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What I learned after 5,600 miles in a Ferrari F355 Spider

I'm paraphrasing, but Autoblog reader Paul Dyer asked me one day, "Want to drive my 1998 Ferrari F355 Spider from San Jose, California, to me in Newfoundland?" I'm also paraphrasing and leaving out some colorful but unpublishable language, but essentially I said, "Yes." That's how I ended up on a two-week, 5,600-mile road trip, getting an extensive and intimate look at one of the most spectacular cars of our generation. Here's what I discovered. To paraphrase, you don't even know how badly you want an F355. The F355 Spider is the last beautiful Ferrari. Subsequent stallions are modern and dramatic, the F355 is eternally gorgeous, like Brunelleschi's doors and sunsets in Viareggio. The Iliad would still make sense if you said the Greeks took to ship after a Trojan keyed Menelaus' F355. You cannot say the same about the 348, or even the 458 (though we do love it so). This car began the era in which mid-engined Ferraris sell out for years in advance. That said, F355 upkeep is the equivalent of giving your bank account a flesh-eating disease. This car's most recent engine-out service was $28,000: $12,000 in labor, $16,000 in parts. Dropping the Propulsore Completo is recommended every three years for routine service and runs $7,000 or more if no other work is required. Gooey valve guides, melting exhaust manifolds, and cranky seat sensors are among the fickle components that will guarantee the bill will exceed that amount. A single bolt is $45. One F355 owner, asked if he'd recommend the model, replied without hesitation "Absolutely not." But the F355 began a whole new game for The Prancing Horse. One of Luca de Montezemolo's first marks on the company as president, the F355 was intended to rectify the sins of the 348 and deal with the Acura NSX. The F355's design resulted from 1,800 wind tunnel hours. It introduced Ferrari's five-valve V8 engine – at 107.3-horsepower-per-liter, the highest specific output of any naturally aspirated car at the time. It had an 8,500-rpm redline. The engine was so important that Ferrari changed its naming convention to highlight it. The F355 introduced a six-speed manual transmission to the V8 range. It introduced the paddle-shifted sequential gearboxes to consumers, previously the purview of top-tier race cars. This Spider was the brand's first semi-automatic droptop. This car began the era in which mid-engined Ferraris sell out for years in advance. Some of the trademark features take getting used to.

Ferrari 312PB looks amazing, sounds like you're ripping sheets

Whether it's Mozart, Beethoven or The Beatles, they all (arguably) pale in comparison to just the right engine note for many auto enthusiasts. Petrolicious has found one of the absolute best with its latest focus on a 1972 Ferrari 312PB.
The 312PB is important for more than just its ability to sound like an automotive symphony. It was also the final purpose-built prototype racer of the era from Ferrari before the Prancing Horse put its entire focus into Formula One. Maranello went out with a bang, though. The 312PB's design is simplicity itself with just a modified wedge shape combined with the necessary scoops and ducting to keep its 12-cylinder engine at full tune. The car won a string of races and scored the 1972 championship. Although even if it had been a loser, the racecar likely would have been famous just for its wonderful exhaust note.
In the video, Petrolicious expertly balances its interview with owner Steven Read with wonderful cinematography and just letting the Ferrari sing around the Willow Springs track. Crank up the volume and scroll down to get a wonderful earful of this sonorous vintage racer.

Ferrari and Bentley make your living room as luxurious as your car

Short of parking your dream car in your living room, the second best petrolhead thing to do is craft a living room table out of an engine block, or to turn a junkyard luxury car rear seat into a fancy leather couch. Some people also take a racing seat and repurpose it as a desk chair or a gaming setup. But there are automobile manufacturers that want to bypass all that, offering car-related furniture as brand new items instead of putting the seats in cars first. Regarding desk chairs, it's Ferrari this time that wants to cater to a customer's office needs. The famed upholstery house, Poltrona Frau has created interiors for Ferraris since the 1980s, and now there's a specially designed office chair called the "Cockpit", trimmed in Poltrona Frau leather. The modular chair comes in two guises, "President" and "Exclusive", and the former features a high backrest, strongly resembling a racing car seat. The Exclusive version does without the backrest. Ferrari says that the materials, including carbon fiber are the same used to make car seats, and that the seats can be customized according to the customer's needs. The second set on offer is Bentley's new Home collection of furniture. The set has been designed by the architect Carlo Colombo, and it comprises several sofas, a chaise longue, tables, chairs, beds, cabinets and lamps. There are eucalyptus and maple woods used in the furniture pieces' construction, with the quilted leather making an easy mental connection with the similarly detailed interior of, say, the Bentayga. Of course, a Bentley furniture collection would seem out of place without a Bentley in the garage. Related Video: Featured Gallery Ferrari/Bentley furniture View 9 Photos Image Credit: Ferrari, Bentley Home Bentley Ferrari auto accessories