This Ferrari F355 GTS was provided for testing by Gilmour Collection. Check out their SHOWROOM HERE.
Brackenhurst, just outside Alberton in Gauteng, was a pretty boring place to grow up. Buildings were big concrete blocks, roads laid out in big squares and the most exciting car you’d ever see was my dad’s ’64 Mustang. Until the local bottle store owner bought himself a bright red Porsche 911 Turbo. The wale-tail wing parked under the massive Castle Lager banners in his shop window, is an image that will be forever burned into my mind.
It would be years before that image would be replaced by something even better. As a teen, I was lucky enough to be living in Europe and later in the UK. During my time there we went on a little family break to Paris. One night as we were walking back to our Hotel, I heard this howling sound swelling from behind us. I turned to see what was making the noise and hurtling towards us was the most stunning car I had ever seen. As the bright yellow streak blitzed past, the howling turned to a metallic, raspy scream.
I would later learn that the yellow streak of sound and speed was in fact a Ferrari F355 Spider, in Giallo Modena. However, that first meeting was enough to have me hooked. No car would ever look as cool or sound as good ever again. Realistically I knew my odds of ever owning one were slim, but I even worked out my dream spec. A GTS in Rosso Corsa, tan leather, Challenge grille, Tubi exhaust and the classic gated manual.
sitting in my ultimate dream Ferrari
This entire 300-odd word preamble serves no real purpose so my apologies. It’s just the best way I know to show exactly what it means to me to be in the driver’s seat of this incredible car. I am sitting in my ultimate dream Ferrari. The one that inserted itself into my heart and head, years ago on a warm summer’s night in Paris. The one that evolved for me personally to this exact specification. But what if I drive it and I don’t like it?
There’s a beautiful simplicity to the F355’s interior. Clear, concise instrumentation. A few basic controls for ventilation, a steering wheel, some pedals and that stunning gated shifter. Given all the clichés about Italian sportscars, I feel compelled to dispel the myths. Build quality is excellent. Fit and finish, likewise, very impressive. Everything still feels new and solid and the general quality of materials could leave even some modern cars blushing.
hard to describe the sound of a Ferrari flat plane V8
Refreshingly nostalgically, the engine starts with the turn of a simple key. With a bark and a cough it then settles into that beautiful singing voice. It’s hard to describe the sound of a Ferrari flat plane V8, because in part it sounds like a 4 cylinder… but with 8 cylinders if that makes sense? There’s an urgency about it, even at idle. In fact, the best way is probably to say it is not entirely unlike the sound of a mid-nineties Formula 1 car. A raspy monotone hum. At low RPM and civil driving speeds it can even sound rotary-like.
The ride is actually more compliant than I was expecting given the ride height. It feels like a large bump in the road could cause your soft and dangly parts to scrape along the road surface! But, it’s very comfortable. Helped, I’m sure, by the higher profile tyres when compared to modern cars. The steering is assisted, but still very nicely weighted. Both the steering and the chassis do a great job of keeping communication channels wide open between you and the road. This, coupled with a direct steering ratio and the F355’s modest physical size, makes it a joy to dart around with.
Pin your right foot to the floor of the F355 and just enjoy
Straight line performance and engine outputs have come a long way since 1996. However, the F355 is still a pretty quick car by today’s standards. Certainly fast enough to do lots of stupid things with! Pin your right foot to the floor and just enjoy. As the revs increase the noise gets better and better. Unlike a Honda V-Tec, there is no ‘step up’ in power, but this engine definitely performs best in the higher ranges. It responds instantly from low revs and just keeps pulling harder and harder. The hum turns to howl, which then gives way to that metallic scream! All the while power just swells and pushes you harder and harder into the back of your seat.
perhaps the second best noise this car has to offer
It’s an incredibly rewarding engine to rev out, and beautifully characterful. Something that is sadly lacking from modern-day turbo engines that simply have all the power, all the time. Once warmed up, that gated shifter is another highlight of the drivetrain package. It slots from one cog to the next with the mechanical feel of a well oiled bolt-action rifle. It also makes perhaps the second best noise this car has to offer. The metal-on-metal shlick-CLINK is absolutely addictive.
Clutch engagement is smooth and very easy to modulate. The pedal is pretty light too, making the F355 a fairly easy car to drive.
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Given its value and the fact that it’s not mine, I didn’t want to explore the absolute limits of handling! At any speed, however, you can feel that the car has so much more to give. The balance and feedback of the F355 is incredibly confidence inspiring. Like the engine, it truly rewards you for driving it. The car does not feel intimidating to drive at all. The outright performance is perfectly measured against its dynamic ability. Meaning you can take it to a mountain pass, wring its neck and come back with a smile on your face rather than skid marks on your seat.
driving experience of the F355 is simply sublime
Every single part of the driving experience of the F355 is simply sublime. I wouldn’t change anything about it, for fear of upsetting the perfect balance. When you take each element on its own, they are brilliant, but when you combine them… This car is great on a completely different level. And when you are done having incredible amounts of fun driving, you get to park it.
Once parked, you can step out, stand back and just admire it. From any angle you look at this car, it is simply stunning. Its combination of wedge design and curves make it simply gorgeous. From the slight ducktail at the back, over the buttresses either side of the engine bay, down to the low nose with pop-up headlights. This is what a Ferrari looks like.
They say you should never meet your heroes, and perhaps on occasion that may be true. But I count myself incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity to drive this unbelievable car. It renders you speechless, whilst at the same time you can’t stop talking about it. In a word; it’s perfect.
