The 360 GT's origins trace to the 360 N-GT, a 360 Challenge car further developed by Michelotto Automobili — Ferrari's long-standing competition preparation partner — for N-GT class eligibility in the FIA GT Championship. The N-GT category accommodated production-based grand touring cars, and the 360 Modena's mid-engined V8 architecture was well suited to the regulations.
Team JMB Giesse raced the 360 in the 2001 FIA GT Championship and won both the N-GT Cup for Drivers and the N-GT Cup for Teams, validating the car's competitiveness in the class before Ferrari began formal customer production.
The 360 GT was based on the same Pininfarina-designed aluminium space-frame chassis as the road car but underwent extensive lightening and strengthening for competition use. Significant weight reduction was achieved over the standard 360 Challenge cars through measures that included lightening the wiring loom — saving 7 kg alone — replacing the standard doors with one-piece carbon fibre units, removing the front compartment lid and all unnecessary brackets, and stripping all items not required for racing.
The final kerb weight of the 360 GT was 1,070 kg (2,359 lb) — 91 kg lighter than the 360 Challenge cars — though ballast was used to bring the car back up to the N-GT regulation minimum of 1,100 kg (2,425 lb). The 3.6-litre, 90-degree V8 engine was tuned to generate 436 PS (321 kW; 430 hp), a significant increase over the 360 Challenge's output and well above the road car's 400 PS figure.
From 2004, Ferrari Corse Clienti and Michelotto introduced the 360 GTC as the successor to the 360 GT. The GTC was newly homologated by the FIA and ACO from the Challenge Stradale road car, incorporating revised aerodynamic elements including the Challenge Stradale's front bumper, side skirts, engine cover, and rear end treatment. Wind tunnel research produced a new rear wing system with improved vertical downforce.
The GTC's V8 engine was further developed, raising peak power to 479 PS (352 kW; 472 hp) at 8,750 rpm while still breathing through the mandatory 30.8 mm air restrictors required for N-GT class racing. Without the restrictors in place the engine produced approximately 550 hp on the dynamometer. A sequential six-speed gearbox and an improved Magneti Marelli electronics package were fitted as standard. Kerb weight remained 1,100 kg with ballast.
The 360 GT and its N-GT predecessor competed across multiple seasons of the FIA GT Championship, with customer teams running the cars in Europe and internationally. The N-GT was noted for its ability to outperform even newer machinery in the right conditions: the most recent major victory achieved by a 360 Michelotto car was by SB Race Engineering at the 2011 Britcar Championship, where the 360 N-GT outperformed the newer Ferrari F430 GT.
In Australia, the 360 N-GT was raced by Prancing Horse Racing in the 2002 Nations Cup Championship for GT cars, with John Bowe finishing third in the championship. The car also contested the 2002 Bathurst 24 Hour at Mount Panorama, where Brad Jones qualified it on pole position. The car ran as high as second overall during the race, behind the outright-leading Holden Monaro, before retiring with oil pressure problems.
The 360 GT programme established Michelotto Automobili as the definitive Corse Clienti preparation partner for Ferrari's mid-engined V8 race cars during the early 2000s. The 360 GT was the final car built through the Ferrari-Michelotto collaboration, with subsequent customer programme work moving in-house to Maranello. The 360 GT's success in the N-GT class demonstrated that a relatively compact naturally aspirated V8 could remain competitive against larger-engined rivals when well-prepared and lightly built.