New addition to the 360 line -- which currently includes 2 street cars (Modena coupe and Spider) and 1 track car (Challenge car).
Interesting to see if Honda might match serve with a similar limited-edition factory special.
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Introduction
Ever since 1993, Ferrari’s V8 mid-engined berlinetta models have provided the ideal basis for a single-make racing series that has demonstrated itself the ideal springboard for many Ferrari drivers to further motorsports experience.
With the launch of the 360 Modena Challenge in 2000, the level of competitiveness of the Ferrari Challenge series took a huge step forward. Along with the F50, the 360 Modena was instrumental in pushing the boundaries of road-car production ever closer to the company’s racing roots, with uncompromising engineering and, in particular, levels of aerodynamic development previously unheard of on a series production car.
Early development work on the Challenge version of the car was extremely promising, with the 360 proving lighter, faster and sharper-handling than the outgoing F355.
Since the introduction of the 360 Modena, Ferrari has received numerous requests for factory-prepared cars for other international championships. With the help of factory backing, the JMB Competition team 360 fought off the Porsche competition to take the 2001 FIA N-GT World Championship team and drivers’ titles.
On the strength of this showing, Ferrari has decided to produce a specific model - the 360 GT - derived from the Challenge car for privateers in the FIA N-GT and A.C.O. (Automobile Club de l’Ouest) championships in 2002. Production will be strictly limited to around 30 cars over the next three years and enquiries regarding the two versions (which differ exclusively for the aerodynamic packages and, in the case of the FIA car, the adoption of the F1-style shift) can be made directly to authorised dealers.
Aerodynamics
The majority of aerodynamic modifications were involved in developing the 360 GT specifically for the ACO championship regulations which call for a totally flat underbody between the centre points of the two axles, leaving just the area ahead of the front wheels and to the rear of the back wheels open to modification.
Ing. Carmassi of the production side wind tunnel team used a 1:2.5 scale model of the ACO version to comply with the regulatory restrictions, increasing the downforce over both axles in equal measure. The flat underbody fairing is thus a single carbon-fibre moulding, with a new stepped front diffuser (higher at the centre of the car, and lower ahead of the wheels) and a single, full-width diffuser at the rear, rather than the 360 Modena’s twin diffusers either side of the gearbox housing.
The larger front water radiators called for a totally new front bumper design, with bigger intakes to offset the fact that a finer mesh is used for the grilles to prevent dirt and stones damaging the radiators. Hot air from the radiators is expelled via vents in the front bumper immediately ahead of the wheels. The cooling ducts to the front brakes are larger and are now fed from the front of the car rather than from below the nose as on the Challenge version.
As engine cooling has proved extremely efficient on the 360 GT, the vents on top of the engine cover have been closed off to increase rear downforce, while the free-flow exhausts now exit through the rear of the engine bay rather than behind the wheelarches, again improving aerodynamic efficiency. The rear wing - developed in collaboration with Ferrari’s wind tunnel experts in 2001 - has remained unchanged.
With less restrictive regulations, the N-GT version maintains the standard production car’s highly efficient aerodynamic underbody, including the twin rear diffusers, and the only visual clues to the difference between this and the ACO version are the longer front splitter (the ACO regs limit the length of the lower lip to the overall length of the bumper) and the larger vents in the bumper ahead of the front wheels. The sill design is also different, with the ACO benefiting from an angled leading edge to make the most of downforce produced by the flat underbody.
In this configuration, early in testing the N-GT version proved on average 3.5 seconds faster at Fiorano (1’18.9") than the standard Challenge car and up to 7 seconds faster at a track like Zolder.
Power train
The major difference between the standard Challenge specifications and the FIA/ACO version of the V8 lies in the adoption of the regulatory restrictors on the intake system. The two restrictors are 30.8 mm in diameter, less than half the size of the production intakes which results in a considerable loss of power.
In accordance with the race regulations, Ferrari’s engineers have developed a number of modifications to offset the power loss induced by the restrictors, and the end result is an engine that provides 30 bhp more than the standard production engine at 8,500 rpm, and 0.5 kgm more torque slightly higher in the rev range.
To achieve these results, the 3,586 cc engine is fitted with new higher-lift camshafts, new pistons with a different combustion chamber design which increases the compression ratio to 13:1 and a free-flow exhaust.
