Lot 2031

Santa Monica 2016

1977 Ferrari 308 GTB

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$74,250 USD | Sold

United States | Santa Monica, California

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Identification No.
F106AB22683
  • 2,926-cc, 240-hp V-8 engine
  • Five-speed manual gearbox
  • Excellent paint
  • Immaculate interior
  • Thought to be "great original car"
  • Air conditioning
  • Ferrari fender shields
  • Jack & toolkit in leather roll
  • Limited production
Addendum: Please note that due to California emissions, this car can only be offered to a dealer or out-of-state resident. Please see an Auctions America Car Specialist for more details. Also, please note that while Auctions America has been able to get many of the cars in running condition, these motor cars have been on stagnant display in a museum setting for some time and we highly recommend buyers and potential bidders satisfy their questions as best as possible in advance of bidding. All cars are sold “as-is, where-is” and no guarantees are warrantied or expressed in any way, we also recommend a full mechanical inspection prior to any road use.

Unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in 1975, the Ferrari 308 replaced the successful 246 Dino line. It sported a Pininfarina-styled body that was available in only a GTB coupe variant early on. In 1977, Ferrari introduced the GTS model; a Spider version with targa top. Its iconic wedge shaped body lines were designed by Leonardo Fioravanti who received accolades for his previous work; the 365 Daytona and 246 Dino. The early carbureted cars sport the standard 2,926-cc mid-engine V-8 which produced about 240-hp fitted to a five-speed manual gearbox. Reports suggest that approximately 2,185 Ferrari 308 GTB’s were built from the period of 1975 to 1981.

In the December 1976 issue of Road & Track magazine, the 1977 Ferrari 308 GTB was featured on the cover. American racing legend, Bob Bondurant, founder of the highly respected self-named School of High Performance Driving, utilized all of the talents he displayed behind the wheel of Shelby American and Ferrari team cars (amongst many other teams and marques) at Sears Point (now Sonoma) International Raceway as he put the 1977 Ferrari 308 GTB through its paces.

When Bondurant had completed his hard-driven 40 lap stint behind the wheel of the 308 GTB, he was asked what the car was like; Bondurant grinned and responded “It was a nice car when it was new.” Actually, most mortals would have damaged or written off the car had they tried to mirror Bondurant’s performance; as it was, it was easy to see why he was a professional racing driver and could consistently push hard without damaging the equipment.

Bondurant enthused over the Ferrari; “The main thing I like about the 308 is that the car is so neutral you can do anything you want with it. In other words, it doesn’t understeer badly or oversteer badly. It is an easy car to drive so you can go through a turn, lift off to make the car oversteer and then just really plant your foot in it and it takes off.” He continued; “This is so much better than a Daytona (ease of driving on the limit)…that car has a bag of power, but you can’t really use the power like you can with this car. This is more like driving a Ford GT 40 when they first came out. The Daytona oversteers a bit and it’s just not as easy to drive as the 308. You also have to be careful when you’re driving fast in a Daytona, while with the 308 you can just drive and not worry about the car doing anything unpredictable in a turn. I would say that this would be a much safer car for the average guy to drive…..everything seems sort of nice when you’re going fast.”

These enticing words will be applicable to this very nicely presented example; this Ferrari 308 GTB (Berlinetta) displays less than 12,000 miles, which cannot be confirmed as original, but the excellent condition of the paint and immaculate interior lends one to believe that this is overall, a mostly original car. The red paint seems to be almost perfect for this popular platform, while the tan interior features seats with three tasteful stripes contrasting the tan leather. Four-wheel disc brakes are essential to the car’s performance capabilities; while the air conditioning lets you travel in comfort. Additional equipment includes Scuderia Ferrari fender shields, factory alloy wheels, Kenwood AM/FM/cassette, the jack and toolkit in its leather roll.

Bondurant summed it up with “Of course the car looks sleek as hell; like it’s already moving quickly….the 308 is probably the best sports car I’ve ever driven, particularly bearing in mind that this is a street machine and it would be unfair to compare it to pure racecars. I want one.”