.com Buying And Selling Ferraris . sportscarguides - Model Guide - Ferrari www 348 1989 - 1995 The 348 replaced the 308/328 line. Its styling showed F40 and Testarossa influences, particularly the side strakes between the wheels. Sub six seconds to sixty miles per hour with a top speed of over 170mph made it very fast indeed. Introduction stood for transversale, as the gearbox was mounted The 348 was Ferrari’s follow-on to the glorious 308/328 line. Its transversely behind the longitudinally mid-mounted engine. In styling abandoned the 308/328 scoop style side air inlets in 1993 the 348 was refreshed with the 348 TB and TS; favour of Testarossa-like side strakes. The engine was bigger transversale berlinetta and transversale spider, and a 348 at 3.4 litres than the 328’s unit and the car went through a Spider. In that year there was also a limited edition 348 Serie series of developments before giving way, in turn, to the F355. Speciale for the USA. The 348 Competizione or 348 GTC was The 348 was Ferrari’s first small car for the nineties, ‘small’ in a limited edition for Europe in 1994. There were also some the sense of having a 3.4 litre V-8 engine rather than the 12 other racing models. The 348 was replaced by the F355 in cylinder units of the big Ferraris. Nevertheless, sub 6 second 1995. This in turn led to the current 360 Modena. 0-60mph time and 170+mph top speed made it a very fast car. The 348 featured new components and approaches in Top to bottom below; An evolution of styles: 328 QV; 348 Spider; virtually all of its aspects. Unlike the 328 line its chassis was F355 Spider. unitised. The car was designed to be built in less time by fewer people and at lower cost than preceding Ferraris. Upon its launch in 1989 the 348 came in tb or Berlinetta (closed coupé) and ts or Spider (actually a targa) form; the ‘t’ Transverse Gearbox? The 348’s gearbox was mounted behind and at 90° to the engine. Why? The preceding 308/328 cars had a transverse mid-mounted engine and transverse transmission under the engine. The 288 GTO’s V-8 was turned 90° and mounted longitudinally with its gearbox behind it. The rotation helped with the turbo plumbing. By retaining the transverse gearbox in the 348, having it sited behind rather than underneath the engine, and having it in the same unit as the differential, Ferrari shortened the length of the 348’s engine and transmission assembly; the 348 chassis was only 4 inches longer than the 328’s. Ferrari F1 race cars before the turbo era had transverse gearboxes, so Ferrari engineers were familiar with it. An outcome was that the engine and transmission were 4 - 5 inches lower than in the preceding 328. This lowered the centre of gravity and helped the car corner better. Copyright Sportscar Guides Ltd, 2003. Not to be reproduced without permission. W: www.sportscarguides.com. Page 1 Lie-flat headlights and F40-style Rear cabin wings flank Engine’s air inlet behind Targa roof of 348 ts bonnet slab mid-mounted engine rear side window Testarossa-style strakes Air dam spoiler painted in A US Ferrari 348 TS leading to radiator cooling Rear brake cooling duct body colour inlet in rear wing However, the 348 experienced a tough market. Also, although some 9,000 models were built, there is a perception THE 348 MODELS - 348 tb & 348 ts that it was less than really successful. The car could be said to have suffered by falling between two stools: the outstanding The 348 line was announced at Germany’s Frankfurt Motor 328’s looks; and the awesome F355’s performance. Show in 1989. It is a 2-seater car with a mid-mounted engine. The body design, notwithstanding the side strakes, was understated, for a Ferrari that is. The engine computer and TECHNICAL DETAILS panel warning lights were thought to be somewhat unreliable The performance figures are:- and the chassis performance was said to be not good enough. Early cars had suspension-related problems which added to Power Torque 0-60mph Top Speed the poor perception of the 348. 