The Ferrari 360 Spider is Ferrari's 20th road-going convertible and is a record breaker in two quite different ways. Without doubt it is the best spider Maranello has ever produced in terms of engineering, looks and performance. And, thanks to the exclusive experience Ferrari has accumulated as a Formula 1 constructor, it is the most technologically advanced convertible available today. Despite the ferrari's mid-mounted V8 engine Ferrari's engineers have found a way of creating a hood that automatically folds away inside the engine bay, thus ensuring purity of line. The intrinsic quality of the design is underlined by the two fairings in the bodywork to the rear of the seats which evoke memories of classic ferrari sports cars. These are matched by the two roll bars that add the final touch to providing maximum safety for the car's two occupants. But the above car is not just a car, it's a Ferrari, a Ferrari 360 Modena Spider. This, being a Ferrari is a very special car. The world should celebrate such creations of glory, a celebration of speed, power, poise and noise. This car has a heart and a soul, a mind and a spirit, it lives, breathes and exists in a world of glamour and money. This car is awesome. Feel the body-panels, smell the leather interior, see the engine lying under a polycarbonate rear window and then hear it. At low, medium or high revs, it's a noise to be savoured, a noise that will make your ears bleed coupled together with enough raw power to bend time. The Ferrari 360 Modena Spider stirs emotions, it has a powerful stance and just looks right. It's so exclusive, expensive and exciting that you'd sell your granny just to drive one. The Ferrari 360 Spider, an experience.   

The 360 Spider adopts exactly the same mechanicals as the berlinetta: a mid-rear mounted 3,586 cc V8 delivering 400 bhp at 8,500 rpm with a longitudinal gearbox incorporating the limited slip differential. What that means in practice - on the road and on the test track - is that the 360 Spider offers almost identical performance and handling. In fact, open or closed, the car achieves a top speed of over 290 km/h, while weighing barely 132 lbs more than the berlinetta and offering the same amount of room for the occupants and their luggage. The designers of the 360 Spider worked hard to make the convertible version as aerodynamically efficient as its berlinetta counterpart. This has been achieved using the twin radiators to help channel the airflow along the underbody to the extractors under the tail. Despite the absence of any spoiler or wings, wind tunnel research has produced a negative lift figure and aerodynamic downforce of 374lbs, compared to the 396lbs generated by the berlinetta. In order to achieve that downforce, the engineers incorporated a nolder (a protuberance on the edge of the tail), a solution first adopted on Formula 1 cars. Compared to the coupé's drag figure of 0.33, the Spider achieves a Cd of 0.36 - a figure which is the norm for open cars. Aerodynamic analysis also extended to the fluid dynamics inside the engine bay. In fact the only apertures on the bonnet are the two grilles flanking the glass cover. These share the same honeycomb pattern as on the berlinetta, though the size of the hexagonal openings has been increased to ensure the correct amount of heat can escape from the Spider's slightly smaller engine bay.

Jaguar E-Type 3.8-litre 1961-1964
In March 1961 Jaguar showed the E-Type at the car-show in Geneva. Although this car showed great resemblance to the D-Type sports car of the fifties, this car was the result of the most modern technologies, which made one of the top sports cars. The E-Type was undoubtedly the most streamlined production-vehicle for sale in that time. From the beginning the E-Type was available in 2 versions. A two-seater roadster with a detachable roof, side windows which could be turned down, a nice boot and the option to convert it to a Grand Touring Coup/e using a fiberglass hardtop. The alternative was a two-seater Fixed Head Coupe with a fastback rear containing a boot, which opened to the side. Mechanically the E-Type had little to do with its predecessor the XK150, but it did have the XK six-cylinder engine. In only one version: with three SU-carburettors from the S-version that was good for a 265bhp at 5500rpm. To limit the height of the engine there was a separate tank between the radiator and the engine and the thermostat-controlled electrical cooling fan replaced the old engine-driven fan. The transmission also came from the CK, it was the four-speed Moss gearbox without an overdrive. For the rear of the car Jaguar had developed something special which would be used until the 90's in almost the same shape: a complete backside in a separate sub-frame. It had a Salisbury differential from a type that resembled the one from the other jaguars; it had a Power-Lock anti-skid and it was star assembled in the steel sub-frame. The whole rear-unit was mounted to the rest of the frame with four encapsulated mountings made from rubber to damp the sound and with two reaction-arms that were also made from rubber. It also had a stabilisation-rod. Between the sub-frame and the bodywork there was no contact between metal parts. The performance was improved slightly in comparison to the XK150 3.8 S with acceleration from 0 to 80 (km/h) in 5.6 seconds (more than half a second faster) and a top-speed of 240 km/h. The 3.8-litre E-Type was produced at full capacity until in 1964 the model was upgraded with the Mark X.

