1974-79 Ferrari 308 GT4 2+2

by Alexander Leventhal

In 1973 Ferrari replaced the Dino 246 GT V6 with the Dino 308 GT4 V8. Unusually, they did not choose Pininfarina to style the car, instead opting for Bertone, where a young Marcello Gandini did the actual design. In typical Ferrari practice, construction was done at the Scaglietti works. Oddly, Ferrari asked Bertone to make the car a 2+2, as they felt this was one area the Porsche 911 had held an advantage over the 246 GT. When it debuted, the Bertone design was not well received. While it was simple and elegant, it was also very angular and slab-sided in a manner typical of Bertone’s then-current wedge fetish. If the styling was controversial, the performance certainly was not. In its original Series I form, the 3-liter all-alloy V8 cranked out 255 horsepower, which was good enough for 0 to 60 in 6.4 seconds. Top speed was claimed to be north of 150 miles per hour. Handling was excellent due to a low center of gravity, a full tube frame and four-wheel double...