Ferrari 308 GTS: The Targa That Captured the World's Heart
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There are cars that are merely fast, and then there are cars that are genuinely beautiful. The Ferrari 308 GTS belongs emphatically to the second category. With its Pininfarina bodywork, sonorous V8 soundtrack, and a starring role in one of television's most beloved shows, it became something more than a sports car. It became a cultural icon.
Few machines from the 1970s and 1980s feel as right today as the 308 GTS does. It wears its age with extraordinary grace.
Origins and History
Ferrari introduced the 308 GTB in 1975, replacing the well-regarded Dino 246. The mid-engined, two-seat GT was a clean break from the front-engined Ferraris of the era, pointing the way towards a new generation of road cars built around performance and practicality in equal measure.
The GTS variant arrived a year later in 1977, swapping the fixed roof for a removable Targa-style panel that stowed neatly behind the seats. It was an immediate hit. Open-air motoring in something that looked this extraordinary was an irresistible proposition, and demand quickly outstripped that for the closed GTB.
Production continued through 1985, by which time Ferrari had built around 12,000 examples across all 308 variants. In terms of volume, it remains one of the most significant Ferraris ever made.
The Design
Pininfarina's body for the 308 is a masterclass in controlled tension. The long bonnet, wide haunches, and low roofline combine to create a silhouette of real drama, yet every surface flows smoothly into the next. There is nothing gratuitous here. Nothing wasted.
The original 1975 design featured glassfibre bodywork, though Ferrari switched to steel from 1977 onwards for the majority of production. The GTS added black Targa hoops and a foldable roof panel to the equation, giving the car a different character entirely with the top removed. Flying low along a coastal road with the Mediterranean sun overhead, there is arguably no finer way to travel.
Details repay close inspection. The pop-up headlamps, the NACA ducts feeding the engine bay, the twin exhausts tucked beneath the rear valance. Everything has purpose. Everything looks right.
Performance and Driving
At the heart of the 308 sits a 2.9-litre quad-cam V8, mounted transversely behind the seats. Early carburettored cars produced around 255 brake horsepower; later fuel-injected models dropped to roughly 214bhp to meet increasingly strict emissions regulations, though they remain every bit as satisfying to drive.
The numbers tell a partial story. Zero to 60 miles per hour in around seven seconds, a top speed approaching 155mph. What the numbers cannot convey is the quality of the experience. The engine pulls smoothly from low revs but truly comes alive above 4,000rpm, building to a crescendo that is one of the great aural experiences in motoring. Ferrari tuned that V8 to sing, and sing it does.
The gearbox is a five-speed manual with a classic open gate, that exposed metal channel through which the lever travels being one of the most tactile things in any car from any era. The chassis is taut and communicative. Steering feedback is honest and direct. The 308 GTS rewards commitment and punishes complacency, which is precisely as it should be.
Cultural Impact
No discussion of the 308 GTS is complete without Magnum, P.I. Between 1980 and 1988, Tom Selleck drove a red 308 GTS as television detective Thomas Magnum across the Hawaiian islands. The show was a global phenomenon, and the Ferrari was as much a star as Selleck himself. An entire generation grew up wanting that car.
The effect on the 308's reputation was profound and lasting. It shifted the car from well-regarded sports car to genuine cultural touchstone. Posters of a red 308 GTS lined bedroom walls across Britain and America throughout the 1980s. Its silhouette became shorthand for a certain idea of freedom, style, and Italian excellence.
The car's appearances in print, film, and advertising throughout that decade only reinforced its status. It was the Ferrari that ordinary people fell in love with, even if they could never afford one.
Buying a Ferrari 308 GTS Today
Values have risen steadily over the past decade as the 308 GTS has gained recognition as a genuinely great classic rather than simply an affordable entry point to Ferrari ownership. Good carburettored examples in solid condition now start from around 60,000 pounds, with exceptional, fully restored cars reaching 100,000 pounds or beyond.
Fuel-injected Quattrovalvole models from 1982 onwards tend to command a modest premium on account of their more sophisticated specification, though many purists favour the earlier carburetted cars for their rawer character.
When buying, prioritise bodywork condition above all. Rust can take hold around the sills, wheel arches, and door bottoms, and proper repairs are expensive. Engine and gearbox rebuilds are well understood by specialist workshops throughout the UK, and parts availability is good. A full service history and documented restoration work will justify a higher asking price and provide peace of mind.
Specialist Ferrari marque experts such as Talacrest, DK Engineering, and Foskers are all worth consulting. A pre-purchase inspection from a qualified Ferrari technician is non-negotiable.
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