Reciprocating masses have also been lightened to improve engine response and pick up, including the crankshaft (lighter by around 1.5 kg) and the flywheel. Ferrari’s engineers also worked on the ancillaries to reduce power drain (both the volumetric oil and water pumps have been modified) and the oil pressure in the dry sump system has been lowered again to reduce power losses through friction.
One of the keys to the 360’s victory in the 2001 FIA GT championship was the car’s superior fuel consumption. Under the guidance of Ing. Corradini, Ferrari’s engineers developed a special engine mapping for the standard road car’s Bosch electronic engine management system to reduce fuel consumption, and a secondary benefit of the progress made in this area is the reduction of the car’s fuel tank capacity to 100 litres from 114 litres, with an evident weight saving along with shorter pit stops for refuelling.
With the new engine mapping, the V8 runs on a leaner mix throughout the rev range. Thanks to a dial in the cockpit, the driver can adjust the mix during the race, adjusting the mix in 5% increments up to a maximum of 10% richer or leaner. Ferrari’s electronics engineers also incorporated a rev limiter to respect the pit lane speed limits internationally (60 or 80 km/h in Europe) and eliminated the mapping that cushions full-throttle up-shifts on the Challenge cars, allowing the 360 GT to accelerate harder and faster away from the starting grid.
With cars seeing regular use in endurance races such as Daytona, Sebring and Le Mans, considerable attention has been paid to cooling. Two larger water radiators have been incorporated at the front, while the engine oil radiator set in the standard car’s rear left flank has been replaced by a water-oil heat exchanger positioned below the car.
As the regulations require the car to use the standard production rear wings, removing the oil radiator from its original position has also allowed Ferrari’s engineers to modify the inner wheelarch to allow a lower ride height.
A petrol radiator is also provided as an option for hotter markets (such as Australia) while, on the right-hand side of the engine bay, there is an additional combined radiator for the steering servo hydraulic fluid and the gearbox oil.
The gearbox is again a modified version of the standard production 6-speed item, with lightened gears, shorter overall gearing with closer ratios and six combinations of final drive ratios to enable the gearing to be adapted to all tracks. These include three bevel type final drives and two 6th gear ratios. The regulations require that the standard production synchronisers are retained.
The gearbox is one area in which the FIA and ACO versions differ in specification. The FIA GT regulations allow Ferrari to maintain the F1-style shift which, in this application, uses the same gearbox management system as the 360 Modena road car, but with a new mapping that gives even faster shifts than the Challenge version. This is achieved thanks to the accelerator throttle remaining open during shifts (on the Challenge version, the throttle valve closes automatically under 4,000 rpm), allowing the engine to remain primed with fuel ready for full-throttle acceleration immediately the clutch is released. The ACO version instead is available exclusively with the normal manual gearbox shift.
Suspension
The race regulations require the suspension components to be strictly series production items, although other aspects of the geometry may be modified. So while retaining the standard wishbones and bushings, the 360 GT features a significantly wider front track - up around 7 cm over the production car - which has been obtained by the offset of the 18" wheels.
By comparison, the rear track is exactly the same as the donor car, because Ferrari’s engineers settled for a set-up that closely emulates that of a single-seater, with the front of the car very much leading the rear and with much stiffer springing at the front.
The 360 GT is fitted with high-performance racing shock absorbers and a new, larger diameter (37 mm) adjustable front anti-roll bar with a pick-up point on top of the front suspension rather than between the suspension wishbones. Although considerably thicker than the standard anti-roll bar, the new pick-up arm means that overall roll stiffness is only increased by about 40%. The rear anti-roll bar is in the same position as on the production car, but is now adjustable.
Further modifications include standard hub carriers with a modified lower bottom wishbone mounting point for better control of the front suspension geometry, while the rear toe-in control arm is now rigid as per the new specifications for the Challenge.
The brake system has been uprated in view of the 360 GT’s use in 24-hour endurance racing and the car is now equipped with 380 mm x 32 mm (15" x 1.26") Brembo cross-drilled and vented discs at the front and 332 x 32 mm at the rear, with six-pot callipers at the front and four-pot callipers at the rear and titanium pistons. The set-up has proved truly efficient - at Spa in 2001 the front brake pads were changed after 16 hours and the rear ones lasted the whole race.
