Ferrari 308GTB
TIPPED BY: MARTIN CHISHOLM
‘It’s purely a selfish choice,’ says Martin. ‘A friend had one in the Eighties, a Quattrovalvole. I had a 911 2.4S at the time and I was quite jealous of his car. But the market’s done some funny things since then and my 2.4S is now worth considerably more. Yet a 308 is special – and still comparatively cheap for what it is.’
Cheap enough, though? £50k seems an ambitious target. ‘Yes, you’d struggle to a get QV, but there are others out there. Buyers got so obsessed with the early Vetroresina cars that it’s left the steelbodied cars a little out in the cold,’ says Martin. ‘Hunt hard – they’re cheaper in America. If you’re prepared to settle for left-hand drive and a slightly patchy history, you’ll still find one in budget.’
From launch in 1975 until June 1977, 308GTBS were bodied in glassfibre and weighed only 1090kg. Only 800-odd were built and survivors now fetch in excess of £100k. From mid-1977 to 1980, steel-bodied GTBS and targa-topped GTS versions sold in excess of 5000 units, with the fuel-injected GTBI and GTSI built from 1980 to 1982 continuing those strong sales; another 2200 in two years. It’s from these cars that we’ll find our bargains, because the QV and subsequent 328GTB are valued higher for their extra power and durability. But buying cheap Ferraris is about turning a dream into reality, and one that Martin thoroughly recommends.
‘There is a feeling you get from other road users when you’re in a Ferrari that you don’t get from any other car. I can sit in the fast lane of the motorway in my 2.4S and I’m just part of the conveyor belt. In a Ferrari, everything leaps out of your way. The first time it happens to you, it’s a weird sensation.
‘But with the 308 you also get a great engine, a great driving position and a beautiful Pininfarina body. Prices do seem cheap.’