This is a coffee table made from a Ferrari F119 V8, the engine originally fitted to the Ferrari 348. This example has been left with its original patina intact, and it arguably looks better than similar coffee tables that have been made with freshly repainted engines.
The Ferrari 348 has the unusual distinction of being the final V8 model thats development was directly overseen by Enzo Ferrari, before his passing in 1988, though it was approved for production posthumously.
The styling of the Ferrari 348 TB was a little more toned down that the Testarossa, but it featured similar side strakes that have become a symbol of the era in which the car was designed.
As with many Ferraris that had come before, the 348 was named after its engine – it was powered by a 3.4 liter V8 and it would be these three numbers combined that formed the model name.
The cars also had either TB or TS suffixed to the name, these stood for “Trasversale Berlinetta” or “Trasversale Spider” respectively, noting that the engine is mounted transversely with berlinetta meaning coupe and spider meaning convertible.
The styling of the 348 TB/TS was most significantly influenced by the Ferrari Testarossa, with its large intakes in front of the rear wheels and its side strakes. There was all some style influence taken from the model that the 348 was replacing, the Ferrari 328. This should perhaps be no surprise as both of these earlier cars were designed by Leonardo Fioravanti at Pininfarina, who would also pen the 348.
The engine fitted to the 348 was a dry sump 90º V8 with an alloy block and heads. It had double overhead cams, four valves per cylinder, a bore x stroke of 85 mm x 75 mm, a compression ratio of 10.4:1, a displacement of 3,404cc, and it was good for 300 bhp at 7,200 rpm.
Power was sent to the rear wheels via a 5-speed manual transaxle, it would be one of the last mass-produced Ferraris offered with a gated-manual transmission only, with no automatic or paddle shift option.
This coffee table is made from the well-patinated engine from a Ferrari 348. It’s fitted with a tempered glass top which has a cutout in the middle to allow the intake manifold to rise through.
The coffee table shown here has a tempered glass tabletop held in place with four padded metal posts, the glass measures approximately 34″ square. A rectangular hole has been cut into the tabletop to allow the intake manifold to rise above the surface, and the table rides on four lockable caster wheels fitted to the base.
The table is now being offered for sale out of Napa, California on Bring a Trailer. It comes with its own shipping crate for easy transport, and you can visit the listing here if you’d like to read more or register to bid.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