Interesting to see if Honda might match serve with a similar limited-edition factory special.
#######################
Introduction
Ever since 1993, Ferrari’s V8 mid-engined berlinetta models have provided the ideal basis for a single-make racing series that has demonstrated itself the ideal springboard for many Ferrari drivers to further motorsports experience.
With the launch of the 360 Modena Challenge in 2000, the level of competitiveness of the Ferrari Challenge series took a huge step forward. Along with the F50, the 360 Modena was instrumental in pushing the boundaries of road-car production ever closer to the company’s racing roots, with uncompromising engineering and, in particular, levels of aerodynamic development previously unheard of on a series production car.
Early development work on the Challenge version of the car was extremely promising, with the 360 proving lighter, faster and sharper-handling than the outgoing F355.
Since the introduction of the 360 Modena, Ferrari has received numerous requests for factory-prepared cars for other international championships. With the help of factory backing, the JMB Competition team 360 fought off the Porsche competition to take the 2001 FIA N-GT World Championship team and drivers’ titles.
On the strength of this showing, Ferrari has decided to produce a specific model - the 360 GT - derived from the Challenge car for privateers in the FIA N-GT and A.C.O. (Automobile Club de l’Ouest) championships in 2002. Production will be strictly limited to around 30 cars over the next three years and enquiries regarding the two versions (which differ exclusively for the aerodynamic packages and, in the case of the FIA car, the adoption of the F1-style shift) can be made directly to authorised dealers.
Aerodynamics
The majority of aerodynamic modifications were involved in developing the 360 GT specifically for the ACO championship regulations which call for a totally flat underbody between the centre points of the two axles, leaving just the area ahead of the front wheels and to the rear of the back wheels open to modification.
Ing. Carmassi of the production side wind tunnel team used a 1:2.5 scale model of the ACO version to comply with the regulatory restrictions, increasing the downforce over both axles in equal measure. The flat underbody fairing is thus a single carbon-fibre moulding, with a new stepped front diffuser (higher at the centre of the car, and lower ahead of the wheels) and a single, full-width diffuser at the rear, rather than the 360 Modena’s twin diffusers either side of the gearbox housing.
The larger front water radiators called for a totally new front bumper design, with bigger intakes to offset the fact that a finer mesh is used for the grilles to prevent dirt and stones damaging the radiators. Hot air from the radiators is expelled via vents in the front bumper immediately ahead of the wheels. The cooling ducts to the front brakes are larger and are now fed from the front of the car rather than from below the nose as on the Challenge version.
As engine cooling has proved extremely efficient on the 360 GT, the vents on top of the engine cover have been closed off to increase rear downforce, while the free-flow exhausts now exit through the rear of the engine bay rather than behind the wheelarches, again improving aerodynamic efficiency. The rear wing - developed in collaboration with Ferrari’s wind tunnel experts in 2001 - has remained unchanged.
With less restrictive regulations, the N-GT version maintains the standard production car’s highly efficient aerodynamic underbody, including the twin rear diffusers, and the only visual clues to the difference between this and the ACO version are the longer front splitter (the ACO regs limit the length of the lower lip to the overall length of the bumper) and the larger vents in the bumper ahead of the front wheels. The sill design is also different, with the ACO benefiting from an angled leading edge to make the most of downforce produced by the flat underbody.
In this configuration, early in testing the N-GT version proved on average 3.5 seconds faster at Fiorano (1’18.9") than the standard Challenge car and up to 7 seconds faster at a track like Zolder.
Power train
The major difference between the standard Challenge specifications and the FIA/ACO version of the V8 lies in the adoption of the regulatory restrictors on the intake system. The two restrictors are 30.8 mm in diameter, less than half the size of the production intakes which results in a considerable loss of power.
In accordance with the race regulations, Ferrari’s engineers have developed a number of modifications to offset the power loss induced by the restrictors, and the end result is an engine that provides 30 bhp more than the standard production engine at 8,500 rpm, and 0.5 kgm more torque slightly higher in the rev range.
To achieve these results, the 3,586 cc engine is fitted with new higher-lift camshafts, new pistons with a different combustion chamber design which increases the compression ratio to 13:1 and a free-flow exhaust.
