As Ferrari’s entry level product, the 360 offered many technologies which made it a superior car to the F355 series it replaced. Highlighting the car was an all aluminum chassis which included many complex castings versus the aluminum sheet and tube chassis coming from England. The result of using aluminum for the frame made the 360 Modena’s chassis about 25 percent lighter than the F355’s.

Ferrari partnered with Alcoa to produce an entirely new all aluminum space-frame chassis that was 40% stiffer than the F355 which had utilized steel. The design was 28% lighter despite a 10% increase in overall dimensions. Along with a lightweight frame the new Pininfarina body styling deviated from traditions of the previous decade’s sharp angles and flip-up headlights.

The new V8 engine, common to all versions, utilizes a 3.6 liter capacity, flat plane crankshaft, titanium connecting rods and generates 400 bhp (300 kW). Despite what looks like on paper modest gains in reality the power to weight ratio was significantly improved on over the F355, this was due to the combination of both a lighter car and more power. The 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) acceleration performance improved from 4.6 to 4.3 seconds.

Our Car

This car was delivered new in 2001