This past weekend, the Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance returned after a year off due to the coronavirus pandemic. As the plans and logistics solidified over the past few months, I interviewed the newly appointed Chairman, video game developer Glen Egan, about the challenges of reviving an event that technically holds the title of World's Longest-Running Concours after skipping a year for the first time since 1956.
As has become quite common in my line of work, Egan eventually asked me what my single favorite car ever might be—if I could make a pick—and my response, the Lancia HF Stratos, certainly meshed with his own preference for mid-engined Italian sports cars (especially given that his first, a Fiat X1/9, clearly borrowed styling and perhaps even a doorhandle from the Stratos and its "Zero" concept predecessor). After meticulously (some might say obsessively) restoring the X1/9 for over a decade, Egan now owns two Ferraris: a 1988 328 GTS and a 1995 F355 GTS.
When I told Egan that throughout my years as an automotive journalist, I'd never driven a Ferrari, he offered me the chance to get behind the wheel of one of his current possessions. And that's how I ended up waiting on the side of Crystal Springs Golf Course in Burlingame last Friday as a Rosso Corsa Ferrari F355 GTS slow-cruised down the hill in my general direction.
The Ferrari Legend Lives On
Ask any kid what car they want to drive, own, design, or even just look at for a while and the answer, inevitably, wears a Prancig Pony badge. From early racecars to the legend of Il Commendatore himself, or the 250 GTO's status as the world's most valuable car, all the way to Formula 1 success (and drama, at least today), Ferrari stands head and shoulders above every other automaker and rightfully as one of the most instantaneously recognizable brands on the planet, alongside the likes of McDonalds, Coca-Cola, and Google.
To be fair, even though my role as an automotive journalist should have taught me that Ferrari ownership might increase stress levels due to reliability and practicality concerns, that many contemporary competitors across the decades offered significantly better cars at fractions of the entry price, and that no car can truly be considered perfect, there I stood next to the fairway getting pretty damned excited.
Then Egan passed me, the mid-mounted V8 at a low grumble, flipping a U-turn about 200 yards away, and revving up for quick a second before pulling to a stop directly next to me, grinning ear to ear.
Egan picked the F355 GTS over his 328 GTS because an F355 fit into his own Ferrari story as the first he'd ever driven. Also appropriately, his F355 looks more striking in classic, brilliant red than his Nero black 328—though both employ the classic gated shifter, an iconic design feature I'd also never previously experienced.
Climbing Down Into The F355 Cockpit
Climbing down into the F355's low cockpit—comparisons to the NSX, which took the fight to Ferrari in the early-1990s, remain hard to ignore—the gated shifter immediately drew my first gaze. The bright metal reflecting sunlight, the skinny tines that barely hide the actual shifter mechanisms below, and the tall lever itself all required a second to digest.
Sliding into the seat, meanwhile, actually felt easier than an NSX, despite the wide rocker panel area, while the rest of the interior gives off strong 1990s vibes, albeit at a higher level of fit and finish than my 1998 Mitsubishi Montero. The big airbag on the steering wheel, clearly visible gauges, and surprisingly solid ergonomics all suprised me, while the two-tone color scheme with tan below black makes for a nice visual contrast while looking out at the surrounding world with, again, surprisingly good visibility.
A Longitudinally Mounted 3.5-Liter V8
The gated shifter controls a 3.5-liter V8 mounted logitudinally behind the passenger compartment. Output when new sat at 375 horsepower and 268 lb-ft of torque, with five valves per cylinder and an 8,500 RPM redline. The GTS signifies removable Targa tops—which we kept in place for noise reduction purposes but otherwise would have slid in behind the seats—and otherwise, for the GTS model, no significant changes compared to the hardtop F355 Berlinetta.
Improvements over the similar and outgoing 348, as part of Ferrari's effort to jump back ahead of the NSX, included stroking the 348's 3.4-liter engine by 2mm, adding transmission upgrades like a heat exhanger and rod-driven shifter, and forged titanium connecting rods. Power steering also fit into the mix, which lends the F355 a more civilized feel and perhaps helped me acclimatize a bit more quickly than expected, despite my noticeable jitters (driving six-figure supercars is one thing but a famously fragile Ferrari creates an entirely different set of emotions).
