Discussion
A red 328 GTS got quite badly damaged outside Goodwood circuit a couple of Saterdays ago,leaving
the Ferrari track day, A friend of a friends Audi hit it and both blaming each other for the accident,
Not good on the photo's i saw with the 328 receiving damage down the whole of the nearside from
from front to back ,What a terrible thing to happen after probably having a great day at the track.
Hope it was none of you guys.
the Ferrari track day, A friend of a friends Audi hit it and both blaming each other for the accident,
Not good on the photo's i saw with the 328 receiving damage down the whole of the nearside from
from front to back ,What a terrible thing to happen after probably having a great day at the track.
Hope it was none of you guys.
rdbrooksie said:
Went to the Ferrari National Day event yesterday. Lots of beautiful 328’s on show as well as a few others models…. A lovely event despite the weather. We really enjoyed the drive there and back to Bournemouth as well as seeing all the beautiful cars and met some lovely members. Many thanks to the organizers. 
It really was an incredible job Pininfarina did, in updating the 1970's 308 GTB/GTS design, to give it a more modern 80's look, whilst maintaining the classic Ferrari style at the same time - I don't think Pininfarina get as much credit as they deserve for it.
By 1984, the 308 GTB/GTS was just starting to look a bit dated, especially with the excitement that was being created by the revolutionary Testarossa coming out (that's not to say the 308 GTB/GTS no longer looked good, it still looked fabulous, but it was starting to look a bit old-school)
The Testarossa screamed 80's, and was the exact right car for the era - Edgy, futuristic, bold, and unashamedly in your face (the same could be said of the Lamborghini Countach still, but having been around so long, it had lost some of it's WOW! factor).
Ferrari didn't have a new "entry" level car available yet, and needed to extend the life of the 308 GTB/GTS, without making major changes to cars body shape.
This left Pininfarina with the lower half of the car to update, along with some of the interior.
More modern front and rear bumpers, an updated centre console, along with an uprated engine for a bit more speed suited Ferrari's interim purposes perfectly, until the 348, a "baby Testarossa" design, was ready to be produced.
With the 328, Pininfarina did a perfect job of keeping the 308 GTB/GTS design relevant for another 4 years
Agree with your comments, although not sure the Countach ever lost any of it's WOW factor!
I remember when the 328 came out in in 1985. I was in 6th form at the time and it made a massive impact on me. The 308 was always my dream car and here we had a modernised version. As you say, very much a supercar for the 80's. I remember reading Martin Brundles review in Motor when he'd just taken delivery of his own car. I hadn't yet passed my driving test but I visualised everything he said - about the effortless performance. How you hardly needed less than 4th gear to overtake.
Funnily enough, when it came to realising the dream, I didn't plump for the 328. Instead going for its predecessor, preferring Fioravanti's original classic lines.
As I write this I'm sat in the sun staring at this Italian beauty sitting on my driveway
I remember when the 328 came out in in 1985. I was in 6th form at the time and it made a massive impact on me. The 308 was always my dream car and here we had a modernised version. As you say, very much a supercar for the 80's. I remember reading Martin Brundles review in Motor when he'd just taken delivery of his own car. I hadn't yet passed my driving test but I visualised everything he said - about the effortless performance. How you hardly needed less than 4th gear to overtake.
Funnily enough, when it came to realising the dream, I didn't plump for the 328. Instead going for its predecessor, preferring Fioravanti's original classic lines.
As I write this I'm sat in the sun staring at this Italian beauty sitting on my driveway
browngt3 said:
Agree with your comments, although not sure the Countach ever lost any of it's WOW factor!
I remember when the 328 came out in in 1985. I was in 6th form at the time and it made a massive impact on me. The 308 was always my dream car and here we had a modernised version. As you say, very much a supercar for the 80's. I remember reading Martin Brundles review in Motor when he'd just taken delivery of his own car. I hadn't yet passed my driving test but I visualised everything he said - about the effortless performance. How you hardly needed less than 4th gear to overtake.
Funnily enough, when it came to realising the dream, I didn't plump for the 328. Instead going for its predecessor, preferring Fioravanti's original classic lines.
As I write this I'm sat in the sun staring at this Italian beauty sitting on my driveway
Timeless design and one can still easily lose their license in these beauties I remember when the 328 came out in in 1985. I was in 6th form at the time and it made a massive impact on me. The 308 was always my dream car and here we had a modernised version. As you say, very much a supercar for the 80's. I remember reading Martin Brundles review in Motor when he'd just taken delivery of his own car. I hadn't yet passed my driving test but I visualised everything he said - about the effortless performance. How you hardly needed less than 4th gear to overtake.
