Chassis no. 77436 Ferrari's line of highly successful V8-engined road cars began with the 308GT4 2+2 of 1973. The newcomer's wedge-shaped styling - by Bertone rather than the customary Pininfarina - was not universally well received, but its performance certainly was, and a new two-seater car using the same power unit debuted in 1975. Built on a shorter wheelbase, the beautiful 308 GTB marked a welcome return to Pininfarina styling. The 308 was superseded by the mechanically similar but larger engined 328 in 1985. By increasing both bore and stroke, the quattrovalvole engine's capacity was raised to 3,186cc which, together with a higher compression ratio, revised pistons and an improved Marelli engine management system, lifted maximum power to 270bhp at 7,000rpm. Top speed was raised to within a whisker of 160mph (258km/h) with the sprint to 60mph covered in 5.5 seconds.
