1991 Ferrari 348ts

Wanting a “new” Ferrari experience but can’t bring yourself to spend $250,000?  Wouldn’t mind and older model if the right one came along?  We’ve got it right here:  This gorgeous Rosso Corsa 348TS has a mere 5,030 miles on the odometer, is absolutely showroom perfect and is 100% up-to-date with FULL maintenance records!  It simply doesn’t get any better!

Records first"it’s the ONLY way to buy a Ferrari.  This car, bought new on January 1^st, 1991, sat in stasis until purchased by the previous owner in 2002.  Until July of that year the odometer showed a total of 256 miles since new!  Over the summer the new owner had his local dealer, Ferrari of Atlanta, flush the brakes and change the gear oil, recharge the A/C and go over the car with a fine toothed comb.  The car was then sold to the Philadelphia area where the next owner made sure the car would last.  Unlike most people who buy a low mileage car and drive it as-is, this guy knew better and took the car immediately to North Coast Classics in Cleveland, Ohio.  It went in for a full engine-out service, complete with timing belts spark plugs, filters, the works--and at THAT point only had 2309 miles on it!  Seven miles later it was in for its current tires, Dunlop SP-Sport 9000’s.  $5000 worth of parts and labor later it rolled on, collecting another 2,000 miles in the next six years.  As anyone who’s familiar with these cars knows, though, time is as important as miles with maintenance, and we had the local experts at North Coast Exotics go through the car and perform yet another engine-out, 30,000 mile service.  This car’s ready for years of service to come without worry!

Condition is next.  Ferrari paint isn’t the hardiest, but with nearly no miles it’s as perfect as you’d expect.  What can deteriorate while sitting, though, is the interior.  Leather can curl, panels can warp and the surfaces have a habit of picking up a “sticky” feeling unless stored properly.  This car has none of that"the surfaces are clean and straight, the leather is supple and clean.  The cabin’s a lot more modern than the 308 and 328 which came before it, and ALL Ferraris are a pleasure to drive!

The 348, badged 348 TB for the coupe and 348 TS for the targa versions, features a naturally aspirated 3.4 litre version of the quad-cam, 4-valve per cylinder V8 engine which was originally found in the 288 GTO sports car. The engine produces 300 hp and sits longitudinally with a transverse gearbox.  This mid-engined arrangement allows for excellent weight distribution and sounds great over your shoulder.  The dogleg gearbox is another throwback you’d miss if it were absent.

All 348s were shipped with dual-computer, double-redundant Anti-Lock Braking systems, on-board self-diagnosing Air Conditioning and heating systems, and U.S. 348s have functioning on-board OBDI engine management systems.

Similar to the Tessarossa but departing from the BB 512 and 308/328, the oil and coolant radiators were relocated from the nose to the sides, widening the waist of the car substantially, but making the cabin much easier to cool, since hoses routing warm water no longer ran underneath the cabin as in the older front-radiator cars. This also had the side effect of making the doors very wide.

All Ferrari 348s use racing "dry-sump" oil systems to prevent oil starvation at high speeds and in hard corners. The oil level can only be checked (accurately) on the dipstick when the motor is running due to this setup.

Likewise, all 348s have suspensions independently adjustable for ride height, as well as a removable rear sub-frame to speed up the removal of the engine for maintenance.

• Engine: DOHC, 32 Valve V8, 3405 cc
• Power: 300 bhp (224 kW) @ 7200 rpm
• Transmission: 5-speed manual
• Chassis: Steel platform & sub-frame
• Suspension: Independent all round
• Brakes: 4 wheel Disk ABS
• Max. Speed: 275 km/h (171+ mph)
• Acceleration:
  • 0-100 km/h (62 mph): 5.4 s (as stated in owners manual)
  • 0-161 km/h (100 mph): 12.2 s
• 1/4 mile : 13.4 s (as stated in owners manual)

Fewer than 8,000 348’s were produced, which is roughly how many F150 pickup trucks Ford builds in five hours.  Think you’ll run into yourself at the local car hop?  Think again.  Ferrari ownership puts you in a class above, and its ranks celebrate the marque unlike few others.  Perfectly kept, stringently maintained and reasonably priced this is the perfect car to experience the magic!