{"id":1867580,"date":"2026-04-06T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1867580"},"modified":"2026-04-06T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T21:00:00","slug":"dont-want-a-new-849-heres-the-three-car-ferrari-garage-you-could-buy-instead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1867580","title":{"rendered":"Don’t want a new 849? Here’s the three-car Ferrari garage you could buy instead"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Weekend Supercar: Ferrari 360 Spider (manual)<\/h2>\n

What to pay: <\/strong>\u00a360,000\u2013\u00a380,000
Why you should:<\/strong> Ferrari will never build a naturally aspirated open-gate manual supercar ever again (probably)
Why you shouldn\u2019t: <\/strong>The sills rot, it looks a bit startled, you\u2019ll be left for dead by pesky Golf Rs
Must-have spec:<\/strong> Scuderia side shields, a reskinned roof, the rarer open-gate manual (though going auto saves \u00a320k)
Got more to spend? <\/strong>Tidy manual 360s are now locking horns on price with F430s. But for \u00a3120k, you\u2019ll get into a 458 Italia: the GOAT modern Ferrari<\/p>\n

Photography: John Wycherley<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What we said then (2002)<\/h3>\n

\u201cEveryone who drove Ferrari\u2019s new 360 Modena, it would seem, couldn\u2019t resist putting pedal to metal and thrashing every last single ounce of power out of the magical 3.6-litre V8. Thrash being the operative word, given that the power didn\u2019t peak until a seriously high 8,500rpm, a feat which would spell the end of life for most other sports car motors. But for one reason or another, we can\u2019t quite bring ourselves to love the way it looks.\u201d Tom Stewart<\/p>\n

I bought one: Christopher Higenbottam (architectural consultant)<\/h3>\n

\u201cMy mother was Italian, so we used to go to Italy every year on holiday. I always loved Italian cars, Alfa Romeos and Ferrari in particular. I remember looking at Ferraris in magazines and dreaming of ever having enough money of having to buy a 308 GTB, which was the<\/em> poster car.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“When my mother passed away, she left me some money and I decided I\u2019d spend half of it on sensible stuff, like paying half the mortgage, which left me enough budget to buy a secondhand Ferrari. My initial instinct was to look at an F355, but I test drove a couple and just didn\u2019t fall in love.<\/p>\n

“Then my daughter said \u2018why don\u2019t you buy a Spider?\u2019 I seem to remember 355 Spiders were a little more expensive, but the 360 Spider was in budget. And the first one I went to look at, I bought! I didn\u2019t even drive it. I fell for the interior: Daytona seats with contrasting stripes. There was just something that just drew me to that. I was smitten. I paid \u00a356,000 and I reckon it\u2019s cost around \u00a33k a year to run it, sometimes twice that, sometimes half that. Most years something has worn out or broken…<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
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\"Bargain<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

“I\u2019ve always liked Spiders. I had an Alfa Romeo Spider so that wasn\u2019t a hard sell, but the 355 Spiders are a bit tight. I didn\u2019t like the seat moving forward as the roof comes up. But the 360 doesn\u2019t have those flaws: it\u2019s more suited to somebody of my height. I\u2019m 6ft 2in and feel comfortable.<\/p>\n

“When I first owned it, I was a bit disappointed. I had this idea in my head about how amazing<\/em> having a Ferrari would be, and somehow it didn\u2019t do it for me at first. But oddly, whereas I\u2019ve had a very small attention span for cars over my life \u2013 often I get bored after six months and I want the faster one \u2013 with the Ferrari it\u2019s been the reverse. I\u2019ve grown to love it more every year. At first it was very intimidating, the size, the width, people staring, but after 13 years and 30,000 miles it shrinks around me. I\u2019ve done long trips in it, it\u2019s got enough luggage space, it\u2019s not too windy with the roof down, and my wife loves it.<\/p>\n

“Reliability wise, it\u2019s never let me down. Sensors have started to go; front suspension ball joints seem to wear out quite quickly. Mechanically it\u2019s been robust, but last year the roof was showing signs of its age so I bit the bullet and spent around \u00a36k having it replaced. No leaks… but you can only drive at 5mph while it\u2019s going up!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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From the horse’s mouth: Mark Riccioni (photographer)<\/h3>\n

\u201cI was after a silly track car, and 360 Challenge prices had bottomed out. Then Harlow Jap Autos tipped me off about one someone had managed\u00a0to road legalise in Japan. It cost \u00a360k, back when finance was dirt cheap, wasn\u2019t too fast (unlike most of today\u2019s track cars) but replacing the motorsport bag fuel tanks cost \u00a33k each (there are two) and its downfall was road use wearing out the rose-jointed suspension. I\u2019d always loved the idea of owning a Ferrari, but I actually felt less of a berk when I replaced it with a GT3 RS, painted purple.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Classic Grand Tourer: Ferrari 550 Maranello<\/h2>\n

