1985 Ferrari 328

The Ferrari 328 was designed by Pininfarina and produced from 1985 through 1990, during which 6068 examples were produced. The 328 followed the Ferrari 308 but featured a transversely mounted, naturally aspirated V8 with an enlarged bore and stroke. The dual overhead camshaft (DOHC) engine with Bosch K-Jetronic Fuel injection was capable of producing 270 horsepower. Power was transferred to the rear wheels through the use of a five-speed manual transaxle. The name '328' was attributed to its 3.2-liter eight-cylinder engine, and the GTB and GTS represented Berlinetta and Spyder body-styles respectively. The GTS, known as the spyder or Targa, had a removable roof panel and proved to be extremely popular, outselling the Berlinetta body style by almost four-to-one.

The Ferrari 328 GTB represented the second generation of Ferrari's V8-engined road cars. The entirely new 308 GTB had made its debut in 1975 at the Paris Salon, itself an evolution of the Dino-badged 308 GT4 2+2 of 1973. The 308 GT4 wore wedge-shaped styling by Marcello Gandini of Bertone rather than the customary Pininfarina, with a mid-mounted, 3.0-liter, dry-sump version of the same power unit that would be installed in its two-seater successor. The 308 GTB wore styling by Leonardo Fioravanti of Pininfarina on a 92.1-inch wheelbase with an overall length of 166.5-inches. The 328 wore similar styling to its 308 GTB predecessor on a slightly larger 92.5-inch wheelbase with an overall length of 167.5-inches.

The open-top GTS version of the 308 arrived in 1977 with a Targa-style removable roof, the adoption of Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection in 1980, and revised cylinder heads with four valves per cylinder in 1982.

The bodywork of the 328 continued to be built largely by hand coming from the coachbuilder Scaglietti works. Subtle changes were made both to improve the aesthetics and aerodynamic characteristics. The wedge profile of its predecessor was softened, with a redesigned and rounder-shaped nose, complemented by similar treatment to the rear valance panel. Both the front and rear carried body-color bumpers integral with the valance panels, similar to the concurrently produced Mondial 3.2 models. The radiator grille and front light assembly layout were also similar between the two eight-cylinder models.

The increased size of the front lid radiator exhaust air louver, first introduced on the 308 Quattrovalvole models, was carried through to the 328, and the exhaust air louvers located behind the retractable headlight pods on the 308 were dropped.

The interior received new designs for the seat panel upholstery and revised door pulls and panels. The backlit orange on black dashboard gauges off the 1984 GTO supercar was adopted by the 328 and placed behind the Momo (Moretti-Monza) steering wheel. There were a large tachometer and speedometer, along with modern cockpit switches.

A rear aerofoil was standard on some market models and optional on others. The list of optional equipment included leather headlining to the removable roof panel and rear window surround, Pirelli P7 tires, a leather dashboard, air conditioning, and metallic paint.

Mechanical updates were implemented late in the 1988 model year with the addition of an anti-lock braking system (ABS) to its ventilated disc brakes. These changes required updates to its suspension geometry and convex hub 16-inch alloy wheels which replaced the previous concave versions. Thus, the 328 now had a similar convex 'star' wheel design as the 3.2 Mondial models. In the United States, all 1988-built models did not have ABS while all 1989 models did. In Europe, ABS was an option for all mid-1988 and 1989 models.

The 328 GTB and GTS remained in production until 1989, by which time nearly 22,000 examples of the 308 and 328s of all types had been sold, making the model the most commercially successful Ferrari of all time.

By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2005