Ferrari 308 GTB/GTS – 1975 (50 years)

Ferrari 308 GTB/GTS – 1975 (50 years)
Oh good grief, how cool is the Ferrari 308 GTB/GTS? Well, Magnum PI drove one and that’s pretty much all you need to know. The 308 GTB/S is what you might call an underrated classic, but let’s face it, it looks rather lovely – much like Tom Selleck’s moustache.

The Ferrari 308 GTB Berlinetta (hard top) and GTS (targa top) are what you will inevitably see in your mind’s eye if somebody mentioned the words ‘sports car’ to you. It’s the classic shape and it’s what geeks would use for a generic ‘drive along a road for a bit’ computer game.

It is the epitome of sports car design – a bit barbie, a bit beautiful, a bit Tom Selleck. Of course, there are more beautiful cars – the Miura, the 250 GT – blah-de-blah-de-blah, but this model, with hard or targa top encapsulates what a sports car should be about. You might call it gauche, particularly for those in high-falutin’ classic car owner circles. Some think it’s just not quite cool enough.

Let’s set the record straight here. It is.

So, let’s fling in a few facts to keep us all in the loop. The 308 replaced the Dino 246 GT and GTS in 1975 and it was updated as the 328 GTB/GTS in 1985. It is arguable which looks better – the original or the updated version.  No matter, who cares?

The 308 accommodated a tube frame with a separate body. Under the bonnet lay a 2.9-litre V8 engine with a five-speed manual. European versions produced 252bhp at 6600rpm (7700rpm redline), but American versions were down to 237bhp at 6,600rpm due to emissions controls devices. It wasn’t particularly fast – 0-60mph could be achieved in 6.7 seconds (a Tesla Model 3 does the benchmark time in 4.3 seconds) and top speed, with a fair wind behind, was around 170mph.

It was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in 1975 and everyone went bonkers for it. Showgoers and the press loved the Ferrari 308 GTB as soon as the wraps came off. It was regarded as an elegant and desirable replacement for the previous Dino 246.

The point being is that it was designed by Pininfarina and to be fair, it couldn’t lose in view of the rather uninspiring wedginess of the somewhat unloved 308 GT4 that preceded it.

The 308 GTB/S subsequently became a huge commercial success, becoming the most popular Ferrari model produced up to that point but… later on, people started to get rather snotty about it and used prices went into decline, particularly in the early 2000s. Familiarity bred contempt, it seems, and purists loyal to 1960s Ferraris decided it was ‘not for them’. The 308 GTB/S was heresy: they wanted cars that were inordinately expensive. Good luck to ’em.

Inevitably, what’s fashionable is cyclical. Now, all manner of YouTubers producing road test videos are at pains to explain to us that they are now ‘in love’ with the GTB/GTS. The car has had a renaissance and now prices are climbing. Get on the 308 GTB/GTS bandwagon if you are an investor.

There’s plenty to admire about the design of this car. The pop-up lights, side scoops, the well-proportioned profile and, if you view it from any angle – from the front, side, rear or three-quarters – the result is fundamentally pleasing.

It doesn’t feel particularly unique as a piece of sports car design, but it did create a fuss when it was unveiled in 1975. It is, probably, the ‘ultimate’ Ferrari, not because it is stupidly fast, or great around corners or that it has raised the bar technologically speaking, but because it combines all the things that sports car owners require: beauty, refinement and a sense that as soon as you get behind the wheel, you are in something very special. All you need to do now, is grow a moustache.