottom right corner. It's clear at constant velocity but dissolves into a whirl when the go pedal is pushed. The right screen is reserved for the satnav and infotainment displays and is relatively small, but high-res. An alloy bridge (carbon fibre is an option) arcs from the dash to the centre console and houses a trio of buttons; one to select reverse gear, another to engage full auto and a third simply marked "launch". There are no stalks behind the wheel — Ferrari doesn't want anything getting in the way of the paddle shifters — so the ancillaries are in the dash or, in the case of the indicator switches, mounted on the steering wheel hub. Life will never be the same again. A leisurely jaunt towards the hills above Maranello shows just how tractable and easy to operate the F12 is in traffic. Then the road clears and starts to twist and climb so I use the last decent straight to brake test the Ferrari and learn how it stops before plumbing the Marianas Trench-like depths of car's abilities. The pedal travel is longer than anticipated, so I abort for another go. This time the carbon ceramic discs are warming to the task. They display brutal efficiency. The seat belt is the only thing stopping me from splattering the inside of the windscreen and I still haven't activated the ABS. I've ridden in a couple of race cars that haul up quicker but that was accompanied by tortured protests from the brakes and squeaks from the chassis. The F12 is serene. Time to get serious. Switching the manettino to "CT" dispenses with the traction control but leaves the reassurance of ESP to ensure the F12 doesn't become a scenic feature. The corners are calling a siren song and the F12 launches at the first with all the intent of Odysseus going overboard. The steering is quick — two turns of the wheel take it from lock to lock — so incremental adjustments are the only way to play. A gentle throttle application metres before the apex to get the car to build up pace almost proves my undoing. Much like the steering, there is no delay in power application in the F12, as the quick twitch of the rear end and twin spires of smoke in the rearview mirror attest. So it's not just fast, it forgives average drivers who overstep the mark. I'm now more skittish on the broken Italian bitumen than the car is. It translates every undulation into steering and chassis feedback but at the speeds the F12 is doing, that's more sensory input than most people can react to, especially when the driver is enduring a high-speed "massage" as the car rocks and thumps over bitumen that would make Aussie road repairers proud. It dispenses with straights like a charging cheetah and devours corners with the same relish. Concentration must be absolute — you anticipate reference points because the closing speed means non-race drivers will overshoot them. Gradually I find a rhythm and the next 12km are a succession of increasingly high lateral G-forces and faster entry and exit speeds. Grip taxes credibility — unless you are in the car it just can't be appreciated. I pull up with a shuddering chest and sweaty palms, calm down and repeat the exercise for 120 minutes of driving nirvana that will take some beating. If your child has an interest in cars but isn't trying at school, pay for a ride in an F12. If that doesn't transform them into wannabe millionaires, adopt new ones, because they're a lost cause. Those who can afford the F12 Berlinetta will be rewarded with the best combination of supercar performance and daily driver I've had the privilege of steering. The rest of us will have to dream on.

If you’re looking for a car with some significant history and one very famous owner, then Swedish supercar dealer Garage Zénith might be worth a visit. The officially recognised Ferrari and Maserati dealer has a handful of rare Enzo supercars up for sale, but two of the cars, featured in the gallery left, were previously owned by none other than seven-time Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher. Both cars were specially built for the racing legend during his time with Ferrari and come with a number of personal touches including his initials dotted around their interiors. The regular Enzo also has a number of famous signatures under its hood, including that of Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo. Interestingly, it has 8,500 kilometers on its odometer, suggesting Schumacher did manage to drive the car somewhat during the time he owned it. The same can’t be said for the FXX, whose odometer reading is just 900 kilometers, though this makes sense considering the car can only be used at the track and Schumacher has access to much faster track toys. This particular FXX is the only black example of the Enzo-based experimental supercars, of which only 30 were ever built, and it famously appeared on Top Gear back in 2009 with Schumacher taking it for a power lap at Dunsfold Aerodrome. Both of these cars were gifts to Schumacher for his achievements at Ferrari, so it’s odd that they’re now up for sale. If you’d like to own one you’ll have to front up some serious cash; the Enzo will set you back approximately $1.47 million while the FXX will cost you close to $2.67 million. www.motorauthority.com  

We're big fans of hauling the mail on track, but we have learned to rein in our wilder tendencies on the street. That's why games like Need for Speed Rivals are such a good outlet for our excess hooliganism. From the scenes in this official trailer for the upcoming E3 electronics and video game conference, the game appears to offer a level of realism and detail--in looks, if not in consequences--that will help suspend your disbelief as you work out your road-going frustrations. As a bonus, there's the added fun of sticking it to the cops or the crooks, if that's your thing. To be available on Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Playstation 4, the new game lets the driver play as either the street racer or the cop, living out both sides of the furiously fast scene. As the trailer demonstrates, however, the next generation of car games are going to be truly gorgeous, even video-realistic at times. Let's just hope the gameplay lives up to the look. One of the most striking cars in the game will be the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta, as part of a new partnership with the Italian supercar maker. Expect more enticing Ferrari models to come. Underlying the whole game is a network allowing players to transition from single-player to multi-player games at any time, appearing and disappearing at will. Need for Speed Rivals goes on sale November 19, 2013. www.motorauthority.com

The hardcore version of Ferrari’s 458 Italia supercar, the spiritual successor to 2007’s 430 Scuderia, is reportedly being prepped to be unveiled at the 2013 Frankfurt Auto Show this September. The biannual event has been favoured by Ferrari of late for debuts concerning its entry-level mid-engine model, with 2007’s Frankfurt Auto Show playing host to the debut of the 430 Scuderia followed by the debut of the 458 Italia at 2009’s event and the 458 Spider at the most recent 2011 show. Thus, it’s easy to see why Car and Driver is reporting that the new hardcore 458, which some are suggesting will be called the 458 Challenge Stradale or perhaps even a 458 Monte Carlo, will be shown in Frankfurt in just a few months.   Like its predecessors, the hardcore 458 will be lighter than its donor 458 Italia. The previous 430 Scuderia weighed 100kg less than the regular 430, meaning the hardcore 458 could end up weighing about 1300kg. The car is also expected to borrow a number of elements from the 458 Challenge racer, and utilise knowledge learned during development of the new LaFerrari flagship supercar. Look for new gear ratios and a more tightly calibrated tune for the 458 Italia’s seven-speed dual clutch transmission. There should also be stiffer suspension, uprated brakes, stickier rubber and the aforementioned lighter kerb weight. Peak output from the 458’s 4.5-litre V8, meanwhile, is reported to see an increase to around 450kW, up from the current 425kW rating. This is said to be courtesy of forged internals, the redline moved up 300 revs to 9,300 rpm, and the exhaust system made less restrictive. Finally, new aerodynamic features are said to be planned, including the use of active winglets on the rear diffuser. Oh yes, one of the best supercars on the market is about to get a whole lot better. www.motorauthority.com