Pulling Away Very, Very Slowly
Before I pulled out, Egan warned me about the finicky emergency brake handle and that the clutch pedal engages relatively high off the floor. I revved the engine a few times, both to get a sense for how quickly it winds up in the hopes of timing my clutch action better and, of course, to hear that famous Ferrari powerplant from the driver's seat. The only modification Egan knows of on the car, which he bought mid-pandemic, is a Tubi exhaust system. And yes, it sounds damned good.
The clutch sure did engage high off the floor, only adding to my hesitancy as we pulled up the slight rise and towards a speed bump (upon which I promptly scraped the underbelly—sorry, Glen!) but luckily, we had a few hundred yards before encountering traffic during which I could get a bit more comfortable in this Italian stallion.
A 40-Minute Ferrari Drive
In my experience, whenever anyone offers to let me drive their awesome car, the ride tends to last only a few minutes and typically involves mostly stop signs and right turns. Egan had other plans in mind, though, and took me on rolling country roads, across residential neighborhoods, and even through a tunnel where he encouraged me to push it to the redline in third (I went up to 8,000 just to save face). That V8 bouncing echoes off the concrete drove home much of the Ferrari mystique in my mind, without a doubt, beyond the impressions of wide and low weight distribution through sweeping corners or the fact that people everywhere did, without a doubt, stop to stare.
The gated shifter left me a bit torn. On one hand, yep, it's fun and it looks great. On the other, I probably didn't "nail" a shift until about 20 minutes into the 40-minute drive. Stiffer than expected and a bit notchy, the shift lever itself also doesn't move 100% in straight lines between first and second or third and fourth like it might have in my preconceptions. Maybe the height of the clutch's bite contributed a bit, maybe not—either way, I'm not sold on the functionality other than reducing the chances of missing a shift and causing a hugely expensive transmission problem. Add the clutch height to inspiringly firm brakes on top of the gated shifter and you can forget all about rev matching or heel-toeing.
Notching An Item Off The Bucket List
If we believe the anthropologists and cognitive linguists, myths provide meaning within a narrative structure that blatantly makes zero sense. The power of the myth depends, to an extent, directly upon the boldness of the lie, causing our brains to suspend disbelief and view the world as it could, should, might have, or might just one day exist. The Ferrari myth lodged deep in the lustiest corners of every automotive brain does require that suspension of disbelief—though the truth remains that no car is perfect, the greatest cars all have their flaws, and real life generally doesn't live up to the hype.
Climbing out of the F355 GTS, Egan popped the rear decklid so I could snap a few shots of the longitudinal V8. Maybe he couldn't help himself but the subject of dropping the entire engine just to change the timing belt came up (even if it's just for age, not mileage elapsed). He know this Ferrari, with only 36,434 miles on the clock at the end of my time in the driver's seat, isn't a Concours-level preservation piece; he drives it, splitting time between his daily-driver Tacoma and his 328 GTS. Maintenance will fit into the picture eventually, unless he decides to sell and cash in on a mid-pandemic deal's profit (a rarity given the current collectible climate).
And now I've driven it, feeling the famous Ferrari spirit pulsing out of the engine, the taut but forgiving suspension, and of course, the gated shifter's snicks and snacks. Would I buy one, at the $80-120,000 range most similar examples seem to hover in? Over, say, a similarly priced air-cooled Porsche? The Ferrari offers more power, draws more attention, and brings that Italian panache to the table. Maybe I just need to drive more Ferraris (definitely, actually) and a few more air-cooled Porsches (or a 996 GT3).
But just like Glen Egan, no matter how many other cars I test drive, review, or even just see parked at a Concours, I'll always remember the first time I drove a Ferrari.
Sources: hillsboroughconcours.org, playcrystalsprings.com, tubistyle.it, bringatrailer.com.