2020 Hagerty Bull Market selection: 1999–2005 Ferrari 360

The 2020 Hagerty Bull Market list showcases the top vehicles that our valuation experts project will appreciate in the coming year. For the full list of 10 vehicles (and one motorcycle!) click here.

The tattered reputation of Ferrari was just making a comeback with the F355 in the late 1990s when the company’s then chairman, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, divulged his next trick to modernize the house of Enzo: aluminum. Partnering with—some said arm-twisting—U.S. supplier Alcoa to develop the 355’s replacement, Ferrari unleashed the 360 in 1999 as its first aluminum opus in what would become a company-wide switch to the lightweight alloy.

The graceful Pininfarina lines harnessed existing Ferrari iconography such as the quad round taillights while ushering in new ones like the hedonistically transparent engine cover, which left no doubt as to the star of this show. Underneath red intake plenums that looked like a pair of nice gams in red spandex, the 40-valve 3.6-liter Tipo F131 V-8 was a characteristically Italian short-stroke screamer, wailing to 8500 rpm in frenzied pursuit of its 400 horsepower (although only 275 pound-feet of torque, about the same as the 2020 Honda Accord Turbo). Gated shifters were still available on Ferraris back then, as was an F1 paddle-shift transmission.

The 360 Spider appeared a year later and was notable for looking gorgeous regardless of whether the top was up or down. The engineers produced a folding roof that didn’t hide the engine when stowed, and extensive wind-tunnel work produced an open cabin remarkably isolated from wind noise. More than 17,000 copies of the 360 emerged from Maranello, and for many of the model years, spiders represented over half the production.

Hagerty member Jay Stolfi of West Hartford, Connecticut, started his Ferrari journey with a 308GTS Quattrovalvole in the unusual shade of Prugna, or plum. He switched to this 2002 360 when he found a perfectly unmolested example in Florida. “I like them to be totally original. Yes, the radio is godawful, but it’s original.” And, obviously, he’s open to non-red Ferraris.

The 360’s stock exhaust is remarkably quiet considering the latter-day reputation of V-8 Ferraris as wailing wonders—at least until you stick your foot in it. Once the revs are up, it’s a furious passion play of rip and snarl, with intensely focused steering and brakes. “You don’t take a seat in this machine,” wrote Car and Driver’s Patrick Bedard at the time. “You snap into its socket, and the juice zaps through your body.”

[+] The thrill of a Ducati with much less danger of death or maiming; an affordable entry into one of the world’s most exclusive clubs; relatively reliable for a Ferrari.

[–] Cam belts need periodic (and expensive) changing; brutal parts costs; early cars have more issues; many have been beat on.

2002 FERRARI 360 SPIDER

Engine: V-8, 3586 cc
Transmission: 6-speed dual-clutch
Power: 400 hp @ 5500 rpm
Torque: 275 lb-ft @ 4500 rpm
Weight: 3100 lb
Power-to-weight: 7.8 lb/hp
Brakes F/R: disc/disc
Price when new: $170,779
Hagerty value: $82,200–$89,600

THE HAGERTY VALUATION TEAM SAYS:

More of these cars are coming off normal insurance policies and onto Hagerty policies, the number rising 211 percent in the past three years. Which means they’re gaining more of a reputation as an enthusiast or collectible car rather than a used exotic. The design has aged well and looks elegant in a way a lot of cars from that era don’t. The F1 transmissions were more common, but the gated shifter is what collectors want.