The design was again by Pininfarina, and
leant heavily on the style of the existing Testarossa.
As in the latter car, the radiators were moved to the rear and slatted
intakes aft of the doors were provided. The nose treatment was also similar,
and the back lights were partially concealed by a similar slatted black grille.
When sales started In 1989 two models were
available, the 348tb (t=transverse gearbox, b=berlinetta) with a fixed
roof and the 1992 saw a run of 100 cars produced for
the US market and called Serie Speciale.These had numerous small changes,
such as no black slatted grille concealing the rear lights, a revised interior,
tweaked suspension and they were claimed to have more power and to weigh
less. In Europe, 50 cars were built from 1994 as the GTC or 'Competitzione'.
These had different wheels and tyres, a slightly revised suspension and some composite panels.
Production of the 348 GTB and GTS stopped
in 1994 with the introduction of the new F355, whilst the Spider continued
in production for a few months longer. Some 2,895 348tb's and 4,230 348ts's
were produced.
The
348, the replacement for the 328, was unveiled
at the Frankfurt Motorshow in 1989 and entered production later that year.
An all new car, it used a further development of the 328 engine, and still
mounted behind the cockpit, but in the 348 it was turned so as to sit longitudinally.
On the rear of the engine was the transmission, mounted transversely. For the
first time in a production Ferrari the separate tubular frame was deleted,
the whole car using a monocoque construction plus a subframe for the drivetrain
(image).
348ts
(s=spider) which had a removable targa roof. A full convertible with a
manually operated soft-top was introduced early in 1993, whilst later in
that year the tb and ts were renamed GTB and GTS respectively, recogniseable
by the deletion of the painted black band around the lower body. They also
featured a revised interior whilst all three models got a revised engine now with 320bhp.
Technical Details
| Engine | 3405cc (85x75mm) 90deg V8 32V dohc (per bank) with 300bhp @ 7,200rpm
GTC : 320bhp |
| Suspension | front : double wishbones and coil springs
rear : double wishbones and coil springs wheelbase : 2450mm track (front/rear) : 1502mm/1578mm |
| Brakes | ventilated discs all round with 4-pot callipers, servo assistance and ABS |
| Transmission | 5 speed manual plus ZF self-locking diff |
| Steering | rack and pinion |
| Empty weight | 1,393kg |
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