Why Have We Been Ignoring The Ferrari 348 Challenge?

Let’s set some of the record straight, particularly with some of the article’s hyperbole. The car was originally sold by Ferrari of Houston to a doctor in the area. I owned the car from 2008 through 2014 after having purchased it from Steve Barney at Sport Auto in NC. I sold it 6 yrs later to a friend of mine in CO, who held the car for 2 yrs before selling it to RM.

When I bought the car, the only things identifying it as a Challenge car were the Challenge script on the engine lid, drilled brake and clutch pedals (I added the Challenge accelerator pedal after I bought the car), welded mounting points for roll cage and harness (including carpet cutouts, and cutouts and cover plates to the panel behind the seats). It also came with the suede Challenge steering wheel. That’s basically it. It didn’t come with the Challenge i.d. plate, as do the Serie Speciale cars. That said, my understanding is that this wasn’t unusual as many of these plates were held up at FofNA and didn’t make it to the dealers for installation before the cars were sold.

To the best of my knowledge the car was not delivered with the full Challenge kit (which was an option “delete” for the Challenge cars). During my ownership, I procured the OMP “Challenge” seats, Speedline “Challenge” wheels, front light covers, and front tow hook. The tow hook is actually from a 360 Challenge where I had a new shaft machined to accommodate the different thread pattern. I had the seats recovered in leather to match the interior. The suspension was lowered 0.75″ with H&R springs and the rear shocks were rebuilt by Delta Vee. Otherwise, it’s a stock, late model 348tb suspension though I did have it aligned to Challenge specs. Shields, the rear tow hook (an OEM 348/355 Challenge part), and change of wheel color from silver to gold were done by the next owner (along with a major and some other work).

In my opinion, the power is no different than other late model 348’s, though I did notice that the ECU allowed the engine to rev higher than typical 348 redline. I had the car dyno’d by Bradan back in 2011(2012?) and while the engine made good power and in line with expectations, there was no discernible difference between it and any other well-running 348tb. I posted the results of the dyno test several years ago on FerrariChat.

I don’t believe the car was any lighter than a normal 348tb when I first bought it. The later addition of the Challenge seats and wheels helped, though offset by the partial roll cage install.

The car handles fantastically and is very dialed-in. Other than a dead battery and a distorted rear Challenge wheel, it always started immediately and operated flawlessly while I owned it. But the 348 Challenge cars seem to have become a bit of a “fish” story, growing in myth and seeming “uniqueness” with the passing from one owner to another. I’m not trying to rain on anyone’s parade. Just providing the facts during the period in which I was caretaker. Others have already commented on how the article’s assertion that the 348 Challenge was so markedly different than other late model 348tb’s simply isn’t the case. The fact that the car isn’t markedly different than a late model 348 is at least part of the rationale as to why I sold the car – though I’ve since had seller’s remorse as it’s a very nice, dialed-in car.

I begged and begged, and finally borrowed one from a girlfriend’s father who bought it purely for investment. He already had Testarossa, and added this one in the garage. We took it out for one weekend drive, during which I realized that it was incredibly unstable on a mountain pass, but that was alright. It rode like hell, too, bouncing around and, but that was alright, too, after all, it was early 90s and we were in red Ferrari. Then it started raining. The passenger side window refused to go up, so my girlfriend was getting rained on, and the targa roof started to leak, and there was a leak from the lower edge of the windshield, then the defroster packed up, and it started to overheat in the traffic, CEL came on and there’s smoke bellowing out the back, and the gear change got sticky, and even though we were supposed to have it for the weekend, we just drove back as carefully as possible to his garage, and just left it there. I absolutely hated that thing the experience, every single bit of it. It is the car that broke my Ferrari dream. It still looks sweet though.

You are more than a tad misinformed – it was not ‘universally panned’ at launch, in fact it was best in show and most early reviews sang the car’s praises. What did happen was LdM publically panned the car for his own reasons in ’91, none of which were to do with the 348, and the motoring press latched onto it. If you don’t know the history of this go read up on it. After that point many motor journalists panned the car but very few did before.
The handling issues had nothing to do with chassis design (the 355 is built on the same chassis), it was to do with weight distribution and suspension setup. Both issues were sorted on the standard cars as well as the Challenges and many owners of the early cars have made the same improvements. The Challenge cars handled pretty much the same as the only difference in weight distribution was a slightly lighter exhaust – the seats weighing less didn’t effect it as they are over the CofG.
I love Petrolicious but the irony of this article is that far from saying how much better a Challenge is to a standard car, that car is to all intents and purposes more or less a standard 348. The new owner is simply experiencing a later model 348, quite possibly for the first time at a guess. In fact that particular car was a standard TB prior to having the Challenge kit installed. The kit does not increase the power, significantly change weight distribution, significantly lighten the car (once roll cage is installed).
A great car though.

Great that the new owner of this fantastic car is enjoying it so much, it’s a truly great car to drive. But please just check up on a few points before saying it’s substantially different to a stock 348 because it simply isn’t – all later cars ate this good. It doesn’t have more power (all later cars were 320bhp) the suspension changes were to all models. The car itself isn’t lighter, only the seats are. In fact the only differences are the Challenge exhaust, the brakes, a small change to the fuel system to stop fuel starvation when cornering and safety equipment.
My point? Yes this is a great car to drive. But it’s not a great car to drive because it’s different to a later model 348, it’s not. All later model 348s are this good.
And the test bed for the 355 wasn’t the 348 Challenge. It was the Michelotto 348 CSAI-GT and GTC LM where the under car aero was developed. Everything else on the 348 Challenge is on a standard later model 348.