70 years of Ferrari favourites

WE’VE ALL HAD a Ferrari crush at some time, haven’t we? It might feel as obvious as supporting Manchester United but, if there’s fuel in your veins, it’s hard to resist the unmistakeable rasp of a Ferrari exhaust.

My teenaged Ferrari crush was the 308 GTB, then F40 in my early 20s, with (perhaps perversely) the 308 GT4 a little later in life. The earlier cars never did it for me until I drove a few and began to understand their intoxicating blend of brutishness and delicacy. And then I sampled Bruce Meyer’s 250 GT SWB ‘SEFAC Hot Rod’ – the perfect spec for a ’60s Ferrari. But I still dream of owning that F40.

Fellow-editor Robert Coucher is also a fan of the 250 GT SWB. ‘By far the best looks, the best engine, sublime handling and the best nature of any Ferrari,’ he says. Deputy editor Mark Dixon flips between 288 GTO and F40; associate editor Glen Waddington is torn between 250 GTO (he’s lucky enough to have driven one) and Daytona; advertising director Sanjay Seetanah favours 308 GTB and Dino; managing editor Chris Bietzk dreams of 250 LMs; contributor John Simister is adamant that the 275 GTB is best; and designers Mark Sommer and Robert Hefferon go for 250 GT SWB and 330 GT 2+2 respectively.

So it’s quite a spread of Ferrari desire, but what we all seem to agree upon is that Ferrari has rediscovered its design mojo with the new 488 GTB and Spyder – surely the best styled Ferraris of the last decade, and we reckon the best to drive of all current mid-range supercars.

Of course, in the office we all talk of the current bargains too, though they’re rare in today’s market. Of the classics, the 400s, 348s and Mondials aren’t without charm, but you’re

much better off with a 308, even a GT4, or an F355, which was still traditionally built.

The better ‘bargains’ are newer still, and we’d say the best of those is the 360, the first of the modern-era Ferraris. What’s worth noting is that build quality made huge leaps forward – and that should stand these cars in good stead for the 80th anniversary and beyond.