2002 Ferrari 360 Modena | The Stable Garage

If the Testarossa was the car that started our obsession, the 360 Modena was the one that confirmed it was incurable. We found ours in Rosso Corsa — because of course we did — with a six-speed manual and the open-gate shifter that Ferrari would eventually abandon, and we drove it hard for every mile we owned it. The 3.6-litre V8 screams to 8,500 rpm with a ferocity that no turbocharged engine can replicate, and the gate itself is a piece of sculpture: you slot each gear with a satisfying mechanical click that makes you want to change down just to do it again. We took it through the Santa Monica Mountains, up into the hills above Malibu, and once on a long weekend down through the Ojai Valley and back along the coast. The 360 is approachable in a way the Testarossa never quite was — you can drive it every day and still be grinning at every traffic light — but it never lets you forget what it is. One of the great naturally aspirated Ferraris, and we miss it every time we hear a V8 at full song.