[Llarry]

An early example of "Pinin" Farina's coachbuilding work: 1937 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300 Pescara berlinetta.

"Pinin" Farina founded his firm in 1930. The firm was destroyed in World War II and he started over. Post-war, the firm had many successes and in particular styled many Ferraris over the years, as well as other more ordinary vehicles. In 1961, the firm became Pininfarina.

[ash_schwin]

Dream garage!

[JMcLellan]

Originally Posted by mjj

488 Pista is my all time favorite, followed closely by a 458 Speciale. I would pull the trigger if I were single but no way either one of these makes it past the wife for approval.

Plus the way it works in my house is if I make a large car purchase, then she feels compelled to spend the same/more on something she wants. So essentially I need to always plan for 2x spend of what it should cost.

I will be driving a 488 Pista in a couple weeks in Las Vegas. I'm sure I will want to buy one afterwards along with so many other cars....cars are the best.

[Llarry]

1936 Mercedes-Benz 290K cabriolet

[Llarry]

As we have seen, the government regulations placed on automakers hit Ferrari hard in the 1970s and the import of V-12 power cars to the USA ceased. But Ferrari wanted to keep some skin in the game in what was the largest market for their road cars, and so imported a large number of mid-engine V-8 cars during the period. The Dino/Ferrari 308 GT4, which we have already covered, was the first of these and Ferrari built on that with a two-seat variant which became the bread and butter of the marque.

The Ferrari 308 GTB was introduced at the Paris auto show in 1975. By now the V-8s were Ferraris, not Dinos. The car was based mechanically on the 308 GT4 with the same 90-degree dual overhead cam 3-liter V-8. The styling was by Pininfarina and was quite handsome. The wheelbase was of course shortened as the new car did not have GT4's rear seats.

The car was an immediate hit. The initial lot of 308GTBs had partly fiberglass bodies but soon transitioned to all metal. The wheels were 14-inch with 205/70R-14 tires at first.

The power output was 255 hp in Europe and 240 hp in the USA. The American cars suffered extended 5 mph impact bumpers; over the years the owners converted them back to Euro bumpers.

In 1977 the 308 GTB was joined by a Targa-type 308 GTS with removable roof panel. The GTS proved a hit and spider sales soon outpaced sales of the berlinetta.

In Italy, as had been the case with the 308 GT4, there was a 2-liter V-08 version available for the tax-averse buyer.

Emissions regulations continued to tighten and in 1980, the 308 saw its Weber carburetors replaced by Bosche K-Jetronic fuel injection in an effort to meet the ever more strict regulations. The output of U.S. market cars dropped to 205 hp, a real low point for Ferrari.

Some relief arrived in 1982 with the adoption of 4-valve heads and output for U.S. cars rose to 230 hp. These are referred to as 308 GTB/GTS Quattrovalvole cars. The 308 GTB & 308 GTS QV cars continued to be sold until 1985 -- an unprecedented ten year run for Ferrari.

In 1985, the 308s got a displacement bump to 3.2 liters which brought the power output up to 260 hp at 7000 rpm. By now, too, the 14-inch wheels and tires had been replaced by staggered 16-inchers (205/55R-16 front and 225/50R-16 rear); note, however, that the 308/328 cars were subjected to the same unfortunate period of Michelin TRX metric sizes. Late 328s got anti-lock braking.

Put together, the production run for the 308/328 cars was 1975 to 1989, a record for Ferrari. In 1989, a new 348 berlinetta was finally introduced to update the V-8 line. All told, the 308s and 328s, along with their 208 Italian cousins, sold about 21,500 cars during that period.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrari_308_GTB/GTS

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrari 328

A note on photos: Since all the cars -- early or late -- were quite similar in appearance, I've minimized the number of attached photos. The Wikipedia articles have more. You'll note that any search for Ferrari photos yields plenty of red ones!

[Llarry]

When Ferrari replaced the 328 mid-engine V-8s, they quickly ran into an obstacle from an unexpected quarter: Japan. Honda introduced an aluminum-bodied semi-exotic: The NSX. The NSX did not have the heritage or cachet of the Ferrari, but was far cheaper and could be maintained or repaired at your local Honda dealer (in Europe) or Acura dealer (in the USA.)

It took Ferrari a while to respond in kind to the assault but in the meantime, they introduced a new 3.4 liter-powered 348 tb and ts in berlinetta or targa-style spider style respectively. The 3.4 offered 300 hp and the 348s came with 17-inch wheels & tires as well; it seemed that Ferrari was back in the game.

In 1993 a true convertible joined the lineup as the 348 spider. At the same time, the other two body styles got a minor facelift.

Despite the competition, Ferrari sold almost 9,000 cars from 1989 to 1994.

The 348 was not universally praised by the motoring press; it was evident that Honda had an impact on the overall market. But Ferrari was awakened by the competition and came back strong with the 348's replacement, the 355. I will cover that model in the future.

Note that the photos show that not all Ferraris are red!

[Llarry]

Although I have plenty of Ferraris left to feature, I must not forget that there are lots and lots of cool cars of all types worthy of this thread.

Here's one: A 1931 Auburn 8-98A phaeton. Beautiful! (Price new in 1931 $1,395.)

[Llarry]

Speaking of *NOT* Ferrari, you would be forgiven for thinking this to be some unusual Ferrari but this is in fact one of three 1959 Corvettes that were sent to Italy to be rebodied by Scaglietti.

[Llarry]

The first American front wheel drive car: 1931 Cord L-29 cabriolet, which made its debut in 1929.

As usual on upscale cars of the period, powered by a straight eight.

