The Ferrari 308 GT4 is the least expensive way to get into the Ferrari experience. Production Numbers Year....308 GT4....208 GT4
1974.......76...........41
1975......598.........468
1976......439.........193
1977......320..........84
1978......267..........24
1979......326..........47
1980......112..........23
Performance Max. speed......154
0-30................2.5
0-40................3.6
0-50................5.4
0-60................6.9
0-70................9.1
0-80...............11.4
0-90...............15.2
0-100.............18.1
0-110.............22.4
0-120.............30.3
mpg city............12
mpg hwy............19
The Affordable Ferrari Though it has been around since 1974 the Ferrari 308 GT4 seems to have found its place in the world of Ferraris. Recent magazine articles have featured the car as one of the best driving V8 Ferraris and an automotive bargain that can be had for less than the price of a new Honda Accord. Ferrari enthusiasts who at one time looked down on its lack of a V12 and its Bertone styled body now appreciate the car for what it is - a great driving Ferrari that you can enjoy every day.
The 308 GT4 came at a time that
Ferrari was reinventing itself. It was still adjusting to the marriage with Fiat that had shifted the production of road cars so as to leave Enzo
Ferrari more time and resources to devote to his passion for racing. The first child of this marriage had been the Dino 206 and later the 246 which could supply production based numbers for a competitive Formula Two engine. The 246, though not officially badged as a
Ferrari, was well received and quickly earned a place in enthusiast's hearts as the "baby
Ferrari." It had a sibling from Fiat as well in the Fiat Dino coupe styled by Bertone and a spyder styled by Pinin Farina. It was from this tangled relationship of Fiat/
Ferrari that the design contract went to the pens of Bertone.
Humble Beginnings
The car debuted at the Paris auto show in 1973 and began production in 1974. It was badged as a Dino, a status unchanged until floundering sales led Maranello to replace the Dino labels with the prancing horse. Traditional star-patterned five spoke wheels replaced the Dino wheels and boxer trim was added to many of the cars residing on dealers lots. The car got great reviews on its driving but there were many who disliked the angular styling especially in the long shadow of the popular 246.
Acceptance
After more than 20 years much of this hardly seems in issue. V8s in Ferraris are an accepted fact. Even though the GT4 remains the only major
Ferrari designed by Bertone (the other being a 250 SWB GT) its looks are more accepted as such cars as the Lotus Esprit, the Maserati Bora and Merak, the Fiat X/19 came forth all echoing the lines of the V8
Ferrari. The Dino 308 GT4 actually has something on many of the cars that have succeeded it. With its four Weber carburetors hissing a throaty song, its dual distributors and coils providing the spark, and the wonderful workings of all of its mechanical parts the GT4 harks back to the end of an era before fuel injection, troubling electrics and the omnipresent computers that rule the world of automobiles today. The 308 GT4 is today what so many people said it never was - a true
Ferrari.
The Heart
The 308 GT4, like any
Ferrari, shares in the legacy of the finest sporting traditions in the world. Its motor, a 3 liter double overhead cam, is directly descended from the Formula One motor that propelled John Surtees to a World Championship in 1964. Driven by separate cam belts and fed by four Weber carburetors the motor produces 240 horsepower at 6600 rpm in its US trim. It is, in fact, this powerplant that really sets this Dino apart from its predecessor. On paper the V6-powered 246 is very close in performance figures to the 308 and betters it in some areas. Owners who have experienced both models, however, remark that going from the 246 to the 308 is akin to stepping into a Corvette. The eight cylinder powered car produces its power at a more useable range making everyday driving a more enthralling experience. The motor produces a sound unique among other sports cars. While the Cobra and its big block cousins shake the ground with their low rumble the
Ferrari fills the air with a melodic song unlike anything else.
Suspension
The suspension is standard
Ferrari and largely a holdover from the 246. It is a tube frame, though in this case the tubes happen to be square. Each corner is supported by double wishbones with Koni shocks surrounded by coil springs. Vented disk brakes provide the stopping power with ducts to funnel cool air to the front. Steering is rack and pinion and though it lacks power assist it is light and precise, improving with speed. The wheelbase is a tad over 100 inches, about eight inches longer than its cousins the 246 and the 308 GTB/GTS.
The Inside Story
A striking difference between this car and its shorter stablemates is the level of comfort within. Granted, this
Ferrari is no luxo-tourer like the 400A or the 456. Compare it to the GTB or the 246 and you can begin to appreciate what a few inches can mean. The GT4 is 3.5 inches taller with a wide-opening door making ingress/egress a much simpler task. With the extra space behind the front seats the car feels roomier as well. The driving position is typical Italian elbows and knees out with the wheel well forcing your feet to the middle. There's a nice dead pedal and the brake and throttle are well suited to heel and toe driving.