Jaguar E-Type series 1½ 1967-1968
Jaguar offered a transition-model in the E-Type model-range; a half developed Series 2 from 1968. From 1967 the semi-officially called Series 1½ was for sale. It already had some of the characteristic features of the Series 2. It is not possible to give many specifications of this model because the early and late models differ a lot from each other. Most of them do have uncovered headlights. Apart from this change the car still had the bonnet and bumpers of the Series 1.

Jaguar E-Type series 2 1968-1970
The Series 2 E-Type was first showed in October 1968 at the Motor Show of Earls Court. Many exterior changes had been fitted to comply with the more and more complicated American Laws. A brand-new bonnet with a larger capacity air-intake that offered 68-procent more capacity was fitted. This supplied better cooling for the new emission-demands adapted XK-engine. The new bonnet had built-in headlights which were placed 5 cm to the front and which were completely uncovered. More chrome was used; there were new bumpers that ran across the full width of the car. The 4.2-Litre XK-engine was adapted for the more strict American emission-demands for exported cars. To increase cooling-capacity, two electrical driven fans were mounted. The Series 2 kept its three SU-carburettors for the home-market. Four America 2 Stromberg C-carburettors were mounted with an adapted manifold. The car's performance decreased drastically. The brakes got a larger break-area and three brake-pistons were mounted at the front and rear. According to Jaguar production of the Series 2 stopped in September 1970, which meant a brake in the production of E-Types because the Series 3 was first introduced in 1971.

E-Type series 3 1971-1975
The last development of the E-Type came on March 29, 1971. The brake in production of the E-Type had 2 reasons. First of all Jaguar had to sell the Series 2 that were still in stock because of decreasing sales-numbers. Secondly development of the Series 3 took longer than expected. But when the Series 3 was finally released it brought the E-Type back at the top of the section-section. Jaguar had already built a 5-litre twelve-cylinder engine with 500 bhp for the XJ13 prototype racecar and was found suitable for the next generation E-Types, but the complexity would result in some difficulties with the production. That is why Jaguar invested 3 million pounds in the development of a new V12-engine and the production-facilities for this engine. The new engine was not only meant for the E-Type, but also for the XJ6. The new engine offered 272bhp at 5850rpm. With these new specifications the car had much more muscles than its predecessor. The acceleration from 0-100km/h of the old hand-shifted 3.8-litre was 7.1 seconds in comparison to the 6.4 seconds of the V12. The Series 3 was available with the Borg Warner Model 12 three step automatic or with the fully synchronised Jaguar four-speed gearbox. The front sub frame of the E-Type had to be adapted to be able to handle the weight and violence of the V12 engine. This also meant that the front impact-plate had to become firmer as well as the mounting of the front connection rod. The newly designed bonnet had wider front-shields and wheel housings due to the wider tyres and wheels. It also had a larger air-intake with a chromed grill to be able to cool the immense V12. The headlights were uncovered, although they were slightly different from the Series 2. The new cars had the doorframes of the 2+2 and the rear-wheel-housings where deeper because of the wheels. The rear-unit had also been changed, and most striking were the four exhausts, which were really flat. Due to decreasing sales in 1975 Jaguar decided to stop production of the E-Type. The retirement of the E-Type meant the end of Jaguar Sports-car production for a long period. Since then the Series 3 have probably become the most wanted E-Types, especially the Roadster. It was a Jaguar E-Type V12 Roadster that broke the £100,000 record during the classic-car hype of the late 80's.

Aston people never mention Ferrari, preferring the Vanquish to be seen as a modern, high-tech successor to its archaic "V" cars big, heavy, handcrafted models that could trace a lineage back to the race-bred Astons of the 1960s. But the truth is the Vanquish has only one direct competitor in its exalted price class, and that is the Ferrari 550 Maranello. In 1996, Ferrari, which is owned by Fiat, shocked supercar fans by introducing the 550 model as a front-engined two-seater. For a quarter of a century its roadgoing flagships had followed racing practice by putting the engine behind the driver. Now Ferrari, it seemed, was picking up where the 365GTB/4 Daytona left off in 1971. Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said that owners of it's 12-cylinder models were fed up with a reclining seating position behind a steeply inclined windshield, poor visibility, and a lack of luggage space. The 550, it was noted, would be faster, easier, and more practical to use and have better handling at its limits than the mid-engined F512M that it replaced. And so it was. Surprisingly few mourned the passing of the Testarossa/512. And anyway, today's smaller and lighter mid-engined 360 Modena is almost as fast. The 550 Maranello became the new benchmark for the grown-up exotics and lots of car magazines proved it's serious performance with a series of production-car speed records, including an average of 190.132 mph over a 100-mile distance.

© Allen Guttridge 2004