Back in 1975, 50 years ago, Ferrari introduced the 308 (3.0 litre (ish) 8 cylinders) at the Paris Motorshow – the first road going V8 powered Ferrari.
Two body styles were offered. The first was by Pininfarina in the form of the 308 GTB pictured below:
The other body style was a four seater by Bertone – the 308 GT4:
The 328 came along in 1985 and was an update on the 308. It had a modernised body with galvanised panels to help prevent corrosion, new wheels and body coloured bumpers. Under the bonnet displacement had been upped to 3.2 litres and it now had mechanical fuel injection.
The F355 is the first of the cars we’re going to feature today that broke away from Ferrari’s traditional naming procedure. The new Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo wanted people to be able to use their cars more frequently, and so the F355 was the first Ferrari built with daily useability in mind. These are comfortable to be in for extended periods and could sit in city traffic and not overheat. A total of 11,273 units were sold, making the F355 the highest selling Ferrari until…
… The all new 360 came along in 1999!
This particular car was ordered new by Eric Clapton.
Not long after the 360, in 2004, came the F430. This is the Scuderia variant, designed with the help of Michael Schumacher to be the ultimate track day toy.
Following the F430 came the 458. Personally the 458 is one of my favourite modern era Ferraris, and probably the Ferrari I would own if the opportunity arose. I think they’re a fantastic looking car and they’re aging really well.
The 488 came next. This was the first turbocharged, mid-engined Ferrari since the F40. This one is a Pista Spider (“pista” being Italian for “track”) so it’s lighter, more aerodynamic and more powerful than the standard 488.
Finally in this class we have the F8 Tributo. Emissions targets have forced Ferrari to develop a hybrid drive system, and packaging that into a sensibly sized car meant that they’ve had to drop down to 6 cylinders, ultimately marking the end of the mid-engined V8 era.
The Tributo, as the name suggests is a tribute to the Ferrari V8. It shares the same engine as the 488 Pista but with elements from the 488 Challenge race car, meaning this puts out 710bhp, will hit 0-62mph (0-100kmph) in 2.9 seconds and will top out at 211mph.
Thanks for reading.
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By Richard Francis
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