2002 Ferrari 360 Modena Review (continued)
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Walkaround

This car stops traffic. Although its rounded lines abandon such traditional Ferrari styling cues as the chrome egg crate grille, passersby don't seem to mind. The two large air intakes on the 360's slopping nose drew rave reviews from admirers of all ages.

Also absent are the pop-up headlamps worn by all of the 360 Modena's predecessors, which have included the 308 (made famous by Tom Selleck on Magnum P.I.). Replacing pop-up headlamps are glass-covered headlamp clusters, which arch back to the Ferrari's of the late 1950s.

As you look rearward, past the 360's shapely mirrors, sleek door handles and menacing air intakes, you reach the car's most striking feature, its glass covered engine. One look down through that large glass hatch at the Ferrari-badged V8, and it's obvious that this is a special car.

Out back are traditional Ferrari taillights, and four exhaust pipes shoved through holes shaped to mimic the car's front air intakes. Nice touch. And of course, as it should be, there's a rather large chrome prancing horse smack dab in the middle of it all.

As attractive and sexy as it is, every part of the 360's exterior, even its undercarriage, has an aerodynamic purpose. The car's sweeping lines and unique flat bottom are the result of 5000 hours of wind tunnel testing. It's a shape that works with the wind to actually suck the car down to the road the faster the car is driven.

Low and wide the 360 rides on racy, lightweight five-spoke alloy wheels and 18-inch tires. Look past those wheels and you'll find huge cross-drilled racecar-style disc brakes with the Ferrari name riding along on the brake calipers. Another terrific detail.

Interior Features

Although the 360 is easily the most comfortable and user friendly mid-engine Ferrari ever, this is not a very easy car to climb into nor a very easy car to drive.

The wide door sills of its predecessor are history, but the 360 sits very low to the ground, so some leg muscle is needed to get behind the wheel. You must also get around the large bolsters of the driver's seats, which seem to take a beating over time. The seat leather on our test car was showing some wear.

Once in, you're surrounded by the finest materials we've ever seen in an automobile. The leather, which covers everything, is top notch. The console, door panels and dash are polished aluminum. And the plastics used for the switches and air conditioning vents are heavy to the touch. Even the toggle switches that control things like the trunk latch and the defogger require a heavy hand to operate. Everything about this car says quality, nothing feels loose or flimsy.

The seats are firm, but comfortable and supportive. They feature adjustments, albeit manual, for lumbar and the width of those big bolsters, so just about anyone can get cozy. Behind the seats is some storage space, which Ferrari says will fit a golf bag, and a net for small items like maps or the latest issue of Forbes.

Ergonomic problems are limited to the odd offset of the pedals toward the center of the car, which takes some getting used to, the poor reception and poorly marked controls of the car's audio system, and the lack of any cupholders. With time we grew to like the placement of the window switches, which are on either side of the stereo.

Ahead of the driver is a fat racecar-like steering wheel and a well laid out gauge cluster that's easy to read with a 10,000-rpm tachometer front and center. Only the gas gauge, which goes from full to empty rather rapidly, is a bit hidden behind the wheel. We like the odd green night lighting of the dials.