Ferrari 360 Modena

Please Click on Pictures to See Entire View
Styled by Pininfarina, the all-aluminium 360 Modena was designed to represent the ultimate in performance, lightness and advanced engineering for 1997. As the result of four years of intensive research, this 'small' Ferrari's design incorporates superb handling due to a revised suspension system.

Powered by a normally aspirated, 400 hp, 3.6-litre, 40-valve, 8-cylinder engine the 360 Modena comes available with either the second generation F1-type gearbox or the conventional six-speed manual transmission. This car plays a significant part in the Ferrari model mix for 1997, and sits alongside the 550 Maranello, the 456 M and the F355 Spider.

Offered as a two-seater sports car, the Ferrari 360 Modena replaces the highly successful and internationally acclaimed Ferrari F355.

Many of the technical features and the build processes to create the 360 Modena are unique to Ferrari and promised to be one of the fastest and most powerful GT road cars ever to be produced at Maranello at that time.

Luca di Montezemolo, President of Ferrari SpA, said: "In the past six years, Ferrari has launched no less than 10 different models and variants. This is a fantastic achievement and reflects Ferrari's continual efforts to be at the leading edge of technology and engineering design . . . It incorporates all of the traditional elements of the Ferrari marque but sets new and significant standards for high performance cars. The 360 Modena is one of the most technically advanced cars that we have ever produced."

Modena 360 Styling and Aerodynamics

The first sight of 360 Modena emphasises a low waist line or "shoulder" which delivers a feeling of low center of gravity. In front, the 360 is quite low as the waist line rises gradually towards the C-pillar, where the muscle tops the rear wheel. The waist line then flattens out towards the tail spoiler. What you witness is a wedge, or a car that looks purely like a mid-engined Ferrari in the front while maintaining the appearance of a muscular 550M at the rear.

Pininfarina states the shape is more the work of wind tunnel experimentation, where 5400 hours were invested during the development. Aerodynamists coming from the F1 team got rid of two features; pop-up headlights and the pair of flying buttresses and the flat engine lid separating them. The pop-ups were replaced by a pair of glass-covered headlights which are not only lighter but also drag free. Adding weight, the fastback rear window was worthy to benefit the aerodynamic drag and high speed stability. It shares the same with a from a vantagepoint in front of an F40, the red-head engine and chassis frame can be seen through the huge screen.

Engine breathing and cooling have separate intakes. Breathing is via those air scoops over the muscular rear arches, with the look inspiration by the classic 250LM, Le Mans winner of 1965.

Cooling takes place in the nose, behind a pair of huge blackholes. Having learned from Formula One, the radiators are positioned in a tilt angle against the wind treducing drag. Placing the radiator at the nose not only improve cooling efficiency (due to more undisturbed fresh air) but also contributes to the improved, 43 / 57 front to rear weight distribution.

Aerodynamic revolution lies under the car - a longitudinal channel has been added to the originally flat carbon fibre undertray, drawing air towards the raised diffuser at the tail introducing ground effects thus greatly enhance high speed stability. At 180mph, there is 180kg of downforce, roughly 4 times of the F355. One source has stated this creates more downforce than the huge-wing F50. This distribution of downforce matches exactly the front to rear weight distribution, thus contributing to a consistent handling irrespective to speed. The trade-off is quite modest - coefficient of drag increases from 0.32 to 0.335.

360 Modena Chassis and body

If the styling and aerodynamics are deemed to be big changes, The chassis and body dimensions in the 360 Modena has grown from the F355. The length increases a massive 227mm, wheelbase jumps by 150mm to 2600mm which eclipses even the 550 Maranello's 2500mm. Height has grown by 44mm to benefit head room. The width has been reduced by 22mm to the still respectable 1922mm. Despite of the growth in wheelbase, the larger proportion of the extra length has been invested in the overhangs in order to accommodate the radiators and diffuser. The 360 is not only a replacement of the small Ferrari, but also fills the vacuum left by the mid-engined flagship Testarossa / 512TR / F512M.

Most commentary just briefly described the Modena's aluminium spaceframe chassis, even though it is the highlight from a technical aspect. Some say in the past, compared to the Japanese, Ferrari seemed rather reluctant to try new aluminum chassis technology. Until the experimental 408GT of 1990, (a concept car developed by Fiat rather than Ferrari), Maranello always relyed on traditional tubular steel spaceframe as their production chassis. As time goes by, they found themselves lagging behind the Lotus Elise, Renault Sports Spider and even Audi A8 in chassis technology. They lead in carbon fibre chassis, but cost and vibration problem prevented it from being adopted to production cars. It is no wonder why they asked the American aluminium giant, Alcoa for help.

The 360's chassis is the combination of monocoque and spaceframe, both of which are made of aluminium alloy. The cabin section is monocoque (like F355), from which spaceframe is mounted and extended to the front and rear. Most of the spaceframes are made by extrusion which requires the simplest tooling. Individual frames are bonded together by welding instead, not rivet and glue, which is quite conventional. The evidence of welding can be seen on the frame mounting the engine.

The chassis is 27% lighter than F355's steel one. Torsional rigidity has been increased by a massive 40%, thanks to the larger section of the frames. Rectangular section seems less favorable than the original circular section in terms of stiffness, but it provides a flat surfaces for mounting the aluminium body panels, thus the latter can contribute to the overall rigidity. As usual, the body panels are made by Scaglietti (now fully owned by Ferrari).