What to pay: <\/strong>\u00a395,000\u2013\u00a3135,000
Why you should: <\/strong>Hails from a time when the V12 berlinettas were long-legged, not aero-obsessed and bats*** fast
Why you shouldn\u2019t: <\/strong>Rare car equals pricey parts. Suffers from sticky button syndrome (like all 1990s Ferraris)
Must-have spec: <\/strong>Suits subtler shades more than resale red. Look out for the rare leather-swathed rollbar \u2013 cool talking point, but liable to squeak
Got more to spend?: <\/strong>The slightly terrifying F12 is teetering above the \u00a3150k trapdoor. That\u2019s a 731bhp Enzo+ V12 for \u00a350k less than the new V8 Amalfi…<\/p>\n

What we said then (1996)<\/h3>\n

\u201cThe 550 is easy to drive quickly and its fluency isn\u2019t compromised, either in heavy traffic or dawdling along country lanes. Gear selection isn\u2019t critical; the clutch isn\u2019t unduly heavy and the VI2\u2019s flexibility makes light work of everything. There was room in the 185 litre boot for a CD changer and all the photographer\u2019s gear. On the road back to the factory, I give it one more squirt up through the gears and reaffirm my belief that the 550 is definitely the finest sports car I\u2019ve driven. Ever.\u201d Tom Stewart<\/p>\n

I bought one: Edmund Rudler (ex-company director)<\/h3>\n

\u201cMy first car was a Lancia Fulvia coupe, so I\u2019ve always liked Italian cars. I was in the car business and kept an eye out for interesting things for sale. Meanwhile I was restoring a 1928 Lancia Lambda and the costs were getting out of hand, it was going to be \u00a350\u2013100k and I thought \u2018I can\u2019t afford that \u2013 I\u2019ll sell it and buy a Porsche 911\u2019.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“I like green cars, so I went looking for a green 911. Found a Carrera 2S, drove it, liked it. The guy wanted \u00a332k, I offered him thirty, and he wouldn\u2019t accept. So I went home, looked on the internet and saw this 550. The green paint, the two-tone interior \u2013 I thought \u2018if I\u2019d have been able to buy one new, that\u2019s how I\u2019d have specced it\u2019. So I went and had a look and just bought it. There are only three 550s in the UK painted \u2018Verde Silverstone\u2019 and I think that interior must\u2019ve been special order back in the day.<\/p>\n

“I bought it in 2009, at the bottom of the market. I paid \u00a338,000 and have just kept it. I only do around 1,000 miles a year as I have Lancias to drive as well, but when you\u2019re running your own business you don\u2019t get time to enjoy cars. Now I\u2019ve retired it\u2019ll get used a bit more. I must admit my wife has only been in it about five times in those 17 years. It wasn\u2019t an \u2018approved\u2019 purchase \u2013 I didn\u2019t actually tell her until three months after I bought it.<\/p>\n

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\"Bargain<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

“Reliability wise, I had problems a few years ago with fuel pumps. The rubber seals on the pumps disintegrate into the fuel tank. I had to get the tank taken out, new pumps installed, and it took a few visits to get that sorted. I think that\u2019s not uncommon \u2013 modern fuels eating the rubbers from that age of car. But that\u2019s been the only major bill. Besides that it gets a service every year at Bob Houghton\u2019s in the Cotswolds, usually about \u00a31,500, and a cambelt every three years. I\u2019ve also had the \u2018sticky buttons\u2019 treatment \u2013 it was getting worse and I was thinking \u2018can I live with this, or can I live with the bill to replace it?\u2019<\/p>\n

“Then one day I leant across to get something out of the glovebox, put my hand on the ashtray and it came away black<\/em>. And I thought \u2018no, I\u2019ve got to\u00a0get it done\u2019. I didn\u2019t replace the vents and handbrake (which now seem to be getting worse) but all the switches, the door handles, steering wheel casing and so on was around \u00a33,500. The new switchgear is laser etched so it shouldn\u2019t ever need doing again. Well, maybe in 20 years, but I don\u2019t know if I\u2019ll still be driving it then!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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From the horse’s mouth: Sam Fane (content creator)<\/h3>\n

\u201cA 360CS was my holy grail car ever since I saw Vicki Butler-Henderson drive it on Top Gear. I\u2019d already owned a 360 Modena in a racy spec\u00a0\u2013 bucket seats, fire extinguisher and so on \u2013 but I always felt bottom of the food chain when I went to an event. Like I was sneaking into the club. I got lucky with a CS at auction and never stop thinking \u2018holy sh*t I\u2019m in a Ferrari\u2019 when I drive it. But I painted mine a non-original (though still official Ferrari) colour, and security stopped me taking a picture of it outside the factory…\u201d<\/p>\n

