Drove a Ferrari 360 spider gated manual – wow !!

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I previously wrote about driving an F430 here and being a bit disappointed. Own a 981 Cayman S and ND2 Miata, on the hunt for a driver focused manual V8+ car for 150K or less.

I found a 360 factory gated manual for sale and took it for a spin. Immediately after getting in, I realized how much I liked the driving position. The cabin is tight with not a lot of room, which I love. Ergonomically reminded me of my Miata a fair bit. The F430 is extremely airy, almost too airy. The seats were carbon buckets which I fucking loved – low in the floor, stiff, extremely bolstered. They transmitted a ton of road feel. I don't know but it just feels like a much smaller car than the F430. The quality of the interior wasn't really anything to write home about. The leather in my 981's leather interior is better, and the overall dash etc. is showing its age.

The clutch was stiff – not as stiff as a 997 Turbo, that thing was crazy heavy, but still noticeably stiff – and bite point was very high. The engine noise as soon as I started revving out into first and second with a stock exhaust, just like an F430, is insane, and exacerbated by the Spider. I can't imagine ever buying a non-Spider after this. The gated manual is definitely a fun thing. I can't shove it into gear and go crazy with heel toes left and right like I can with my Miata, it forced me to drive with more thought and precision. I will say it's a different style of driving that I'm not sure quite used to, since I tend to just hoon on my cars

As for the drive: I don't know why, but this thing felt so much better than the F430 I drove. The F430 I drove very well could not have been set up properly. The 360 was not as composed and had a bit of body roll in the corners, but still extremely stiff – way stiffer and less roll than my stock ND2, but also didn't feel like it was just deleting corners like my 981. The steering was a bit vague in terms of accuracy, but the feel through the wheel was incredible. The carbon buckets I think did a ton of heavy lifting here, I felt so much chassis communication over every change in road surface and turn. I also loved the fact that it's lower in power – revving the car out was an auditory event and not just over in an instant. The car just felt much closer to the road overall.

In terms of looks, I never liked the headlights looked with the paint inside them so I'd replace them with black carbon fiber ones, but otherwise the car has held up "ok", not timeless but looks good enough to me.

All in all I walked away pretty impressed from the drive. The asking seems a bit too high ($125k 20k miles on a 2001, both bumpers need respray and old PPF needs to be removed) but I am very seriously considering the car.