1981 Ferrari 308 GTB (Carburettor)

The car is a GTB not a GTBi as erroneously catalogued. The car's history file is still with the vendor and will be forwarded directly to the buyer after the sale.

With its stunning and shapely Pininfarina-designed body, styled by Leonardo Fioravanti, and mid-mounted 2,926cc quad-cam V8 fed originally by four Weber DCNF 40 carburettors, the Ferrari 308 has rightly become a significant collector's car. Pininfarina had already penned such eternal classics as the Daytona, Dino and Berlinetta Boxer. The 308 GTB was Ferrari's replacement for the immortal Dino 246 GT and made its debut at the 1975 Paris Salon 1975. The very earliest Ferrari 308s were built with fibreglass bodies, however, manufacturing quality issues meant that Ferrari quickly changed to steel in 1977. By late 1980, the carburetted engine was replaced by a Bosch fuel-injected version for the sake of reduced emissions, however the change left the revised unit short of power although the final drive was altered on these cars to give similar acceleration to a carburettor car. Made famous by the TV series ‘Magnum PI’, the 308 has matured into a collectors' favourite and when production stopped in 1988, it had become the most popular Ferrari ever.

The car presented here is a UK-supplied/RHD 1981 Ferrari 308 GTB, chassis number ‘30685’, one of just 211 right-hand drive examples built and has covered just 31,000 miles from new. This is a very late-production carburettor car, with this confirmed as original by a marque specialist. In recent years this matching numbers car was owned by a prominent member of the Ferrari Owners Club, who knew a good 308 when he saw one; he was the custodian of one-of-the-best, lavishing much expenditure on it, having owned it, we understand, since 1989. It's accompanied by an extensive history file containing numerous invoices for servicing/maintenance over the years. Sadly, the last owner passed away and the car is now being sold by his close friend, on behalf of the family.

This car has never required any major work due to its regular servicing, low mileage and garage storage. Rarely have these true classic 1980s V8 Ferraris lived such a pampered life in the hands of so few owners (just two previous keepers). Small but important details are ‘just right’ on this car, all indicative of dutiful ownership and it's in impressively original condition. Indeed, the car has just (April 2023) received a full service (including cam belts) by Ferrari specialists ‘Shiltech’ of Loughborough and is absolutely ‘ready-to-go’, a great introduction to V8 Ferrari ownership.

This is a simply lovely genuine example of a Ferrari model that remains sought-after, with both a low mileage and owners, just as you’d hope to find.