AutoTrader Find of the Week: 1999 Ferrari 360 Modena is an Attainable Supercar Icon

You know how they say no two snowflakes are the same? Well, no two car enthusiasts will ever completely agree on which Ferraris are timelessly good-looking and which aged like bathtub water.

Go ahead, ask a few of your friends (or enemies, whoever) which Ferraris they think are the all-time best lookers and which ones Father Time beat with the ugly stick. I guarantee they’ll say at least one model that will fill you with rage and force you to violently and uncontrollably exclaim, “Are you out of your mind?!”

I’m still thinking about a fellow automotive writer who recently told me they think the 458 is ugly. They might as well have told me they prefer mustard in their coffee or enjoy wearing Crocs.

Still, despite the inherent subjectivity of Ferrari styling, there are a few models that all but the most asinine of contrarians would have to agree are timelessly beautiful.

The 308 GTB, 288 GTO, F40, 365 GTB/4 Daytona, and Testarossa all feel like they haven’t aged a day. Their silhouettes, while unable to exist in any other time than that in which they were born, don’t feel even slightly tired.

And I think the same could be said of the Ferrari 360 Modena.

Granted, while it may lack the striking presence of the mid-engine V8 Ferraris that it spawned, there is something beautiful in the 360’s simplicity. It lacks the massive vents, overarched fenders, and general cacophony of visual design elements that plague modern supercars. Instead, its bodywork cuts more of a sweeping, uninterrupted silhouette — nothing stealing your attention away from its overall shape. Your eyes can take it all in at once.

Also, when somebody says “Ferrari,” the 360 is still the shape that pops into my head. Never mind the LaFerrari. The 360 is “the Ferrari” in my eyes.

So, the 360 must be pure unobtainium by now, right? Well, a few choice trim levels are starting to climb into the “can’t touch this” status range. The market on the Challenge Stradele never really softened.

However, you can still have a cherry 360 Modena like this 1999 example for sale at Traditional Motors in Fergus, Ont., and listed on AutoTrader for about what it would cost you to have a well-optioned C8 Corvette out the door.

That’s a real mid-engine 3.6-litre V8 Ferrari with 400 horsepower and an 8,500-rpm redline. That’s worth getting out of bed at 5 a.m. just to go for a drive in.

Unfortunately, this 360 does have the F1-style hydraulic paddle-shift transmission, not that mouth-watering gated six-speed manual. But at least you won’t be obsessing over all the scratches on the chrome shift knob.

It’s a lot less scary to buy the Corvette, though. After all, the Corvette comes with a manufacturer warranty, and even if it does break, Chevy small block V8s are fixed with hammers and strong curse words. Ferraris are fixed with money. And what about that dreaded and famed “engine out” service?

Well, with this particular 360, Traditional Motors claims to have every service record invoice dating back to its original purchase.

Built in April of 1999 and sold initially through Ferrari of Ontario in North York, this 360 Modena has always been maintained by a Ferrari dealer to stock condition and has never needed restoration. It’s a true survivor.

It still has the often-discarded Bosch electronic ignition. A VIN lookup shows no collisions or incident reports, but the pristine aluminum space frame is all the evidence you need. The paint and interior are immaculate, and the car even comes with the original cover, floor mats, and tool kits. Unlike so many Ferraris of this vintage, this one seems to have been meticulously, almost obsessively, maintained.

With just under 60,000 km on the odometer, this Ferrari seems like it was driven just enough to keep everything lubricated, which is good because as long as you can keep up with regular use and maintenance, 360s actually have something of a reputation for reliability (at least, as far as Ferraris go).

Sure, they have their known foibles to watch out for. And, if something breaks, it’s going to cost you big time. But the word is, at the time, Ferrari wanted to make a supercar that was easier to live with, a response to rivals like the Porsche 911 and Acura NSX.

In many ways, the 360 was truly the first of the modern Ferraris.

Redundancies like aluminum construction and titanium engine internal components went the extra mile to defeat the unreliable reputation of Italian sports cars. And you no longer had to remove the engine for regular maintenance. Timing belts, spark plugs, and other expected consumables can all be replaced with the engine remaining in the car.

This added effort towards quality of life may be why Ferrari shifted over 16,000 360s in its six-year production run.

The car was a very strong seller for Ferrari at the time. But here’s the good news: every successor to this car has likely outstripped it in sales. Estimates for 458s, for example, put sales figures over 20,000, and Ferrari sold over 13,000 cars just in 2023 alone.

So, buying a 360 like this means you still have a fairly uncommon Ferrari, at least by modern standards.

Sure, it’s a risk buying a used Ferrari, and generally speaking, it’s good to hold to the mantra of used luxury cars: “If you couldn’t afford it new, you can’t afford it used.”

But not everything is a lemon. Sometimes, you stumble on the right car that was properly cared for, wasn’t mucked with, and was exercised just enough to stay in shape.

And the fact is, modern supercars are not classic sports cars. They are, if maintained properly, far less of a time bomb than their predecessors were.

So, you could be the fifth person on your block with a 911 or a Corvette, or you could be the only one with a real-deal Rosso Corsa Ferrari that will never look old.

No promises on whether some jackass won’t tell you it doesn’t look as good as the new SF90, though. Some people, am I right?