The Weekend Supercar: Ferrari FF<\/h2>\n

What to pay: <\/strong>\u00a375,000\u2013\u00a3100,000
Why you should: <\/strong>Powertrain good enough for the Purosangue, in a lighter, lower, cooler shooting brake body. The ultimate V12 daily
Why you shouldn\u2019t: <\/strong>Idiosyncratic \u2018PTU\u2019 front gearbox can be a consumable. Rubbish infotainment. Overhanging parking spaces
Must-have spec: <\/strong>Owners love LED change-up lights on the steering wheel and Scuderia shields, though GTs strictly ought not to wear them. Clear glass is rare but looks far superior in profile to van-like tints
Got more to spend?: <\/strong>After five years on sale, in 2016 Maranello morphed the FF into the GTC4Lusso. Extra horsepower, fettled AWD and a more deluxe cabin are yours from \u00a3125k<\/p>\n

What we said then (2011)<\/h3>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just epic on dry roads, but fun and confident when the weather\u2019s ordinarily British. And it\u2019s fine on really slippery stuff too. So the 600 miles to the Alps will be vastly more fun than in an SUV, but the FF will still be happy to convey you the 10 miles up to the ski village. It excites the driver just like a \u2018real\u2019 front-engined Ferrari should. But it manages to do it over a far wider range of conditions. For that alone, it\u2019s a high-water mark for the company, even if you discount the extra room or the useful hatchback.\u201d Paul Horrell<\/p>\n

I bought one: Mark Collins (semi-retired)<\/h3>\n

\u201cFerraris? A boyhood dream. Had the poster, saw a 328 at the London Motor Show in around 1986 and said to myself \u2018one day I\u2019ll get one\u2019, then kicked myself for being so stupid to think I\u2019d ever afford that. But I lived with that dream, and in 1997 bought my first Ferrari: a 328. I then owned a series of V8s and V12s, including three 599s, but got fed up with having to use a normal car to go to the pub. So I sold the 599 and bought an FF so the dog could come to the pub with me. It\u2019s my 16th Ferrari.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s an unbelievably practical car. You can fold the seats down. It\u2019s been to the south of France with two humans and two dogs, and to northern France with one dog and three adults. It\u2019s my daily driver \u2013 this time of year I run it on winter tyres, and I\u2019m not frightened of getting it dirty.<\/p>\n

“This is my second FF. I had a Rosso Maranello one for six years, but a building project at home was getting expensive so I sold it, and as soon as it left the driveway I missed it. They sound amazing, drive brilliantly, and I was keeping an eye out for another, even staying in touch with the chap who bought mine. While on holiday in Tuscany staying in a place where the wine was dangerously free… one of my saved search alerts went off.<\/p>\n

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\"Bargain<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

“It was the cheapest FF for sale in the UK at the time and fairly high mileage; it\u2019s now done 52,000. I paid \u00a382k, but it\u2019s probably not worth much less than that now \u2013 around \u00a375\u201380k. It\u2019s had a new PTU [power transfer unit] which is a known problem. There\u2019s a perception all FFs have that issue, but my red FF never needed a new PTU. It also affects the newer Lussos \u2013 they don\u2019t like being sat still. That wrecks all Ferraris in fact. They shouldn\u2019t be garage queens.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019ve kept extending the warranty, which will go up to 15 years old. They are notoriously poor value though. It\u2019s there to cover big things like if the engine or gearbox goes, but it wouldn\u2019t cover a new battery \u2013 Ferrari wanted \u00a3600! There\u2019s also a rumour they can be funny about the warranty if you add aftermarket Apple CarPlay \u2013 the old fashioned satnav is a bit crap…<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s also had a new front brake disc because that delaminated. People said I should get one with a panoramic glass roof, but neither of my FFs have had it, because I test drove one once on a warm day and it was bloody roasting!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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From the horse’s mouth: Graeme Lambert (public relations exec)<\/h3>\n

\u201cI\u2019d started a family so I started thinking about 911s, but needed more room: a proper 2+2 with buggy space in the boot. I found a 1997 Ferrari 456 that\u2019d done 46,000 miles… with zero history. It\u2019s cost me an average of \u00a33\u20134k a year to run and mainly does 50\u2013100 mile trips with the kids on board. It never gets negative attention, and though it\u2019s expensive and way slower than my electric company car, I never regret it. It\u2019s a family heirloom and lives up to the Bburago model 456 I\u2019ve had since I was a kid.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Weekend Supercar: Ferrari 360 Spider (manual) What to pay: \u00a360,000\u2013\u00a380,000Why you should: Ferrari will never build a naturally aspirated open-gate manual supercar ever again (probably)Why you shouldn\u2019t: The sills rot, it looks a bit startled, you\u2019ll be left for dead by pesky Golf RsMust-have spec: Scuderia side shields, a reskinned roof, the rarer open-gate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,237],"class_list":["post-1867580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-topgear-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1867580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1867580"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1867580\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1867580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1867580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1867580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}