A little history
The Ferrari F355 bowed out to the 360 late in 1999. The most obvious difference between the two cars was their styling, the F355’s angular body making space for a very rounded one, traditionally signed by Pininfarina, that prefigured Ferraris of the new millennium. Nevertheless the most advanced feature of the new car was its chassis, an all-aluminium platform that was both lighter and more rigid than that of its predecessor. Fitted with a 3.6-litre V8 developing 400 hp, the 360 offered extreme performance combined with excellent handling.
Released originally as the Modena coupe only, the 360 was also offered as a Spider convertible starting in 2000. Furthermore, the 360 would not only replace the F355 on the market, but also on the track. Various competition versions were therefore designed from the original Modena in order to compete in GT racing, including a lighten “cup” version, the Challenge, and an all-out performance machine, the GT.
Despite success, the 360’s career would be brief, as its successor the F430 was introduced as early as October 2004, during the Mondial de l’Automobile held in Paris. The 360 was produced for a few more months nonetheless, as the F430’s introduction was delayed in some countries, but by mid-2005 this brilliant thoroughbred was gone for good.
About the models
Model: Ferrari 360 Modena
Year: 1999
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Fabbri as no.1 of its Ferrari Collection press series
Acquired: brand new, in February 2005, in Souillac, France
Fabbri literally flooded the market with this model, the very first issue of its series about Ferrari. Ixo was in this occasion found to be a rather unfaithful partner to Altaya, pairing with its Italian rival for the duration of this collection. Despite the huge numbers produced, quality was rather good on all models I had the opportunity to examine, a good point for not-always-so-picky Ixo. Little details as the prancing horse in the middle of each wheel are well represented, and it’s quite hard to find anything to reproach to this car, apart perhaps from the outside mirrors, which are simply painted instead of receiving a little reflective sticker. Let’s give 14/20 to it.
Model: Ferrari 360 Spider
Year: 2001
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Fabbri as no.9 of its Ferrari Collection press series
Acquired: brand new, in September 2005, in Souillac, France
Eight issues later Fabbri was already back to the 360, proposing this time the convertible version. The model is nice but somehow doesn’t look as great as the Modena version – a matter of paint choice, perhaps? It’d still get a 13/20 rating.
Model: Ferrari 360 Challenge
Year: 2002
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Fabbri as no.34 of its Ferrari Collection press series
Acquired: new with neither box nor stand (probably a production overrun or quality control reject), in February 2007, in Hong Kong, S.A.R.
The “Challenge” version of the 360 is basically the same car as the Modena with different decoration - well, what is the original car from the outside, anyway? The only detail of note that has been changed are the wheels, of a totally different design. This model should have at least 13/20. Note that, apart from a little cleansing, the model featured on the pictures below still needed its outside mirrors - which were sold separately - to be glued into place.
Model: Ferrari 360 GT
Year: 2002
Event: 2002 Le Mans 24 Hours, driven by Gary Schultheis, Chris McAllistair and Steve Earle (retired)
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.23 of its Les Monstres Sacrés de l'Endurance press series
Acquired: brand new, in October 2007, in Souillac, France
Ixo succeeded to sell another derivative from its original 360 to Altaya, who sold it as part of its second Le Mans series. This time, creating this model was more than simply changing its decoration, as can be notably seen at the rear: see the different exhausts, the difference seems quite modest but actually requires a lot of work to alter the original mould. Quality standards are higher than the previous Fabbri models, and mirrors aren't simply painted this time. Both cleverly chosen and superbly reproduced, this model deserces a 15/20.
The Ferrari F355 bowed out to the 360 late in 1999. The most obvious difference between the two cars was their styling, the F355’s angular body making space for a very rounded one, traditionally signed by Pininfarina, that prefigured Ferraris of the new millennium. Nevertheless the most advanced feature of the new car was its chassis, an all-aluminium platform that was both lighter and more rigid than that of its predecessor. Fitted with a 3.6-litre V8 developing 400 hp, the 360 offered extreme performance combined with excellent handling.
Released originally as the Modena coupe only, the 360 was also offered as a Spider convertible starting in 2000. Furthermore, the 360 would not only replace the F355 on the market, but also on the track. Various competition versions were therefore designed from the original Modena in order to compete in GT racing, including a lighten “cup” version, the Challenge, and an all-out performance machine, the GT.
Despite success, the 360’s career would be brief, as its successor the F430 was introduced as early as October 2004, during the Mondial de l’Automobile held in Paris. The 360 was produced for a few more months nonetheless, as the F430’s introduction was delayed in some countries, but by mid-2005 this brilliant thoroughbred was gone for good.
About the models
Model: Ferrari 360 Modena
Year: 1999
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Fabbri as no.1 of its Ferrari Collection press series
Acquired: brand new, in February 2005, in Souillac, France
Fabbri literally flooded the market with this model, the very first issue of its series about Ferrari. Ixo was in this occasion found to be a rather unfaithful partner to Altaya, pairing with its Italian rival for the duration of this collection. Despite the huge numbers produced, quality was rather good on all models I had the opportunity to examine, a good point for not-always-so-picky Ixo. Little details as the prancing horse in the middle of each wheel are well represented, and it’s quite hard to find anything to reproach to this car, apart perhaps from the outside mirrors, which are simply painted instead of receiving a little reflective sticker. Let’s give 14/20 to it.
Model: Ferrari 360 Spider
Year: 2001
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Fabbri as no.9 of its Ferrari Collection press series
Acquired: brand new, in September 2005, in Souillac, France
Eight issues later Fabbri was already back to the 360, proposing this time the convertible version. The model is nice but somehow doesn’t look as great as the Modena version – a matter of paint choice, perhaps? It’d still get a 13/20 rating.
Model: Ferrari 360 Challenge
Year: 2002
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Fabbri as no.34 of its Ferrari Collection press series
Acquired: new with neither box nor stand (probably a production overrun or quality control reject), in February 2007, in Hong Kong, S.A.R.
The “Challenge” version of the 360 is basically the same car as the Modena with different decoration - well, what is the original car from the outside, anyway? The only detail of note that has been changed are the wheels, of a totally different design. This model should have at least 13/20. Note that, apart from a little cleansing, the model featured on the pictures below still needed its outside mirrors - which were sold separately - to be glued into place.
Model: Ferrari 360 GT
Year: 2002
Event: 2002 Le Mans 24 Hours, driven by Gary Schultheis, Chris McAllistair and Steve Earle (retired)
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.23 of its Les Monstres Sacrés de l'Endurance press series
Acquired: brand new, in October 2007, in Souillac, France
Ixo succeeded to sell another derivative from its original 360 to Altaya, who sold it as part of its second Le Mans series. This time, creating this model was more than simply changing its decoration, as can be notably seen at the rear: see the different exhausts, the difference seems quite modest but actually requires a lot of work to alter the original mould. Quality standards are higher than the previous Fabbri models, and mirrors aren't simply painted this time. Both cleverly chosen and superbly reproduced, this model deserces a 15/20.
2 comments:
The 360 is the best Ferrari in my opinion!
It's certainly hard to choose over more than sixty years of history, and furthermore I'm partial to classics, but still I too find that the 360 is among the nicest cars Ferrari ever built.
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