I thought you might like to see my new car, a 1997 Ferrari F355 in yellow.

Now before the green eyed monster raises it's ugly head I would like to say two things;

1, This is an investment pure and simple funded (don't tell them though) by my mortgage provider.

2, As a fast sports car, when compared to the Fiat coupe 20VT it is a spectacular failure! 380 bhp sounds like so much more than 220, but it doesn't feel it. The intoxicating surge you get at 3000rpm in the coupe is missing for one thing, the stereo is rubbish, it only has two seats, it has very little luggage space, the interior is no better, or is worse than, the coupe, if you really stamp on it you just loose the rear tyres (same with my Aston - which is just scary), vision is much more restricted, it is no better looking, and, when new, cost £87,000, when the coupe, made by Ferrari's parent company cost £25,000 at the same time.
It's been said many times that the Fiat Coupe is the 'poor man's Ferrari', but as a new Ferrari owner I can say that, all things considered, the Coupe is the better car. It's just a shame that they are not appreciated like Ferraris, and will never make the kind of money I expect to make when I sell it to someone who doesn't know sh*t about good cars.
Long live the Fiat Coupe.



It does look quite nice in the right light though.

Very nice

It does look good though.

Especially that colour

Looks very nice, well done

Fantastic, will make more Money than bricks and motar in the short and longer terms anyway

Nice write-up. I think Nigel would agree with many of your findings!

Great looking car, and almost certainly a good investment. For those like me who browse autotrader far more often than they should, you can't help but have noticed the price of certain sports and classic cars starting to rise.

I remember looking at Lambo Gallardos about 4 or 5 years ago, and you could get one (albeit the cheapest one on the market) for £40k. Try finding one for that little now.

Look at the Lancia Delta Evo2 costs too .... 70K or there abouts

E-Type and Aston too..

I want his garage !

One of my mates lusted after a 348 since his yoof on his semi-retirement in his 40's he went out and bought one. The dream lasted several months, scratch itched and he moved on. People lust and pay a lot for the horse. I would still like a 430 one day though

I've always loved the 355, good choice

Thanks y'all.

By the way, in case you think I'm loaded what with e-type, Aston etc, I should perhaps point out I've never earnt more that £15k pa in my life. It's how you prioritise. No expensive holidays, no more clothes than you actually need, no nights on the piss, no new cars, a wife that works, a mortgage broker who knows his stuff, and most importantly of all, no children.

Congratulations Skiday! The F355 is my favourite Ferrari. Of all time.

I've always wondered what it's like compared to a Coop and your comparison is an eye opener.

If you had a highly tuned Coop then I could totally understand.

But to go from a 220bhp 20VT Coop to a 380bhp F355 and to say it's a 'spectacular failure' is just...

It's kind of heart-breaking and reassuring at the same time to learn that my favourite Ferrari is not much better than my current car!

Have you checked to see that it still has all 380 horses?

I think I need to take a leaf out of your book Skiday!

I don't do holidays, or new cars (my Coupe is the newest car I've ever owned) and I'm a scruffy b!tch, so don't really spend on clothes neither. I rarely go out on the piss, but I do drink alcohol at home.

So, I need to find a husband and one that goes out to work, a decent mortgage broker and ignore my daughter and grandkids

Seriously, fair play to you and well done for achieving what you have

Have a friend who has owned a 308 GTS for may years and her comment about the radio/stereo is forget it, as the "real stereo is by Enzo".

The X1/9 probably has more luggage space.

Enjoy the car. After red, yellow would be my favourite colour for a Ferrari.

Fair play, but I would take my family over a car any day. Even that Ferrari.

I might have to seriously ponder over the Aston though!!

I don't think I'd get an Aston for mine. Maybe a ropey DB7 if I chucked in the stepkids, too.

A couple of points on that. I think the more you go up in the power stakes the more talent and training you need to release the potential. I have no race training or circuit experience so perhaps that is part of it. Also, the Isle of Wight doesn't have the roads for a car like this.
When you see Clarkson hooning around in 500+ bhp cars shredding the tyres that shows that can have too much power. Top Gear have also championed the mx5 and the gt86 because they have the right balance for fun, and I think that is what I am alluding to. The Coupe has the power to handeling to fun to cost ratio just right.

Maybe the trick is to get some driver training. I was at a trackday yesterday and there was all sorts of quick cars. I passed an AC Superblower, a Porsche Cayman, a late Elise, an Exige, and a few other things I forget. The only thing that passed me (following me straight out of the pits) was a modern V8 Vantage. All in an old Alfa I built myself with a massive 185bhp.

What I have done is had some training including a couple of days with Mark Hales and plenty of race experience.

Lovely car skiday Any Fezza is worth it as an investment at the moment. Just please tell me you haven't got that terrible Airbag steering wheel..............

Beautiful car, enjoy!

The last few years I spent a couple of weeks in total visiting the IOW.
Enjoyed driving there. Certainly more scenic and enjoyable than the London 7mph average speed.

This, x100!

I also agree with the less is more philosophy. 260+hp through the front wheels of my (now sold) 147 GTA was silly fun, but not really useable on the road day to day and not much good for the track either. The 20v na coop is a more enjoyable day to day road car and I've got an Alfa 75 v6 coming for my re-entry into trackday fun!

So true! London gets worse by the day.

Maybe get some race training and then compare the 20VT to the F355 on the same track? I would be totally surprised if the Coop still ended up being better! I always thought the Honda NSX made Ferrari (and other supercar manufacturers) improve their cars from then on? Although I feel you probably don't want to push the Ferrari to it's limits given that it's an investment, as you said?

In the end though, does it really matter even if the 20VT is a million times better in every way because after all, the 20VT is just a Fiat and the F355 is a Ferrari.

From a Coop enthusiast point of view it's obviously 'more than just a Fiat' but for the rest of the world outside of Coop ownership, even if the Coop was faster, with better handling, it's crazy to think a relatively obscure Fiat could be 'better' than quite an iconic Ferrari!

You summed it up perfectly...



Annoying actually - how one car's shortcomings can be forgiven because of its badge and another car's strengths ignored because of its badge.

This is one of the things about owning this kind of car. Most people are quick to dismiss it as an old Fiat. Of course then they feel the acceleration and hear the sound, which changes their mind. And when asked to name other non supercars that really look better than it, they find it quite difficult to do so! Still, despite all the good things about the Coop, for some people it just comes down to the badge.

The Ferrari F355 a true 'veblen good' then, proven by the Fiat Coupe and it's new owner

Sounds about right considering you can't even remember their names

I think we've taken this far enough off topic - apologies to the OP.

I will just add that "Oi!" seems to work perfectly well as a name for all 5.

Some people have found a way around that!

That is a great photo with the reflections of the building. Looks like it is floating too.
Like the smooth look of the bonnet, wonder what the headlight mod is?