Ferrari aficionados will appreciate the fact that Enzo himself determined the arrangement for the interior. Marcello Gandini, chief stylist for Nuccio Bertone, remembered it this way, "Because
Ferrari was against a longer wheelbase that comfortably housed four seats, we prepared a mockup with pedals, four seats and an engine. This mockup could be made longer or shorter using a hydraulic pump so
Ferrari himself could decide on the pedal's position and the interior space, thus obtaining a wheelbase as short as possible."
Get Back
This left little room for the back seats and there is much discussion as to whether the second 2 shouldn't be more like 2 x .65 or something of that nature. In practice the rear seats are well suited to children making the car a wonderful Family
Ferrari. Even larger people can ride in the back providing the front seat passengers cooperate some and the trip is not too long. Even my 6 foot, 190 pound frame fits back there but requires a legs-open position to accommodate the front seatback which then resides inches from your face. Once, while giving a ride to a friend and his son I had a chance to test the limits. I can attest to the fact that it is possible for a 6'2" 210 pounds person to ride shotgun with a skinny six-footer behind for a short trip though care should be taken through turns as it tends to bottom the already low suspension. Don't make the mistake of being rash and discounting the practicality of the back two seats - without them there would be many times that you could not drive the
Ferrari and would have to rely on some other four-seater. Besides, for me there are only two types of driving: 1) when I am driving the
Ferrari and 2) when I wish I was driving the
Ferrari.
Value and Practicality
People react very differently to the car. There are those, especially little boys and older men, who show excited enthusiasm and will point and jump at the sight of a
Ferrari. Other people look upon it as the ultimate extravagance. It's possible that co-workers who seemed so nice no longer talk to you and while they'll look at a friends new pickup they won't step near your new
Ferrari. Women usually don't look at all.
Most people think of Ferraris as tremendously expensive but many people spend the same amount of money on lesser cars. A new Honda, Toyota, or Nissan can cost as much or more than a good GT4 but when you figure the cost of depreciation things narrow out quite a bit. GT4s sold new for about $27,000 more than 20 years ago and now go for a few thousand less than that. A new SUV will cost more than that and will lose $10,000 in 10 years at least. Now, of course you shouldn't buy a
Ferrari as an economy measure but there are few things that give as much joy fetching a gallon or two of milk than a
Ferrari.
Parting is Such... work
Naturally, if owning a
Ferrari were such a simple and practical task there would be one parked in every neighborhood. The fact is, however, that ownership requires its own mindset. It is after all an Italian car, a mechanized piece of sculpture designed for rapid transit regardless of cost. Italian mechanics are not necessarily known for being trouble free. Parts can be expensive although those owners with initiative will find that many parts cross-over to less expensive Fiat or Alfa parts. Door handles are reportedly the same as X1/9 ones, radiator fan switches are the same thread as Fiat and Alfas, and although the
Ferrari thermostat is unique my
Ferrari runs cool with a Robert Shaw brand that my dad had bought for his GMC motorhome. Finding parts that fit often involves a few calls to different folks but you soon learn to remove a part and carry it to a Schucks or Pep Boys and ask if they have one. Invariably they will ask, "Is that off a Toyota?" to which I shyly respond, "No, it's off a
Ferrari but a Toyota part may fit."
Final Words
So that's about it. They are great cars but they have a way at keeping you busy. There is a bright side to older exotic cars like this one. Even though they are complicated machinery carefully engineered to deliver great handling and speed they are remarkably simple by today's standards. There are no computers measureing airflow or temperature. Though hard to adjust, the four carburetors are not complicated. There are no grease fittings underneath so changing the oil is just 13 quarts of your favorite stuff and the oil filter is right on top and easy to get to. Doing any work underneath means elevating the car (unless you can slide under less than 5 inches of clearance) but then it's pretty straight ahead stuff. If you are on the interenet there is a lot of help out there in the
Ferrari listserver and the
Ferrari Club of America offers regional get-togethers, newsletters, track days and more.
Bottom line? If you've ever dreamed of owning a
Ferrari stop dreaming and start working towards that goal. After all, you only go around life once and if you go faster you can cover more ground.
This late model...
...featured a sun roof and a four-point harness that was attached quite cleverly to a bar that ran across the back and was connected to the normal attachment points.
Another difference I noted was that the later cars had orange or red lettering on the gearshift knob as opposed to the white found on earlier years.
.
Turbo läuft und läuft und läuft...
Linear-Darstellung
