Ferrari 360 Spider | PH

There is an intriguing rumor, based on patent applications, which says that Porsche is looking at ways to have a manual transmission work with his T-hybrid powertrain. This is interesting for the technical new way in which the manufacturer has suggested that it could work – But also for the fact that it plays with the idea at all. Row-self-speed bins, if not exactly as dead as disco, should definitely go that way. Not only because of their discomfort in the field of cleanliness and efficiency, but also because buyers rarely select them when they get a choice.

An indication of Porsche’s reasoning can be found in the second -hand market, where it is the manual versions of old sport and supercars that now have a premium (and therefore demand), despite the presence of a perfectly usable option with two pedal. The 360 ​​is a good example: the box of the F1-Paddle-Shift was completely anger when the car was launched (good for about 70 percent of the sale), but now everyone apparently wants to experience the metal-meets-metal mechanical precision of Slotting Home a gear via an open port.

Admittedly, it helps if the lever in question is connected to a 3.6-liter naturally sucked V8 double so if we are talking about the last eight-cylinder Ferrari unit to trace his heritage completely back to the famous dino engine. Elsewhere, the 360 ​​of course represented something of a turning point for Maranello, as the first of their mid-engine V8s who use a much stiffer, lighter aluminum space frame chassis. In any case, the result is exactly the thing that everyone claims to want: an analogue driving experience, but with sufficient modernity not to ruin your weekend plans.

This, a 2001 spider in Argento Nurburgring, seems to check all the boxes. The Blu Scuro interior is a stylish choice, in which the more usual red or brown options are avoided that every other 360 seems to adorn. What is even more important, with 18 stamps in the book by Ferrari specialists, it is well maintained, with the most important timingbelt service completed in 2023 on 24,376 miles (together with bullet joints), which the next owner of the trade in the Meleste-Militone previous Milestone for the next most important service room.

The current mileage of 28,237 is perhaps also just right – not so low that you would be afraid of adding to it, but low enough to suggest that it was used sparingly and appropriate by its six previous owners. Certainly, the presence of the complete original toolkit in its leather cupboard (often missing or incomplete) and the original documentation package speaks to a pleasant consistent level of zeal – not to mention the always welcome bonus of a relevant (and desirable) private plate.

But most of the time it is about the modest styling of the 360, the tactile joy of the transmission and the unobstructed access to the glorious sound that the V8 makes when supplying 400 hp at 8,500 tpm. Oh, and the price. It is clear that we have no idea what the car will get at an auction (it will start this Sunday), but, as we have discussed earlier, Ferraris from the 1900s now look a big price-quality statement. For comparison, it is in Rosso Corsa, of a comparable age and mileage, for £ 69,990. It just does it without the gearbox that everyone who reads this really wants – right?