300 bhp 238 lbs-ft 5.5 secs 172mph An opposing view is that it could arguably be the best Ferrari @7200 rpm @4200 rpm to buy for the first time Ferrari owner. You get a great deal of performance for your money and there is a lot of choice in The Tipo F119D 90° V-8 engine has a 3405cc capacity and body styles. this, together with the 8 cylinders, accounts for the car’s name; 3.4 litres and V-8 making up 348. The engine drives the rear wheels. Each cylinder bank has twin overhead camshafts The luggage carrying capacity of the 348 was made much of in operating four valves per cylinder. Each cylinder has a adverts. Rear-mounted radiators made for space in the bonnet. centrally-mounted spark plug. The bore and stroke are 85 x 75mm and the compression ratio is 10.4:1. With a power rating of 300bhp the engine is deliving around 90bhp per litre. The cylinder head and block are made of light alloy. The cylinders have Nicasil-coated steel liners. The crankshaft has five support bearings. There is a dry sump lubrication system with an 8-litre oil reservoir. There are two radiators to lower the temperature of the pumped water coolant. Each has a thermostatically-controlled electric fan. A Bosch Motronic M2.5 engine computer controls the engine’s injected fuel supply and static ignition. It manages each cylinder bank separately. A hot wire system is used for measuring the mass of incoming air. Air comes in via high side scoops and is fed through rubber and steel tubes to a squarish airbox mounted above the transmission. There it is filtered and passes through two throttle bodies to intake manifolds above the engine. These feature a variable resonance feature. There is a manifold for each cylinder bank, with two inlet trumpets per Copyright Sportscar Guides Ltd, 2003. Not to be reproduced without permission. W: www.sportscarguides.com. Page 2 348 tb (left) and ts (right) with its targa roof panel removed. subframe which carries the engine and transmission and also the rear suspension. The fuel tank is mounted centrally and cylinder, plus an interconnecting chamber closed by a butterfly there are water and oil radiators at the sides. There is a flat valve. This can be opened by the Bosch unit and its open/shut composite panel, to smooth airflow, mounted underneath the state varies with engine speed and so varies the inlet duct front and middle chassis area. Body panels are bolted to the geometry. chassis, whch adds rigidity and enables them to share in the The ignition is of the static advance type with a high tension load bearing. 2-coil unit per cylinder bank. Engine exhaust gasses pass The car’s chassis was strong enough for Ferrari to use a through steel manifolds to a tuned exhaust system featuring, in crumple crash zone design instead of one with large crash the USA, a catalytic converter. bumpers. This design was such that the car complied with world-wide crash testing regulations, the first Ferrari to do so. TRANSMISSION With the main mechanical components mounted centrally the The 5-speed (plus reverse) manual transmission is mounted car’s turning ability was tremendous. It featured a low polar behind the engine and crosswise, forming a T with the engine. moment of inertia making it quick to turn in and less likely to There is a limited slip differential calibrated at 40 per cent. The spin. clutch is at the rear of the car where the flywheel is also The ts model, with its black plastic targa roof, had located. It is driven by a shaft from the engine, which crosses strengthening gussets in the body to compensate for loss of the gearbox, and has a vibration-damping 2-plate or ‘bimass’ structural rigidity that is provided by the roof on the tb. This 1 design. The 8 /2”dry clutch is hydraulically operated. made the ts version 11lbs heavier than the tb. CHASSIS SUSPENSION There is a pressed and galvanised steel and box section Each wheel has its own independent suspension with double monocoque chassis with a tubular steel, lattice type rear wishbones and coil springs, and Bilstein telescopic gas-filled shock absorbers. There are both front and rear anti-roll bars. 348 Model Manufacturing Dates Top to bottom below: 348 tb; 348 ts; 348 Spider. 348 Zagato Serie 348 Challenge 348 348 tb, ts E Speciale Spider Kit GTB GTC MS GTS 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 Zagato E - Elaborazione. MS - UK Maranello Speciale. GTC - GT Competizione. Copyright Sportscar Guides Ltd, 2003. Not to be reproduced without permission. W: www.sportscarguides.com. Page 3 STEERING, WHEELS AND BRAKES Rack and pinion steering turns the front wheels with no power assistance. There are aluminium steering ‘knuckles’ to reduce the unsprung weight. The 16” alloy wheels feature a classic Ferrari star-shape and have a matt finish. Their spoke shape was said to draw air away from the brakes when the car was in motion. At the front, the tyres are 215/50 ZR 17, whilst at the rear they are 225/50 ZR 17. There is servo-assisted dual circuit braking with ventilated disk brakes and a Teves Mark II anti-lock braking system. There are aluminium brake calipers with two cylinders.