Ferrari F355 Buyer's Guide

The F355 is the car that rescued Ferrari's mid-engined V8 reputation: five valves per cylinder, an 8,500rpm redline and one of the best-sounding engines of its era. Our records hold sixteen F355 lots and no completed sale yet, but the estimates speak clearly: manual Berlinettas at £100,000–150,000, manual Spiders at £75,000–150,000, and F1 paddle-shift cars mostly at £50,000–100,000.

Know your versions

Built from 1994 to 1999 with a 3.5-litre, 380bhp V8. Three bodies: the Berlinetta coupé, the GTS with a removable targa roof, and the Spider with an electric hood. The F1 paddle-shift gearbox arrived in 1997, the first on a road Ferrari; the six-speed gated manual remained available and is now the sought-after choice. Cars listed as "355" are the same model.

What to pay

Estimates only so far: manual Berlinettas at £100,000–150,000, manual Spiders at £75,000–100,000 and £100,000–150,000, F1 Berlinettas at £50,000–75,000 to £100,000–150,000, and F1 Spiders at £75,000–100,000. On that evidence, expect to pay around £100,000 for a good manual car and noticeably less for an F1. We will update this guide as hammer prices arrive.

What goes wrong

The F355 is an expensive car to maintain properly, which is why the history file matters more than anything. The cam belt service is an engine-out job on this model and must be done on schedule. Valve guides wear, showing as smoke on start-up or over-run, and exhaust manifolds are known to crack. F1 cars add a hydraulic pump and clutch wear to check, and Spiders an electric hood mechanism. Sticky interior trim is universal on unrefurbished cars.

Our view

The F355 is a high point of the analogue Ferrari: compact, sonorous and beautiful. Buy a manual car with an engine-out service in its recent history, a clean bill for the valve guides and manifolds, and specialist records throughout. The F1 is the cheaper door, and a perfectly good one, but the manual is the version the market will always pay for.