Funnily enough, when it came to realising the dream, I didn't plump for the 328. Instead going for its predecessor, preferring Fioravanti's original classic lines.
As I write this I'm sat in the sun staring at this Italian beauty sitting on my driveway
browngt3 said:
Agree with your comments, although not sure the Countach ever lost any of it's WOW factor!.........
What I mean with the Countach is, it originally came out in 1974, and it was like nothing ever seen before, it was a spaceship on wheels. A low, flat, wedge design, with doors that opened like no other cars, and crazy sized rear tyres.By the time the Testarossa came along in 1984, the Countach was a decade old, and had been in every single car magazine on the planet (we didn't have the internet back then, so relied on car magazines for automotive fix).
For 10 years the Countach ruled the roost when it came to being the ultimate road car. It was the Mike Tyson of the car World, the baddest car on the planet!
Ferrari's 365 GT4 BB / 512 BB / 512 BBi stepped up to take on the Countach, but they just fell short of the Lamborghini, because they were curvy, and looked like a scaled up 308 GTB. It was an elegant design, but it lacked shock value.
A decade after the Countach was first seen, it was starting to become a cartoon of itself, in order to try to maintain it's "shock" factor. The rear wheels tyres grew even bigger, bodykit style arches were added, and an enormous rear wing, that was purely for show, was bolted on the back.
At ten years of age, the Countach had been around too long to be futuristic, it was just one of the many wedge designs that were everywhere now (to name a few: the TR7 / the FIAT X1/9 / TVR's / the Lotus Turbo Esprit/the Ferrari 308 GT4 )
By 1984, the wedge design was starting to look a bit too "old design school" thinking. Suddenly it wasn't the future after all, it was a possible future that never became a reality.
Part of the genius of Pininfarina's 308 GTB/GTS design was, it combined the 1970's futuristic wedge design, with the older Dino 246 curvaceous design. It managed to cover both the old and the new thinking. The succcess of the 308 GTB/GTS series convinced Ferrari to ditch the 308 GT4 full wedge design (which was a Bertone design originally offered to Lamborghini as a possible Urraco design, but Lamborghini rejected it) , and it's 2+2 V8 car became the curvier, more 308 GTB/GTS-esque Mondial.
Softer edges and curves were starting to make a comeback, because they were less harsh, and more natural, and the Lamborghini's sharp edge look, was suddenly less about being futuristic, and more about rebelling against the incoming designs.
Come 1984, the Testarossa came along, and it captured the moment perfectly. It wasn't sharp edged, it didn't have unique/outrageous doors, but it was big, it was unashamedly in your face. It's rear quarters were like a mid 80's power suit's shoulder pads.
The Testarossa had other aces up it's sleeve - It was a lot easier to live with than the Countach. Less cramped, better all round vision, easier to drive,
Where the Countach used to rule supreme, it now had to share the top spot with the Testarossa. The Countach was old - The Testarossa was new.
The Countach also had another image problem coming it's way - Kit car replica's.
Countach "replica's" first appeared in the late 70's early 80's, and at the time, were VW beetle based vague lookalike cars, that wouldn't really fool anyone.
By the time the Testarossa had come along though, there were replica's being made that were, from the outside at least, all but indistinguishable from the real thing. This led to the sightings of genuine Countach's, often being instantly dismissed as: "That'll be a replica!"
So seeing a Countach had gone from being a mind blowing. "Oh my god! - What is that?" situation, to being a: "Hmmm..... it's probably just a replica!" situation - The "WOW!" factor was all but gone.
4rephill said:
browngt3 said:
Agree with your comments, although not sure the Countach ever lost any of it's WOW factor!.........
What I mean with the Countach is, it originally came out in 1974, and it was like nothing ever seen before, it was a spaceship on wheels. A low, flat, wedge design, with doors that opened like no other cars, and crazy sized rear tyres.By the time the Testarossa came along in 1984, the Countach was a decade old, and had been in every single car magazine on the planet (we didn't have the internet back then, so relied on car magazines for automotive fix).
For 10 years the Countach ruled the roost when it came to being the ultimate road car. It was the Mike Tyson of the car World, the baddest car on the planet!
Ferrari's 365 GT4 BB / 512 BB / 512 BBi stepped up to take on the Countach, but they just fell short of the Lamborghini, because they were curvy, and looked like a scaled up 308 GTB. It was an elegant design, but it lacked shock value.
