New to the K500: Ferrari 308 GTB/S

By Steve Wakefield

27th February 2015

Few can have missed the rise in values of what were once ‘beginner Ferraris’, the 308 GTB and GTS.

Without doubt, pick of the bunch are the first glassfibre cars – vetroresina in Italian, a title enthusiastically taken up by the trade imparting, as it does, excitement, lustre and ‘value’ – that’s a more-than-50% premium, to you and me.

Ferrari 308 GTB/S individual index graphing tells the story

K500 subscribers can read the low-down on the car and all its injection or Weber carbs, dry- vs. wet-sump and four-valve-head variations elsewhere on K500. From an index value of 214.48 one year ago the model as a whole (all cars, note, including vetroresinas and GTSs) has now reached 336.84. And for years, right up to 2013, it was hovering around the 130 mark…

Individual sales are dotted with outliers - the vetroresina cars - but the trend is resolutely up

We invited specialists to comment on the 308 GTB phenomenon.

"Maranello has all but confirmed the demise of the naturally-aspirated V8 Ferrari, so it’s no surprise that buyers are now clamouring for the company's very first mid-engined V8 two seater,” says Ed Callow, marketing manager at Foskers Ferrari in Kent, UK.

"The exact weight difference between fibreglass and steel 308 GTBs is actually a moot point,” he continues, “Collectors want the early and original plastic-bodied Berlinetta, and the prices we have achieved suggest the market premium is currently around 50% higher than a steel car.”

A fine profile, overlooked and undervalued for too long

Nick Cartwright, for so many years the ‘go-to’ Dino specialist in Great Britain, concurs: “The market for glassfibre cars has been buoyant, but we also sold a QV recently for £80k ($120k). The plastic cars might look good on the surface, but remember there’s still the steel chassis and much metal panelwork underneath – and it can rot. Performance-wise, the two-valve GTSi is the weakest model and I’d be surprised if the engine gives 200bhp – it certainly does not feel like it.

“I’d seriously look at a Ferrari 328 – it’s a far better car, more powerful with some treated parts to prevent corrosion,” he continued. “I think it’s attractive, too.”

So, the 308 GTB and GTS, in all their variations have been added to the K500, the index that tracks the 500 most collectable cars in the world. Out goes the Renault 4CV – au revoir!

Photos: Foskers, K500.com, unknown internet