[Llarry]

Alfa Romeo made a bunch of winners in 1930s competition. Here is a supercharged 1933 6C 1500 that placed first in the 1500cc class at the 1934 Mille Miglia. The team was managed by Enzo Ferrari; note the Scuderia Ferrari shields on the engine cover. (We will definitely see plenty more of these shields after Ferrari founds his own company.)

[Llarry]

The Ferrari 355 -- sometimes styled as F355 -- was Ferrari's last steel-bodied mid-engine V-8 car and was introduced in berlinetta form in 1994. The car rode on the same wheelbase as the previous 348 and featured 18-inch wheels and tires. It had a larger 3.5 liter V-8 with 5 valves per cylinder and titanium connecting rods. Output rose to 375 hp at 8250 rpm.

The 355 GTB was soon followed by a 355 Spider and a 355 GTS with removable targa top panel. There were also some special editions, which I will not cover here.

In 1997, an automated manual transmission with paddle shifters was introduced as an option and proved popular; Ferrari called it the F1. (It was quite similar to the Magnetti-Marelli system called SMG by BMW.)

The 355 ceased production in 1999 after 11,273 had been sold. It was replaced by a radical new all-aluminum model, the Ferrari 360.

[Llarry]

The Ferrari 360 Modena replaced the F355 in 1999. The 360 featured an aluminum space frame that was 40% stiffer, yet 28% lighter than the predecessor 355's, despite a significant increase in size. The wheelbase grew by 150 mm (6 inches) to 102.4 inches. 18-inch wheels and tires remained standard, but 19s were fitted to some cars.

The 360's V-8 was enlarged to 3.6 liters and power increased accordingly; Max horsepower was now 395, reached at 8500 rpm.

Curb weight increased 20 pounds for the new model due to the engine and more equipment.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrari_360

Ferrari continued to offer special models; see the Wiki for details.

A 360 Spider followed the 360 Modena and soon became more popular. The F1 transmission continued to be available and, though an expensive option, was often specified.

The 360 was produced from 1999 to 2004 and almost 18,000 were sold.

In 2004, a new F430 model was introduced. The 430 was built on the same space frame but had a 4.3-liter V-8 with 483 hp and a very substantial increase in torque. Curb weight actually dropped slightly with the new model, which featured standard 19-inch wheels and tires. Styling tweaks were part of the package, of course.

The F430 also introduced a steering wheel-mounted control called the manettino -- sort of a sport switch on steroids -- which varied the car's settings for throttle response, traction and stability control, etc. A spider model followed, of course, and sales of F1 automated manual models continued to grow. Special versions offered 503 hp power output -- see the Wiki for details.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrari_F430

Over 20,000 F430s were produced from 2004 to 2009.

The F430 was replaced by the 458 Italia, which I've already covered.

[Llarry]

1972 Citroen SM coupe & cabriolet

From 1970 to 1974 Citroen built about 12,000 SM coupes with front-wheel drive and 2.7 liter (as here) or 3.0 liter V-6s. Fewer than 10 coupes were converted to cabriolets, one of which is shown here.

[///MPhatic]

A snap from my drive yesterday. Such a fantastic experience that very few vehicles produce.

Today was a good day. by Andrew Thompson, on Flickr

[Llarry]

The Ferrari mid-engine V-8s have now been replaced by the V-6 hybrid 296 but let me cover the last V-8. The Ferrari F8 Tributo was introduced in 2019 in berlinetta form, followed shortly by a folding-hardtop spider. These cars were based on the same 2650 mm (104.3 inch) wheelbase of the predecessor 488 and continued to use 20-inch wheels and tires. The 3.9 liter turbo V-8 was rated at 710 hp at 8000 rpm and 566 ft-lbs of torque at 3250 rpm.

2023 MSRP was $328,292.

[JJ 911SC]

.

[Murf the Surf]

Originally Posted by JJ 911SC

.

Why?

[Lady Jane]

Originally Posted by Murf the Surf

Why?

I don't think that these pics are real. Do a closeup of the individuals. They all look CGI. I stand to be corrected.

[///MPhatic]

CGI take on this famous Dino for sure.

https://www.latimes.com/visuals/phot...107-story.html

[Llarry]

Ferrari's "last" mid-engine V-8 had a PHEV companion in the SF90 Stradale. The Stradale's claim to fame is taking the two-seater to 1,000 CV (986 hp): a slightly enlarged V-8 of 4 liters putting out 769 hp and three electric motors (rear and one for each front wheel) putting out 217 hp. I suppose you could say that the other claim to fame is the price: In the USA the berlinetta lists for just under $530,000 while the retractable hardtop spider runs $60,000 more. Mere mortals need not apply.

https://en.wikipedia.org.wiki/Ferrari_SF90_Stradale

[///MPhatic]

Originally Posted by Llarry

Ferrari's "last" mid-engine V-8 had a PHEV companion in the SF90 Stradale.

The sad part is that the perfect 4-series Ferrari doesn't exist, as it's a mashup of the 458/488/F8/SF90.

[murderspice]

Originally Posted by Llarry

The Ferrari mid-engine V-8s have now been replaced by the V-6 hybrid 296 but let me cover the last V-8. The Ferrari F8 Tributo was introduced in 2019 in berlinetta form, followed shortly by a folding-hardtop spider. These cars were based on the same 2650 mm (104.3 inch) wheelbase of the predecessor 488 and continued to use 20-inch wheels and tires. The 3.9 liter turbo V-8 was rated at 710 hp at 8000 rpm and 566 ft-lbs of torque at 3250 rpm.

2023 MSRP was $328,292.

May be sacrilegious, but i dont like it; looks too brutal.