A decade after the Countach was first seen, it was starting to become a cartoon of itself, in order to try to maintain it's "shock" factor. The rear wheels tyres grew even bigger, bodykit style arches were added, and an enormous rear wing, that was purely for show, was bolted on the back.
At ten years of age, the Countach had been around too long to be futuristic, it was just one of the many wedge designs that were everywhere now (to name a few: the TR7 / the FIAT X1/9 / TVR's / the Lotus Turbo Esprit/the Ferrari 308 GT4 )
By 1984, the wedge design was starting to look a bit too "old design school" thinking. Suddenly it wasn't the future after all, it was a possible future that never became a reality.
Part of the genius of Pininfarina's 308 GTB/GTS design was, it combined the 1970's futuristic wedge design, with the older Dino 246 curvaceous design. It managed to cover both the old and the new thinking. The succcess of the 308 GTB/GTS series convinced Ferrari to ditch the 308 GT4 full wedge design (which was a Bertone design originally offered to Lamborghini as a possible Urraco design, but Lamborghini rejected it) , and it's 2+2 V8 car became the curvier, more 308 GTB/GTS-esque Mondial.
Softer edges and curves were starting to make a comeback, because they were less harsh, and more natural, and the Lamborghini's sharp edge look, was suddenly less about being futuristic, and more about rebelling against the incoming designs.
Come 1984, the Testarossa came along, and it captured the moment perfectly. It wasn't sharp edged, it didn't have unique/outrageous doors, but it was big, it was unashamedly in your face. It's rear quarters were like a mid 80's power suit's shoulder pads.
The Testarossa had other aces up it's sleeve - It was a lot easier to live with than the Countach. Less cramped, better all round vision, easier to drive,
Where the Countach used to rule supreme, it now had to share the top spot with the Testarossa. The Countach was old - The Testarossa was new.
The Countach also had another image problem coming it's way - Kit car replica's.
Countach "replica's" first appeared in the late 70's early 80's, and at the time, were VW beetle based vague lookalike cars, that wouldn't really fool anyone.
By the time the Testarossa had come along though, there were replica's being made that were, from the outside at least, all but indistinguishable from the real thing. This led to the sightings of genuine Countach's, often being instantly dismissed as: "That'll be a replica!"
So seeing a Countach had gone from being a mind blowing. "Oh my god! - What is that?" situation, to being a: "Hmmm..... it's probably just a replica!" situation - The "WOW!" factor was all but gone.
sparta6 said:
4rephill said:
browngt3 said:
Agree with your comments, although not sure the Countach ever lost any of it's WOW factor!.........
What I mean with the Countach is, it originally came out in 1974, and it was like nothing ever seen before, it was a spaceship on wheels. A low, flat, wedge design, with doors that opened like no other cars, and crazy sized rear tyres.By the time the Testarossa came along in 1984, the Countach was a decade old, and had been in every single car magazine on the planet (we didn't have the internet back then, so relied on car magazines for automotive fix).
For 10 years the Countach ruled the roost when it came to being the ultimate road car. It was the Mike Tyson of the car World, the baddest car on the planet!
Ferrari's 365 GT4 BB / 512 BB / 512 BBi stepped up to take on the Countach, but they just fell short of the Lamborghini, because they were curvy, and looked like a scaled up 308 GTB. It was an elegant design, but it lacked shock value.
A decade after the Countach was first seen, it was starting to become a cartoon of itself, in order to try to maintain it's "shock" factor. The rear wheels tyres grew even bigger, bodykit style arches were added, and an enormous rear wing, that was purely for show, was bolted on the back.
At ten years of age, the Countach had been around too long to be futuristic, it was just one of the many wedge designs that were everywhere now (to name a few: the TR7 / the FIAT X1/9 / TVR's / the Lotus Turbo Esprit/the Ferrari 308 GT4 )
By 1984, the wedge design was starting to look a bit too "old design school" thinking. Suddenly it wasn't the future after all, it was a possible future that never became a reality.
Part of the genius of Pininfarina's 308 GTB/GTS design was, it combined the 1970's futuristic wedge design, with the older Dino 246 curvaceous design. It managed to cover both the old and the new thinking. The succcess of the 308 GTB/GTS series convinced Ferrari to ditch the 308 GT4 full wedge design (which was a Bertone design originally offered to Lamborghini as a possible Urraco design, but Lamborghini rejected it) , and it's 2+2 V8 car became the curvier, more 308 GTB/GTS-esque Mondial.
Softer edges and curves were starting to make a comeback, because they were less harsh, and more natural, and the Lamborghini's sharp edge look, was suddenly less about being futuristic, and more about rebelling against the incoming designs.
