Growing up in the early 1980’s it was hard for a car loving boy not to fall in love with a Ferrari of that era. The Ferrari models that were so ingrained in my mind of automotive bliss were the 308 GTB and GTS Variants. We also had a TV Show called Magnum PI where Tom Selleck drove around Hawaii in a red Ferrari 308 GTS womanizing every female on the set. For many enthusiasts we sorta nicknamed the early 80’s as the Magnum PI Ferrari era and respectfully so. The 308 Quattrovalvole  was a hit on the silver screen as it was for car enthusiast alike. The styling of this generation of cars coming out of the Pinninfarina design studio clearly set the identity for the Ferrari brand up until the late 1999 period. Looking back at some of these classics they all share a common design language by incorporating louvers and air inlets sculpted into the body lines of each model. We have the 308, Mondial, 328GTS, Testarossa, 348 GTB, 355, 288 GT0 and the infamous F40 supercar. These are the sophisticated prancing horses of the 1980’s that we all know and adorn with love.

I remember as if it was yesterday with my mom taking my brother and I down to NYC on the Express Bus to visit the ultimate toy store, FAO Schwartz. This was the ultimate toy store that catered to the super rich children of the world class elite. We never were able to get anything in this store because it was always so expensive and these adventures became the ultimate tease circling me around this metropolis. As we went up on the second floor escalator there she was, a bright red Ferrari 308 GTB miniature gasoline powered go cart. This go cart was so realistic from the badges, the leather prototipo styled steering wheel to the famously recognizable Campanoglo 5 spoke wheels. I went nuts over seeing this car and was begging my mom to get it for me, the price tag at that time was around $30,000 and that is 1980 money. I was influenced by the Ferrari 308 at such an early age from this experience at FAO Schwartz to the matchbox cars and die cast models I owned and later the radio controlled models I would expertly build in my bedroom workshop. I had tools and a little work area since the age of 5 and I guess this was what kept me out of trouble for the most part, ask my parents how well that worked out.

As a poster child of  the 1980’s with Italian sports cars such as the 308 and Lamborgini Countach  plastered on my bedroom wall these were the early seeds planted that eventually led to a career surrounding myself with these super cars in every way imaginable from racing, building, restoring and modifying them. My vision board growing up was my bedroom wall of supercars and toy models while the rest is history.

The Ferrari 328 GTS was the successor of the 308 series models with slight revisions that made it a better all around Ferrari and still one of the most reliable prancing horses to ever own. For starters the engines displacement was increased to 3.2 liters for it’s transversely mounted mid engine layout mated to a fully synchromesh 5 speed gearbox controlled through the iconic gated shifter body.  The V8 output was rated at 270hp and featured a Bosch Jetronic Fuel Injection system and a Magnetti Ignition system combined. Modern cars today have such sophisticated ECU that they control all parameters in one simple system.The engines architecture also allowed the timing belt service to be performed without removing the entire engine and trans assembly like later 348 and 355 models. Servicing a Ferrari can be astronomically priced and become a caveat of ownership if you are not wise. The braking system was also improved with the introduction of ABS in the late 1988 model year while Ferrari engineers had to redesign the suspension geometry to incorporate the ABS sensors and modules. As a result the geometry of the front and rear double wishbone suspension was more in line with a true sports granturismo. The recognizable wheels of the early Ferrari models such as the 308 and 512BBI are the wide flat spoke sculpted Campagnolo wheels. Since the 328 GTS underwent so many revisions under the skin the wheels also needed a revision in their offsets and face profile to accommodate the suspension changes. Visually if you see both cars side by side you can connect the dots and understand more about positive and negative offsets of wheels in relation to brake hardware overhang. This is very common in our modern cars we all drive each day.

The 328 models were available as a  Targa and Berlinetta closed cockpit design. The interior was also slightly revised and featured wool carpeting and Connolly leather hides nestled behind classic Veglia gauges and instrumentation. The car featured in this article is a new purchase from a good client of mine in NY. Bob and I have have spoken about some cars of interest and I was shocked when he reached out that he bought this one shown here. The car featured is a 7k mile all original example and a very desirable 1989 Targa variant in Nero over Creme which is extremely rare to find today. This vehicle is currently on it’s journey from Colorado to NY and I will be shooting a video and having Bob discuss further how he made the decision to buy this Ferrari 328 GTS, and just to throw it out there Bob is a die hard Porsche 911 owner and collector. Stay tuned to learn more about the Ferrari 328 GTS as I dive into more technical info  and the ownership experience.

Here is a glimpse of the 3.2 Liter Quatrovalvole V8 engine nestled sideways in the chassis to give this car incredible mid engine balance and driving dynamics.