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| Let's face it, it was never an ugly car |
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| But now, it's just stunning |
Most of you have seen a Ferrari 360 Modena at least once in your lifetime. Someone important, or simply rich, drove by, and sure, you wished that car for yourself. I know I did. Wishing didn’t make me a millionaire, though.
For those of you that are actually chasing the driving dynamics of a 360, look the other way. This is not written for you. Those of you that want just those gorgeous lines, keep reading.
The Extreme 360 is a kit manufactured by the Extreme Sportscars. And for sure, this is the most exact kit you can find. If you look at them, standing next to each other, you can’t really spot the difference. Well, OK, you can, if you look at the interior, or the small brakes and huge spacers, but honestly, this thing really looks like a proper Ferrari.
The way that’s been achieved is simple - the company looked out of the box. They were searching for an appropriate donor, but as much as they looked, there was no RWD car with similar proportions. This is where the ‘out of the box thinking” kicks in - they checked out the FWD coupes, and bingo, they found their donor - a Peugeot 406 coupe.
The 406 is a relatively nice car to drive. Not overly sporty, comfortable, but with similar length and windscreen width as the 360. A good looking car in my opinion, and kind of a shame to chop, but hey, it’s a matter of taste, right? I’ve seen one of those tuned with nothing but a big, ugly front bumper, and everything else stock! So, find one like that, already ruined, and save a nice looking car from shame.
The chopping procedure is complicated. Can you imagine then what the assembly procedure looks like? No? Well, we’ll start from bending the roof, welding steel to connect it all, and basically shopping up the whole front of the car to fit the kit. It is a really complex procedure. You can choose to preserve the back seats, but with the roof already so low down, better just get those out, and get the fake engine cover in. It will look way more authentic, and those rear seats won’t really be usable anymore. You want the looks? Be prepared for the compromises.
I don’t really like the fact that the car drives the front wheels. Just imagine the embarrassment, you are on a wet road, the lights go green, and your blood red Ferrari starts like a dart, making a cloud of smoke with it’s front... Hey, is that guy’s Ferrari burning the rubber on it’s FRONT wheels? What the heck? Ugh. Not really my first choice. Still, if you are careful about those fast starts, you can still save your pride, and be driving around in one of the finest replicas in the world.
Oh, one last thing for the end - Extreme Sportscars did build the one with two engines. Yes, two! One 3 liter V6 in the front driving the front wheels, and one in the back, driving the rear wheels! That car had about the same amount of power as the original, the fake engine cover in the back, a lot of noise, and great traction. And it was expensive - actually, more expensive than buying an used 360. But hey, if you want only the looks, they don’t get much better than this.
For those of you that are actually chasing the driving dynamics of a 360, look the other way. This is not written for you. Those of you that want just those gorgeous lines, keep reading.
The Extreme 360 is a kit manufactured by the Extreme Sportscars. And for sure, this is the most exact kit you can find. If you look at them, standing next to each other, you can’t really spot the difference. Well, OK, you can, if you look at the interior, or the small brakes and huge spacers, but honestly, this thing really looks like a proper Ferrari.
The way that’s been achieved is simple - the company looked out of the box. They were searching for an appropriate donor, but as much as they looked, there was no RWD car with similar proportions. This is where the ‘out of the box thinking” kicks in - they checked out the FWD coupes, and bingo, they found their donor - a Peugeot 406 coupe.
The 406 is a relatively nice car to drive. Not overly sporty, comfortable, but with similar length and windscreen width as the 360. A good looking car in my opinion, and kind of a shame to chop, but hey, it’s a matter of taste, right? I’ve seen one of those tuned with nothing but a big, ugly front bumper, and everything else stock! So, find one like that, already ruined, and save a nice looking car from shame.
The chopping procedure is complicated. Can you imagine then what the assembly procedure looks like? No? Well, we’ll start from bending the roof, welding steel to connect it all, and basically shopping up the whole front of the car to fit the kit. It is a really complex procedure. You can choose to preserve the back seats, but with the roof already so low down, better just get those out, and get the fake engine cover in. It will look way more authentic, and those rear seats won’t really be usable anymore. You want the looks? Be prepared for the compromises.
I don’t really like the fact that the car drives the front wheels. Just imagine the embarrassment, you are on a wet road, the lights go green, and your blood red Ferrari starts like a dart, making a cloud of smoke with it’s front... Hey, is that guy’s Ferrari burning the rubber on it’s FRONT wheels? What the heck? Ugh. Not really my first choice. Still, if you are careful about those fast starts, you can still save your pride, and be driving around in one of the finest replicas in the world.
Oh, one last thing for the end - Extreme Sportscars did build the one with two engines. Yes, two! One 3 liter V6 in the front driving the front wheels, and one in the back, driving the rear wheels! That car had about the same amount of power as the original, the fake engine cover in the back, a lot of noise, and great traction. And it was expensive - actually, more expensive than buying an used 360. But hey, if you want only the looks, they don’t get much better than this.
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| The one with the ugly wheels is a replica, of course |
The manufacturer website can be found here.
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