Ferrari's F355 is the most user-friendly car ever from the home of the Italian Stallion. Karl Tsigdinos drove one to find out what all the fuss is about, and he discovered a new kind of music.
I love soul and gospel music. Those who know me well already know this. I love the emotion, the power, the honesty of soul and gospel. I love surrounding myself with it, and would find a car journey especially empty without some on the sound system.
There are times when I am able to find an exact match in soul or gospel for a car that I'm driving. For example, the Lamborghini Diablo VT and Silas Steele, the astonishing baritone lead of the Spirit of Memphis Quartet, or the Bentley Mulsanne Turbo with Little Johnny Taylor (singer of "How can a broke man survive?"). The Porsche 911 was like the swooping, sweet voice of the Rev. Claude Jeter of the Swan Silvertones while the Alfa Spider reminded me, rev for Rev., of Jeter's secular disciple, Al Green.
It took me a while to find one for the Ferrari F355. On the one hand, you have an exquisite Italian engine that roars when the revs are high. On the other hand, the F355 is the most refined and civilised Ferrari yet, with easy to operate controls and extraordinarily good manners in urban traffic.
But I found the match yesterday when I spun a compilation of Loleatta Holloway's greatest hits. Holloway was not a well-known singer in her 1960s deep soul days, but she could sing the life out of a sing, wringing every drop of emotion from a lyric while never getting hysterical, and investing dignity in songs that most singers would make fools of themselves attempting. That was her strength – she could lull you with a gentle verse, then knock you out with a dramatic chorus.
The Ferrari is very like that. Trickle along in traffic and you could be forgiven for thinking that you're driving a family car, so easy is it to operate. (That is if you somehow miss the stares, the waves and the mayhem that follows in a Ferrari's wake, even in Belfast where such machinery is more common than anywhere else on this fair island.)
But bring it out on the road, tickle the throttles and everything changes, like Loleatta sobbing through that great Sam Dees composition "Cry To Me."
The F355 cries to you all right, in sheer jubilation. Listen as its 375 horses hit the traces; marvel at the sound of its 4,369cc V8 engine. Then wonder as the accellerative power reveals itself; this is a car with an official top speed of 183mph and a 0-60 time of just 4.6secs. The beauty of this engine is its willingness to rev – unlike many V8s, which are happy to rely on torque, the F355 flows smoothly right up to its 8,500rpm redline, yet there's enough torque about (268lb ft) to obviate the need for constant gear changes around town. This flexibility may be largely attributed to the four overhead cams and the 40 (count 'em, 40) valves.
The power is fed to the rear wheels via a slick six-speed gearbox that operates through one of Ferrari's patented chrome metal gates. This works as well as it looks, and you'll find yourself changing gear just to hold the spherical chrome gear knob in your hand. The clutch is heavy compared to, say,a road-going Toyota or Nissan, but it's nowhere near as resistant as those found in previous Ferraris.
Stopping power comes from four self-ventilating disc brakes, aided by an electronic ABS system that can be switched off.
The steering is power assisted, again helping the car's urban manners, but it's speed sensitive, so you won't be deprived of road feel when the driving gets fun.
And fun it does get; the F355 imparts tremendous confidence in its driver, because of its balance, its impeccable handling and its surprisingly comfortable ride.
Another bonus is that the F355 doesn't feel like a huge supercar, like many of its rivals. This enhances its practicality and civility around town, as well as enabling you to place it through corners with precision. Turbulence is almost nil too, thanks to the carbon-fibre floor-pan cover.
The cabin is beautifully kitted out, from the chrome gear clobber to the leather that bedecks every available surface. The fascia is simple and elegant, though I would have fancies having the rev counter centered, with minor dials (like the speedo...) flanking it. The seats are surprisingly comfortable, though if you fancy sports seats for the F355 GTS or Berlinetta, they'll cost you an extra STG£2,600.
The F355 Spider is the first Ferrari with an electronically operated soft top and its operation is exquisite to watch. The cabin offers very little wind disturbance – even when traveling at speeds close to 100mph wit the top down (most convertibles will not let you go much faster than 80mph). The Berlinetta coupe is a little tight on headroom as is the GTS targa-roofed version (the latter seems the least interesting; buy a coupe or convertible).
Due to the car's mid-engined configuration, there isn't a whole lot of luggage room, but you can buy a three-piece set of Connolly leather luggage colour keyed to your car's cabin for a paltry STG£1,500.
And that brings us to the final ignominy. In Northern Ireland, the F355 range runs from STG£97,360 for the Berlinetta to STG£103,734 for the convertible. Bring one down here and you can effectively double that price.
Even at that level I'd say it's worth it fro a car that mixes the magic of a Ferrari with the practicality of a 'normal' car (well, almost). Suddenly the 911 has a serious rival for those people who will only buy one supercar and use it for daily transport.
But Ferrari better be careful about how much further it goes in 'civilising' its car, lest it follow too closely the Loleatta Holloway analogy. She strayed from the path of deep soul and became a disco queen in the seventies. She might have sold more records, but a soundproof veil is best drawn over most of these recordings. She will be rightly remembered for the glorious deep soul she recorded in the previous decade.
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