Both Ferrari and Pininfarina had quite a surprise in store when they debuted the 308 at the 1975 Paris Auto Show. Consider the times. The world was still reeling from the fuel crisis and car design was struggling with rapidly changing standards. The 308 launched into what has to be regarded as the pinnacle of the visual doldrums in the auto industry. Pininfarina designer Leonardo Fioravanti, having already designed many of Ferrari’s most celebrated cars, including the Daytona, the Dino, and the Berlinetta Boxer, captured a fresh shape with taut new energy. And while the design was clearly reminiscent of the 246 (the car it would effectively replace) with integrated door to fender side scoops, mid-engine, and vast glass work, the 308 arrived as a new market maker for Ferrari with clear intentions of changing the world of sports cars.
The 308 styling was both dramatic and beautiful, quickly becoming a feature of television shows and movies, shaping public opinion about what a sports car should look and feel like. Mechanically, the car featured the same layout as the GT4, with a transverse 3.0-liter, quad-cam V8, first offered with carburetion and later with fuel-injection. Although the initial design was limited to a fixed roof configuration, the GTS arrived in 1977, featuring a removable satin black roof panel, which could be stowed in a vinyl cover behind the seats when not in use. Through its decade of production iterations, the 308 vaulted Ferrari into new territories, establishing the brand in a wide range of previously uncharted markets, making the 308 one of the most popular Ferraris ever.
Considering the 308 was conceived and revealed roughly 25 years after their first refined road cars bore the Ferrari name, the 308 is something of a technical marvel when compared to the lumbering front-engine, long-wheelbase Ferraris of the early 1950s. Of course, a great deal of the advancing technology in the 308 design and layout can be attributed to Fiat becoming a 50 percent partner in 1969 and subsequent 90 percent owner by the end of the 308 series run (1989 with the 328). Either way, the astonishing leap in technology for such a small company could be clearly seen in the 308, and later in the Testarossa, but certainly by 1984 when Ferrari debuted the 288GTO, a 308 variant capable of astonishing performance. During the 12-year run of the 308 platform, thousands of these cars were produced, making them not only popular but, oddly enough, common. During the 1990s and into the 2000s, the 308 became something of a joke to “real” Ferrari owners. Cast aside as too common or derided as a “Fiat era” car, it didn’t help matters much when the 360 Modena came out in 1999—another astonishing leap in technology and a further game-changer for Ferrari. The 308 seemed destined to fall even further behind as the legion of appreciated sports cars grew larger with each passing year.
Then something happened. For many first-time Ferrari buyers, the angular design, compact profile, and simple mechanicals began to face off against the swoopy and rather expensive modern Ferraris of the 2010-plus period. Earlier series Ferraris from the ’50s and ’60s were becoming vastly more expensive, so there was only one way for the value of the 308 to go—up. Today, the 308 remains not only one of the most visually exciting cars of an otherwise vastly boring period in car design, it captures a very important era that will never be relived or seen in vehicle architecture again.
To begin with, the 308 mid-engine design presents itself with a highly triangular profile, whereby the front and rear of the car point outward and downward. Any curvature on the body is elegantly hidden in the tight lines and angular projections, beautifully managed in such a compact package. The front bumper is remarkably low, but so too are the wheels and tires (small by today’s standards) and the fender clearance over the wheels. The central cockpit surrounds the driver and passenger with a side glass line below your shoulder, making the 308 very nearly the last of the Ferraris one can drive while hanging one arm out the side window. Cruising manners aside, 308 occupants sit inside the car with a position that is both commanding, but slightly upright. Newer Ferraris place their occupants deeper into a tub, a bit hunkered down, tucked within the car. The A-post is also very differently placed, making the 308 windshield more of a screen rather than the modern Ferrari which has a large forward drape blending into the hood.
The real delight, however, happens when driving the 308. Long derided for a lack of horsepower (particularly during the “Malaise Era” of automobile manufacturing), 308s were barely breaking 250 hp—hardly enough to rave about even at the time—but, the platform allowed for a great deal of fun driving, even if a contemporary Volvo Turbo Wagon could out-accelerate a 308 of the same era. The 308 gradually began to endear itself to a new generation of enthusiasts who began to see the car as a completely unique visual statement against the modern, heavier and more costly hyper-cars.
The delicate angular lines of the 308, the ease of service and use, and the availability of several good examples to chose from caused a rush of interest that has doubled values over the past five years. Today, the 308 remains not only an exceptional car for what it accomplished 40 years ago, it stands as one of the most unique visual statements of design in an otherwise vapid period in automobile production.
