1974 Ferrari Dino 308 GT4

Ferrari's family of V8 road cars began in 1973 with the 308 GT4 which wore a Dino badge until 1977, thereafter as a Ferrari. Introduced at the 1973 Paris Motor Show, it was the Maranello factory's first mid-engined 2+2 road car and the first with V8 power. It wore coachwork by Bertone and its chassis was based on the Dino 246 but stretched to make space for the 2+2 configuration. The front seats were placed well forward, allowing for passengers in the rear. It had a compact engine/transaxle package which accommodated space behind the engine bay for luggage. It had a stiff chassis, four-wheel disc brakes, and an all-round independent suspension setup.

Maranello gambled with the 308 GT4's design, selecting Marcello Gandini at Bertone instead of Pininfarina. The design retained Bertone's angular lines and was entirely different from the previous (and curvaceous) two-seater Dino 246 sibling. The styling and Ferrari's decision to use a Bertone design was controversial, as its appearance was similar to the Lancia Stratos and Lamborghini Urraco, both styled by Bertone. The interior was done with considerable input from Enzo Ferrari himself, including having a mock-up made where he sit and fine-tune the shape, seating position, and position of the instrumentation, pedals, and steering.

The mid-engine V8 layout would become common to the Ferrari core for decades to come. Although its styling was controversial at the time, many have compared it to the Bertone-designed Lamborghini Urraco and Lancia Stratos.

The quad-cam 3.0-liter V8 offered 255 horsepower and gave the 308 a top speed exceeding 150 mph, with zero-to-sixty mph accomplished in under 7 seconds. The engine had aluminum alloy block and heads, dual overhead camshafts, 16-valves, driven by toothed belts, and used four Weber 40 DCNF carburetors. It was mounted transversally integrally joined with the five-speed manual transaxle gearbox. The suspension was independent with double wishbones, coaxial telescopic shock absorbers, coil springs, and anti-roll bars.

In 1980, the GT4 was replaced by the Mondial 8 after a production run of 2,826 examples of 308s and 849 of the 208s.

by Daniel Vaughan | Aug 2019