Wednesday 26th April 2017

V12 engined Ferrari 308 heads to auction

Well given it's hardly original there's no excuse not to drive it, is there?

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While you may hope that the 308 is one of the last remaining semi-affordable ways into Ferrari ownership, you would sadly be wrong: this right-hand drive GTS QV is £65,000 with 130,000 miles.

A busy looking engine, shall we say

Now while the 308 being sold at Silverstone Auctions next month is hardly cheap - the estimate is £50,000-£60,000 - it does have a very special USP that means it should always be desirable regardless of mileage, age or whatever: it's a V12 Ferrari 308.

One of apparently four such cars globally, the story goes that the original owner was disappointed with the standard 285hp output in 1985. The solution? Take it to Nigel Mansell's Emblem Sports Cars, a Ferrari main dealership network, and give the car to Nigel Hudson. The second Nigel then set about wedging the V12 from a Ferrari 400 into the middle of the 308. Depending on the variant used that will mean power is up to between 310hp and 340hp.

£50K for a Ferrari V12? Go on...

The car was discovered by the current owner in 2013, the 308 having been sat in storage for a decade. For the next two years it was returned to Nigel Hudson for a restoration, with the engine, gearbox, suspension and brakes all refreshed. The interior has been left untouched. Imagine what a mechanically restored V8 might now cost...

Sure, it's very far from an original car, but hopefully that means this 308 can be enjoyed for what it is rather than simply cocooned away in the hope of further appreciation. It will be auctioned at Silverstone Auctions' May sale on the 13th where it will be joined, amongst others, by a Porsche 928, a right-hand drive BMW 3.0 CSL and a Delta Integrale that's been with its current owner for nearly 20 years. See the rest of the lots here, and good luck if you are bidding!

[Fresh Prince]

A baby-Ferrari V12? Sounds like an absolute dream. If I bought that I don't think I'd be able to stop driving.

[ManOpener]

Wonderful. Take one of the best-looking Ferraris ever, then shoehorn in one of the best sounding engines ever. I don't think I'd even care if it was crap to drive.

The only thing that would make it better is GP4 bodywork and wheels

[Krikkit]

Credit for the auction pics to Jack Mason: https://jamasonphotography.wordpress.com/portfolio...

Looks like quite a handful!

[lucido grigio]

If it's the 310 BHP engine mentioned in the article then that's a whole lot of work for 25 BHP gain from the quoted standard.

Still sounds like an interesting purchase now.

[Duffman83]

ManOpener said:

Wonderful. Take one of the best-looking Ferraris ever, then shoehorn in one of the best sounding engines ever. I don't think I'd even care if it was crap to drive.

The only thing that would make it better is GP4 bodywork and wheels

That looks absolutely magnificent. I would love someone to do a Singer-esque take on 308s, that GP4 bodywork, maybe a 355/360 V8 for the noise and a fair bit more poke and then a custom bespoke interior. Would be the junior Ferrari that Ferrari don't currently make and look utterly sublime in comparison to the modern berlinettas.

[JAMason]

Krikkit said:

Credit for the auction pics to Jack Mason: https://jamasonphotography.wordpress.com/portfolio...

Looks like quite a handful!

Cheers for the credit appreciate that.

[Ved]

Lovely car!

On a side note, how come a 1989 911 Carrera is up for around 30k? I thought they were all going through the roof.
https://www.silverstoneauctions.com/1988-porsche-9...

[E65Ross]

lucido grigio said:

If it's the 310 BHP engine mentioned in the article then that's a whole lot of work for 25 BHP gain from the quoted standard.

Still sounds like an interesting purchase now.

Exactly what I thought!

[nicholasm]

Another lot in the auction is this Pajero Evolution. A wonderful homologation special, but I'm not sure why you would advertise the fact it used to belong to Naseem Hamed - do they know about his driving record?

https://www.silverstoneauctions.com/1998-mitsubish...

[peterg1955]

Ved said:

On a side note, how come a 1989 911 Carrera is up for around 30k? I thought they were all going through the roof.
https://www.silverstoneauctions.com/1988-porsche-9...

You know that's not the actual price just an estimate? Auction houses set estimates to entice buyers in, not to put them off, so expect that to go for a lot more than that £25-30k estimate...

[Raudus42]

lucido grigio said:

If it's the 310 BHP engine mentioned in the article then that's a whole lot of work for 25 BHP gain from the quoted standard.

Still sounds like an interesting purchase now.

Nerd alert: the 308 Qv produced 240bhp, so it's a 70bhp increase.

[Dave Hedgehog]

Raudus42 said:

lucido grigio said:

If it's the 310 BHP engine mentioned in the article then that's a whole lot of work for 25 BHP gain from the quoted standard.

Still sounds like an interesting purchase now.

Nerd alert: the 308 Qv produced 240bhp, so it's a 70bhp increase.

and generally the ferrari V12s are pretty special units

[carinaman]

That blue is a lovely colour.

[456mgt]

Anyone know what the weight delta will be? Looks like a lot of mass packed in there, could make for 'interesting' weight transfer mid-corner.

[Yipper]

Know someone with a 308 and it spends almost all its time in the garage being repaired...

[Chris944_S2]

Yipper said:

Know someone with a 308 and it spends almost all its time in the garage being repaired...

The article is not about Peugeots

[Yipper]

Chris944_S2 said:

Yipper said:

Know someone with a 308 and it spends almost all its time in the garage being repaired...

The article is not about Peugeots

Peugeots are more reliable than a 308.

[GTIAlex]

Krikkit said:

Credit for the auction pics to Jack Mason: https://jamasonphotography.wordpress.com/portfolio...

Looks like quite a handful!

Seen Jacks work a number of times now and always very impressed.

Really made the best of a dull looking day in those 308 shots.

[IknowJoseph]

peterg1955 said:

Ved said:

On a side note, how come a 1989 911 Carrera is up for around 30k? I thought they were all going through the roof.
https://www.silverstoneauctions.com/1988-porsche-9...

You know that's not the actual price just an estimate? Auction houses set estimates to entice buyers in, not to put them off, so expect that to go for a lot more than that £25-30k estimate...

Although at recent auctions the price of Pork does seem to be less than the crazy regular market rates.

[JAMason]

GTIAlex said:

Seen Jacks work a number of times now and always very impressed.

Really made the best of a dull looking day in those 308 shots.

Thanks Alex.