Reciprocating masses have also been lightened to improve engine response and pick up, including the crankshaft (lighter by around 1.5 kg) and the flywheel. Ferrari’s engineers also worked on the ancillaries to reduce power drain (both the volumetric oil and water pumps have been modified) and the oil pressure in the dry sump system has been lowered again to reduce power losses through friction.
One of the keys to the 360’s victory in the 2001 FIA GT championship was the car’s superior fuel consumption. Under the guidance of Ing. Corradini, Ferrari’s engineers developed a special engine mapping for the standard road car’s Bosch electronic engine management system to reduce fuel consumption, and a secondary benefit of the progress made in this area is the reduction of the car’s fuel tank capacity to 100 litres from 114 litres, with an evident weight saving along with shorter pit stops for refuelling.
With the new engine mapping, the V8 runs on a leaner mix throughout the rev range. Thanks to a dial in the cockpit, the driver can adjust the mix during the race, adjusting the mix in 5% increments up to a maximum of 10% richer or leaner. Ferrari’s electronics engineers also incorporated a rev limiter to respect the pit lane speed limits internationally (60 or 80 km/h in Europe) and eliminated the mapping that cushions full-throttle up-shifts on the Challenge cars, allowing the 360 GT to accelerate harder and faster away from the starting grid.
With cars seeing regular use in endurance races such as Daytona, Sebring and Le Mans, considerable attention has been paid to cooling. Two larger water radiators have been incorporated at the front, while the engine oil radiator set in the standard car’s rear left flank has been replaced by a water-oil heat exchanger positioned below the car.
As the regulations require the car to use the standard production rear wings, removing the oil radiator from its original position has also allowed Ferrari’s engineers to modify the inner wheelarch to allow a lower ride height.
A petrol radiator is also provided as an option for hotter markets (such as Australia) while, on the right-hand side of the engine bay, there is an additional combined radiator for the steering servo hydraulic fluid and the gearbox oil.
The gearbox is again a modified version of the standard production 6-speed item, with lightened gears, shorter overall gearing with closer ratios and six combinations of final drive ratios to enable the gearing to be adapted to all tracks. These include three bevel type final drives and two 6th gear ratios. The regulations require that the standard production synchronisers are retained.
The gearbox is one area in which the FIA and ACO versions differ in specification. The FIA GT regulations allow Ferrari to maintain the F1-style shift which, in this application, uses the same gearbox management system as the 360 Modena road car, but with a new mapping that gives even faster shifts than the Challenge version. This is achieved thanks to the accelerator throttle remaining open during shifts (on the Challenge version, the throttle valve closes automatically under 4,000 rpm), allowing the engine to remain primed with fuel ready for full-throttle acceleration immediately the clutch is released. The ACO version instead is available exclusively with the normal manual gearbox shift.
Suspension
The race regulations require the suspension components to be strictly series production items, although other aspects of the geometry may be modified. So while retaining the standard wishbones and bushings, the 360 GT features a significantly wider front track - up around 7 cm over the production car - which has been obtained by the offset of the 18" wheels.
By comparison, the rear track is exactly the same as the donor car, because Ferrari’s engineers settled for a set-up that closely emulates that of a single-seater, with the front of the car very much leading the rear and with much stiffer springing at the front.
The 360 GT is fitted with high-performance racing shock absorbers and a new, larger diameter (37 mm) adjustable front anti-roll bar with a pick-up point on top of the front suspension rather than between the suspension wishbones. Although considerably thicker than the standard anti-roll bar, the new pick-up arm means that overall roll stiffness is only increased by about 40%. The rear anti-roll bar is in the same position as on the production car, but is now adjustable.
Further modifications include standard hub carriers with a modified lower bottom wishbone mounting point for better control of the front suspension geometry, while the rear toe-in control arm is now rigid as per the new specifications for the Challenge.
The brake system has been uprated in view of the 360 GT’s use in 24-hour endurance racing and the car is now equipped with 380 mm x 32 mm (15" x 1.26") Brembo cross-drilled and vented discs at the front and 332 x 32 mm at the rear, with six-pot callipers at the front and four-pot callipers at the rear and titanium pistons. The set-up has proved truly efficient - at Spa in 2001 the front brake pads were changed after 16 hours and the rear ones lasted the whole race.