Having learned from F50, the rear suspensions wishbones and shock absorbers are partially mounted to the aluminium transmission casing. The latter is now mounted longitudinally behind the rear axle instead of transversely beneath the engine, this lowers the V8's center of gravity. The wishbones themselves are made of aluminium, which is an increasingly popular trend to improve ride quality as well as saving a few kilograms. Suspensions are double wishbones all round, but a vertical toe-control link is added to each of the rear suspensions. Six-setting adaptive damping is still present.

All the weight saving works well to keep the car lighter than F355. Ferrari claimed the kerb weight 1390kg is some 100kg lighter than its predecessor, but as usual the official figures from Maranello can differ. Some say the F355 weighs 1422kg, therefore weight saving is just 32kg. Eitherway, for a 400-horsepower supercar, it is still a super lightweight.

Lightweight means better braking, however, Ferrari insisted to upgrade the brakes - 330mm discs all round actually exceeds 550M's 330mm / 310mm, let alone F355's 300/310. In addition to the four-piston Brembo callipers, stopping distance is roughly shortened by 10%. Wrapping around the discs are 215/45ZR18 front tyres and 275/40ZR18 rear rubbers, sandwiched between, is the 18 inches magnesium wheels.

360 Modena Engine and Performance

The heart and soul of the F355 has not changed much. The 40-valve V8 with titanium con-rod is further developed for the new car. It is not only as high-revving as ever, but low and mid range torque spread are also greatly improved. By adding 2mm stroke to the cylinders (now totally displaces at 3586c.c.), a Kevlar variable intake manifold and a phase-shifting variable valve timing to the exhaust valves (intake side is overcrowded), 20% more torque is accessible below 4,000rpm. Peak torque now occurs at 4,750rpm instead of 6,000rpm, where an extra 7lbft is available. Maximum power increases 20hp to a full 400hp, and this occurs at an even higher 8,500rpm (compare to the previous 8,250rpm)

Another important new item is the individual, drive-by-wire throttle. Its lightning action sharpens the throttle response. It works in concert with the Bosch ASR traction control. It improves the downshift quality of the F1 transmission. Click the downshift pedal, the electronic throttle will speed up the engine automatically, increasing the engine rev to match the new ratio thus guaranteeing a smoother transition. Within a few tenths of a second, the computer does this precisely. Otherwise the F1 transmission's hardware has not changed, which goes the same for the manual box.

Many commented on the 550's V12 as being too quiet, They should be pleased with the Modena sound performance. To overcome the EU noise regulation, Ferrari's clever engineers installed a tricky variable exhaust, which uses different lengths to generate different level of noise. It takes the advantage of the flaw in EU's measurement method, switching the exhaust to the "loud" setting as soon as the measurement stopped.

In terms of running performance, the 360 is marginally quicker than F355. Ferrari claimed the top speed is "more than 183mph", 0-100km/h (62mph) in 4.5sec, 0-400m in 12.6sec, 0-1km in 22.9sec. While magazines can just believe these figures, the Italian media was given the first chance to test it against the clock. Quattroruote magazine took an F1 transmission car and timed 185mph top speed, 0-100km/h in 4.5sec, 0-160km/h (99.4mph) in 9.7sec. 0-400m in 12.7sec, 0-1km in 22.8sec, this confirmed Ferrari's data. The F355 F1 did 0-60mph in 4.7sec and 0-100mph in 10.8sec.

When it comes to handling, communication comes from the steering wheel. Thanks to the narrower front tires (10mm reduction in width) as well as the quicker steering ratio ( lock-to-lock reduced from 3.2 to 3.0 turns), steering becomes sharper. On-lock feel is improved while kickback is reduced.

360 Modena Interior Impression

The Modena demonstrates an excellent use of interior space with an exceptionally refined cabin layout. The driving position is good and the seats are as superb as ever. The new 3-spoke steering wheel is far more stylish than F355's, and also feels nicer to handle as it is angled more towards vertical. The classical aluminium gear knob for the manual car remains in the familiar place, as are the peddles for the F1 shifter.

Ferrari has succeeded to replace the highly appreciated F355 with a car even more capable, more exciting yet more practical. This is a good news to those who are ready to take ownership of a 360 Modena.

Today, any cars reaching 100mph under 10 seconds can be described as supercar. Under this rule only the Lamborghini Diablo, TVR Cebera, McLaren F1, Mercedes CLK-GTR and Ferrari F50 can be comfortably classified as supercars, while 550 Maranello, Dodge Viper and 911 GT3 might marginally pass the test if try hard.

Among this class of club members, the 360M has the smallest engine capacity while making it one of fastest cars in the world.

Base Price: 2004 Ferrari 360 Modena Berlinetta F1 - $157,767 / 165,760

Engine Type: V8 Displacement cu in (cc): 225 (3686) Power bhp (kW) at RPM: 400(294) / 8500 Torque lb-ft (Nm) at RPM: 275(373) / 4750 Redline at RPM: 8500 Brakes & Tires Brakes F/R: ABS, vented disc/vented disc Tires F-R: 215/45 ZR18 - 275/40 ZR18 Exterior Dimensions & Weight Length x Width x Height in: 176.3 x 75.7 x 47.8 Weight lb (kg): 3064 (1390) Performance Acceleration 0-62 mph s: 4.5 Top Speed mph (km/h): 180 (296) Fuel Economy EPA city/highway mpg (l/100 km): n.a. (17.9)

Ferrari 360 Modena - Total Page Views



List your Ferrari-For Sale