Lot Ended
Description
Only 55,300 miles with excellent service history; Nouvalari sports
exhaust; few owners, the current for 8 years; a beautiful example of this fine
Italian sportscar
Launched in
1989 to replace the 308/328 range, the mid-engined 348 marked a real departure
for Ferrari as it was their first car to use monocoque construction in place of
a tubular chassis frame.
It was also unusual in
having a longitudinally-mounted V8 engine with a transverse gearbox (like the
288 GTO), and radiators sited in the flanks rather than the nose (like the
Testarossa) which made the cabin easier to keep cool in heavy traffic. It came
in two body styles, a closed coupe (the TB) and an open Targa Spider
(TS).
The engine was a naturally aspirated
3.4-litre version of the quad-cam, 4-valve per cylinder V8 originally found in
the 288 GTO and produced 300bhp and 238lb/ft of torque. Driving through a
five-speed manual gearbox it could catapult the car to 60mph in just 5.4 seconds
on its way to a top speed of 171mph.
The
coil-over-wishbone suspension was independent all round and adjustable for ride
height, while anti-lock brakes and air conditioning were fitted as standard.
Looking very much like a baby version of the Testarossa, it proved to be one of
the most commercially successful Ferraris ever, selling some 8,000 units before
it was replaced by the 355 in 1995.
Supplied
new by Graypaul Ferrari of Loughborough in April 1991, this gorgeous 348TS Targa
top has had just four owners to date and has covered 55,285 miles with an
excellent service history comprising 10 stamps in the book (plus many supporting
invoices), the last at 52,504 miles in May 2016 when the cam belt was also
replaced.
The car was serviced again in April
2019 at 54,063 miles by Allitalia of Wrexham who also fitted a Nouvalari
Engineering sports exhaust, a race type battery and mounting points for a
4-point race harness behind the driver’s seat. They also carried out a 4-wheel
laser alignment geometry check but did not stamp the service
book.
Our vendor acquired the Ferrari in 2015
to join a collection of cars and has looked after it fastidiously. As you can
see in the photos it really is superb and you will find it hard to fault. It
also sounds wonderful thanks to the sports exhaust. Supplied with all its
original handbooks in the original leather wallet, it also retains its original
Ferrari tool kit in its original leather case, Ferrari torch, two keys and
an indoor car cover.
Supplied with an MOT until April 2024 with no advisories recorded,
the car was driven over 120 miles to the sale and has been starting promptly and
running beautifully as we have moved it around on site. As you can probably
tell, we really love this car and it is delightfully easy to drive, displaying
none of the temperament often associated with Italian supercars. Go on, you only
live once…
For more information contact
James on 07970 309907 or email james.dennison@brightwells.com
* All charges are subject to VAT