Come 1984, the Testarossa came along, and it captured the moment perfectly. It wasn't sharp edged, it didn't have unique/outrageous doors, but it was big, it was unashamedly in your face. It's rear quarters were like a mid 80's power suit's shoulder pads.
The Testarossa had other aces up it's sleeve - It was a lot easier to live with than the Countach. Less cramped, better all round vision, easier to drive,
Where the Countach used to rule supreme, it now had to share the top spot with the Testarossa. The Countach was old - The Testarossa was new.
The Countach also had another image problem coming it's way - Kit car replica's.
Countach "replica's" first appeared in the late 70's early 80's, and at the time, were VW beetle based vague lookalike cars, that wouldn't really fool anyone.
By the time the Testarossa had come along though, there were replica's being made that were, from the outside at least, all but indistinguishable from the real thing. This led to the sightings of genuine Countach's, often being instantly dismissed as: "That'll be a replica!"
So seeing a Countach had gone from being a mind blowing. "Oh my god! - What is that?" situation, to being a: "Hmmm..... it's probably just a replica!" situation - The "WOW!" factor was all but gone.
I think being yellow didn't help ,
Same went for my 308 GT4's being mistaken for a Lotus possibly of colour again ,one yellow and the other white,
sparta6 said:
4rephill said:
browngt3 said:
Agree with your comments, although not sure the Countach ever lost any of it's WOW factor!.........
What I mean with the Countach is, it originally came out in 1974, and it was like nothing ever seen before, it was a spaceship on wheels. A low, flat, wedge design, with doors that opened like no other cars, and crazy sized rear tyres.By the time the Testarossa came along in 1984, the Countach was a decade old, and had been in every single car magazine on the planet (we didn't have the internet back then, so relied on car magazines for automotive fix).
For 10 years the Countach ruled the roost when it came to being the ultimate road car. It was the Mike Tyson of the car World, the baddest car on the planet!
Ferrari's 365 GT4 BB / 512 BB / 512 BBi stepped up to take on the Countach, but they just fell short of the Lamborghini, because they were curvy, and looked like a scaled up 308 GTB. It was an elegant design, but it lacked shock value.
A decade after the Countach was first seen, it was starting to become a cartoon of itself, in order to try to maintain it's "shock" factor. The rear wheels tyres grew even bigger, bodykit style arches were added, and an enormous rear wing, that was purely for show, was bolted on the back.
At ten years of age, the Countach had been around too long to be futuristic, it was just one of the many wedge designs that were everywhere now (to name a few: the TR7 / the FIAT X1/9 / TVR's / the Lotus Turbo Esprit/the Ferrari 308 GT4 )
By 1984, the wedge design was starting to look a bit too "old design school" thinking. Suddenly it wasn't the future after all, it was a possible future that never became a reality.
Part of the genius of Pininfarina's 308 GTB/GTS design was, it combined the 1970's futuristic wedge design, with the older Dino 246 curvaceous design. It managed to cover both the old and the new thinking. The succcess of the 308 GTB/GTS series convinced Ferrari to ditch the 308 GT4 full wedge design (which was a Bertone design originally offered to Lamborghini as a possible Urraco design, but Lamborghini rejected it) , and it's 2+2 V8 car became the curvier, more 308 GTB/GTS-esque Mondial.
Softer edges and curves were starting to make a comeback, because they were less harsh, and more natural, and the Lamborghini's sharp edge look, was suddenly less about being futuristic, and more about rebelling against the incoming designs.
Come 1984, the Testarossa came along, and it captured the moment perfectly. It wasn't sharp edged, it didn't have unique/outrageous doors, but it was big, it was unashamedly in your face. It's rear quarters were like a mid 80's power suit's shoulder pads.
The Testarossa had other aces up it's sleeve - It was a lot easier to live with than the Countach. Less cramped, better all round vision, easier to drive,
Where the Countach used to rule supreme, it now had to share the top spot with the Testarossa. The Countach was old - The Testarossa was new.
The Countach also had another image problem coming it's way - Kit car replica's.
Countach "replica's" first appeared in the late 70's early 80's, and at the time, were VW beetle based vague lookalike cars, that wouldn't really fool anyone.
By the time the Testarossa had come along though, there were replica's being made that were, from the outside at least, all but indistinguishable from the real thing. This led to the sightings of genuine Countach's, often being instantly dismissed as: "That'll be a replica!"
