Raj Sangha previously owned a 360 and a 430, but the older 355 is his favourite of all
“When you’re going for it, the sound of the engine in the Ferrari 360 is more of a shriek, while the 430 is a grunt,” says Raj Sangha. “The 355 is the sweet spot.”
He should know since he has owned all three. Raj’s current car is a 355 GTS manual, but prior to that he owned a 355 F1 Berlinetta. The sound of his GTS is enhanced somewhat by the aftermarket exhaust system fitted to it. “There’s a point at about 3500-4000rpm when the V8 sounds amazing even on a stock exhaust,” he says. “But with the aftermarket system – Tubi manifold, Capristo back box and Larini cats – you can hear it throughout the rev range.”
His GTS sounds good and, he says, looks good: “The GTS has the targa-style hard-top roof, so you have the best of both worlds – Spider convertible and Berlinetta coupé but at no cost to the car’s looks. If I want to feel the wind in my hair on a nice day, I just remove the roof and put it behind the seats. When it’s raining, like it is today, I clip it back in place.”
Raj bought his 355, registered in 1995 and with 57,000 miles on the clock, just 15 months ago. “I bought it from a friend,” he explains. “It was a tired car that hadn’t been used for a couple of years. It had a good service history, though. My friend bought it to refurbish. He bought all the parts but never got around to doing the work, so he offered it to me. I love that it’s done a high mileage, for a Ferrari, and that it has a few marks. They make it usable and me less precious about it. I keep it in a garage, but it’s not a garage queen. I’m driving it in the rain, aren’t I?”
Raj will only say he paid “around £60,000” for his GTS and that recommissioning it, which took six months, cost him “at least another £10,000”. It’s a manual; he didn’t really gel with the F1 gearbox in his old 355 Berlinetta. “I bought that car because it was the first with the F1 ‘box,” he admits. “It was great to be able to tell people I had a Ferrari with a gearbox like Michael Schumacher’s. However, it didn’t drive like a Ferrari should.”
Raj admits a 360 is slightly cheaper to maintain: “In the 360 and 430 you can get to the cambelts to change them through the bulkhead, but the engine has to come out in the 355. Servicing is expensive, but you have to accept cars like this come with a cost. The 355’s dashboard trim can blister and come away, too. Fortunately, mine shows no signs of that, perhaps because it’s been garaged. The switchgear gets sticky and the top layer can come off. My car has already been fixed.”
It cost Raj £300 to insure his 355 on a classic car policy. “I won’t exceed the annual 3000-mile limit,” he says. “It’s a weekend car for fun runs. It has only done 150 miles since I bought it, although in fairness it is still winter. It’s a keeper – at least until I find a better one at the right price.”
