The 1980 Ferrari 308 GTSi is at my office and the owner wants me to drive it. Alrighty then.
“So I have a friend who owns a 1980 Ferrari, would you want him to bring it by the office?” asked my co-worker.
Yes. Yes I would.
I have ridden in a Ferrari once, but I have never been behind the wheel. However, a
1980 Ferrari 308 GTSi just showed up at the NADAguides.com office and the owner is handing me the keys
I was going to wear the one Hawaiian shirt that I own to try and relive some Magnum P.I. fantasies, but I could not grow a mustache in time. I am actually happy I left the shirt at home. because I am in awe of the Pininfarina-designed Italian exotic and the yellow shirt would have been a stark clash to the beautiful and original Rosso Corsa red paint. This car is 29 years old and is holding up far better than I, even though we were both born in the same year.
Rosso Corsa Red paint and a prancing horse are more than enough to get anyone’s heart pumping a little faster.
The owner, Stefano, purchased the car in 2002 with 12,883 miles. Those miles were all put on the 308 by the original owner. Since that time, Stefano has added 7,862 miles of his own and describes the style and sound as hallmarks of this car being a true Ferrari, regardless of the relatively lack-luster performance when compared to other Ferrari cars or even of more modern sports cars.
The 1980 Ferrari 308 GTSi has a 3.0L V8 mounted amidships and the car is rear wheel drive. The engine produced about 215 hp when new, and the 1980 308 made the switch to fuel injection. 0-60 times were originally in the high seven second range with a top speed near 150 mph. Not terribly slow, but these days a Mazdaspeed3 can hit the 60 mph mark in about six seconds. The Ferrari will lose the speed race, but clearly most cars can’t hold a candle to it from a design standpoint. If there is ever a “stand still and look good race”, then the Ferrari will place quite high regardless of the competition.
I slide into the surprisingly comfortable bucket seat which is wearing the original and unscratched leather. A turn of the key and the engine roars to life right behind my head. It sounds fantastic. I am ready to start my test drive so I go to put the car in reverse and I have to use two hands to do so. Ok, that was interesting. Now to turn the wheel and I definitely have to use two hands to do so. This car does not have any of the items that make driving a car easy. There are no computers and there is certainly no power steering. Driving this car takes every ounce of energy and attention, but that is what makes it so appealing. Driving any car should take every ounce of your attention, but modern cars have allowed us to forget this.
You don’t even need to hit the brakes anymore to avoid an accident.
Out on the road, the Ferrari bucks and bounces over every imperfection the tires can find. This is to be expected in a sports car, but it was a bit unnerving since it wasn’t my sports car. I kept the speeds down to a level which would have made my mother proud, but the sound was still there and so was the thrill. I was driving a Ferrari for crying out loud! It was hard work to hustle the car on my short trip, but I loved every second of it.
The original MSRP of the 1980 Ferrari 308 GTSi was $40,576 which was a fortune that year or a fully-loaded
2009 Nissan 370Z now. The car has held its value quite nicely and can be had for a price ranging from $23,000 on the low end up to $40,000 for the best of the best. Stefano’s example is a wonderful car. Since taking over ownership he has added custom Ferrari Logo floor mats, updated the speedometer to the Veglia 180 mph one as opposed to the factory one which only goes up to 85 mph, added a more modern Alpine CD player, upgraded to 16” Ferrari wheels with Pirelli tires, and added a passenger side mirror since the car originally came with just a driver’s side mirror.
I can’t thank Stefano enough for letting me take his pride and joy out for a spin. Thanks to my co-worker Adriano as well for introducing us. The car has an interesting story, in that the original owner was in fact Adriano’s father who then sold the car to Stefano. I had a blast driving the car, but I had an even better time simply staring at it and photographing it.
For more information on more modern
2009 Ferrari cars or pricing for
classic Ferraris, visit
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