So seeing a Countach had gone from being a mind blowing. "Oh my god! - What is that?" situation, to being a: "Hmmm..... it's probably just a replica!" situation - The "WOW!" factor was all but gone.
classicaholic said:
What do you do for the front numberplate (UK) I keep ripping mine off going in the garage and steep ramps, will I get done with a slight undersized one?
I've got or should say had a much smaller front plate on my Caterham 7 until imanaged to wipe the front end off,Never had any problems with the law in 9 years
of driving like that ,mind you it is probably less noticeable being a much smaller car.
I've never had a problem with my number plate and my GTB is modified and sits very low,
what i do have trouble with though is my deep front spoiler which i ground quite a lot,so much so
i now carry a paint touch up stick around with me ,the corners now have a Shredded Wheat look to them
browngt3 said:
rat rod said:
Really Jim, good job we got thick skin,
Wonder if anyone has had their Boxster or Lotus referred to as a Ferrari .
Now that wouldn't be so bad .
Yes! I had a red Boxster. Once I was chatting to a girl in a night club and she asked, 'I hear you have a nice Ferrari?' Wonder if anyone has had their Boxster or Lotus referred to as a Ferrari .
Now that wouldn't be so bad .
or 
If she was stunning i think i would probably have done a Pinocchio Where is she now, you could always pop round with your GTB
priley said:
I’ve had a 355 GTS for twelve years or so and yes, the targa panel is well concealed. Plenty of scuttle shake (when pushing on) without it though.
A couple of years ago I bought a ratty, but low mileage, 308 GTB and there’s certainly a purity of line without the impact on the rear windows on the GTS versions of Dino-355.
I’m also enjoying the slightly more agricultural/mechanical nature of it vs the 355.
Enjoy your 328! Which I guess lives somewhere in between.
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/yyE2JRW4[/url
I confess to enjoying your YouTube car videos almost as much as your drumming ones!A couple of years ago I bought a ratty, but low mileage, 308 GTB and there’s certainly a purity of line without the impact on the rear windows on the GTS versions of Dino-355.
I’m also enjoying the slightly more agricultural/mechanical nature of it vs the 355.
Enjoy your 328! Which I guess lives somewhere in between.
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/yyE2JRW4[/urlIt seems to be some time since your last car one though.
Have enjoyed the last 4 or so of ownership of the GTS. A superb fun and easy to drive beauty. Drove today to the New Forest and spent a few hours walking and picking blackberries.
So far faultless driving fun, though I have taken it to Emblem Sports Cars who checked over her and given me a list of works that will need carrying out during the winter time.
Now I’m on the lookout for my old Aston DB7 registered A7DBV. Would love to know where and what she’s been up to.
Took the 328 for a drive. Was superb fun. During the course of the drive I stopped for fuel. A nice chap came up and we spent 5 minutes talking about the car etc. He loved the shape and it was great a talk. Later during the drive a car came parallel to me and honked his horn and gave me a thumbs up. Again, a nice feeling. Went to pick my wife up from golf and was crawling along the road due to speed bumps and doing no more than 10-12 mph. Well below the speed limit for the road but enough to tackle the speed bumps. Then, on the opposite side of the road cycling in the usual Lycra pants came a cyclist who decided to hurl abuse towards us! Of course I wanted to turn round and confront the moron but the wife said no. What is wrong with these cyclists? I was doing nothing wrong. Oh well, didn’t let it spoil my drive out but I will say this. I really hope they do introduce the need to license bicycles, require insurance and perhaps some manner training…..
Edited by rdbrooksie on Monday 29th August 15:24
rdbrooksie said:
Took the 328 for a drive. Was superb fun. During the course of the drive I stopped for fuel. A nice chap came up and we spent 5 minutes talking about the car etc. He loved the shape and it was great a talk. Later during the drive a car came parallel to me and honked his horn and gave me a thumbs up. Again, a nice feeling. Went to pick my wife up from golf and was crawling along the road due to speed bumps and doing no more than 10-12 mph. Well below the speed limit for the road but enough to tackle the speed bumps. Then, on the opposite side of the road cycling in the usual Lycra pants came a cyclist who decided to hurl abuse towards us! Of course I wanted to turn round and confront the moron but the wife said no. What is wrong with these cyclists? I was doing nothing wrong. Oh well, didn’t let it spoil my drive out but I will say this. I really hope they do introduce the need to license bicycles, require insurance and perhaps some manner training…..
He probably thought you were laughing at his Lycra wrapped cocktail sausage and got all embarrassed. All he could think of doing was reacting in a “manly” way Edited by rdbrooksie on Monday 29th August 15:24
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