Ferrari F355

The Ferrari F355 is a sports car built by Ferrari from May 1994 to 1999. It is an evolution of the Ferrari 348 and was replaced by the Ferrari 360. It is a mid-engined, rear wheel drive V8-powered 2-seat coupe. One major difference between the V8 in the 348 and that in the F355, apart from the displacement increase from 3.4 to 3.5 L, is that the F355 features a 5-valve per cylinder head and that it was considerably more powerful, producing 380hp (SAE). The F355 is more common than other Ferraris with 11,273 units produced.

At launch, two models were available: the coupe Berlinetta, and the targa topped GTS. The Spider (convertible) version was introduced in 1995. In 1998 the Formula One style paddle gear shift semi-automatic transmission was introduced with the Ferrari 355 F1 (note the dropping of the F before the 355) adding £6,000 to the dealer asking price.

The nomenclature does not follow the formula from the previous decades, ie. engine capacity + cylinder number (eg. 246 = 2.4 litres + 6 cyl, 308 = 3.0 litres + 8 cyl, and same for the 328, 348, 512 etc). This time, Ferrari used engine capacity plus number of valves per cylinder, as they were proud to boast about this technological advancement, ie 355 = 3.5 litres engine capacity and 5 valves per cylinder.

In 1995 Ferrari introduced a race ready F355 Challenge model for use specifically in the Ferrari Challenge. The Ferrari F355 Challenge shares the exact same performance and dimension specifications as the original; Ferrari simply added racing seats, a downforce wing, and a roll cage. 109 were produced. Each F355 Challenge has an emblem on the rear which specifically denotes 'F355 Challenge'.

To signify the end of the 355 model Ferrari built 100 units with the designation 'Serie Fiorano', the car was introduced in Geneva Salon 1999 together with new 360 Modena. These variants are slightly lower than the standard model with a special handling package and remapped fuel chip. Serie Fiorano cars are Spiders and can easily be identified by the numbered plaque on the dashboard.

Information from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrari_F355

Related Pages: Cars, Ferrari Enzo, Ferrari F50, Ferrari F430

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