Originally ordered (S/574)by the then Ferrari agents Strattons(Wilmslow)Ltd to be finished in Azzurro metallizzato with magnolia(crema) hide with blue carpets on 14th October 1985.This was amended by Roger Maingot sales manager of Maranello Concessionaires in a telex to the factory on 31st October 1985 to Rosso Corsa with crema hide and red carpets. This was acknowledged by the factory on 10th November 1985.However the car was invoiced on 16th January 1986 finished in Azzurro metallizato with crema hide and dark blue carpets! It was delivered to the Maranello Concessionaires Ltd in Egham-Surrey by truck-one of the 260 non-abs equipped cars(notable by the concave wheels) plus a further 283 ABS equipped examples to be officially imported, there are now 419 328 GTS’s non ABS and ABS remaining taxed/SORN’d- and in turn to the London Ferrari agents HR. Owen, where it was first registered C987 CYR to D P Ltd director ,25 year old Mr P C of London on 12th March 1986.The then(07.03.86) list price of £35,949.77 was added to with factory air conditioning £1183.55,rear aerofoil £218.02 and Pirelli P7 tyres £224.25 plus delivery, number plates and road tax.

Being one of the first it was a “must have car” and sold to a second owner five months later 11th August 1986 by HR Owen(tbc) who certainly carried out the first service at 1,384 miles on 15th July 1986 to shipping agents C B of London .

Three years later, with up to a five year waiting list for a new car, one owner decided to have the car they wanted by having this one repainted Rosso Corsa and a new set of red Wilton carpets fitted ,notifying the colour change to the DVLA on 7th December 1989.

Over the first eight years the car passed through the ownership of a further five owners who took the mileage to 33,728 miles when it purchased by 40 year old merchant banker Mr R D of Essex, from myself, then of Ferrari specialists, Talacrest, 22ndJanuary 1994 @ 33,740 recorded miles. The penultimate owner Mr B O’N of Tyne and Weir bought the car once again from myself and Talacrest 18th December 2000 with 43,715 miles, following a full cam belt replacement service ,four new tyres and a MOT. For one year the car was unused as Mr O’N was in Chile, however he did manage to add some 4,000 miles during the four years he was to own it.

The last owner, 53 year company director Mr N H of London bought the car 2nd October 2004 directly from Mr O’N-who replaced it with a Mercedes Benz Unimog!- with 48,000 miles now covered. Mr H has had former Joe Macari Ltd ,former Maranello technicians Neal Lucas and latterly Aldo Riti maintain the car over the past 20 years and 20,000 miles. Recent work has included rebuilding of all the suspension dampers

Unusually complete with all its original handbooks, service book, leather wallet and tools 24 MOT’s and 33 services verify the mileage averaging just 1,700 miles a year. A huge file of past service invoices ,MOT’s and a complete list of previous owners from the DVLA-no longer possible due to GDPR rules.

An early example with no ABS, so having the concave wheels,”288 GTO” door interior doors handles, recessed external door handles

History:
The 328 GTS model, together with the fixed roof 328 GTB, were the final developments of the normally aspirated transverse V8 engine 2 seat series. The 328 figures in the model title referred to the total cubic capacity of the engine, 3.2 litres, and 8 for the number of cylinders. The new model was introduced at the 1985 Frankfurt Salon alongside the Mondial 3.2 series.

The Story
Essentially the new model was a revised and updated version of the 308 GTS, which had survived for eight years without any radical change to the overall shape, albeit with various changes to the 3 litre engine.
The 328 model presented a softening of the wedge profile of its predecessor, with a redesigned nose that had a more rounded shape, which was complimented by similar treatment to the tail valance panel. The revised nose and tail sections featured body colour bumpers integral with the valance panels, which reflected the work done concurrently to present the Mondial 3.2 models, with which they also shared a similar radiator grille and front light assembly layout. Thus all the eight cylinder cars in the range shared fairly unified front and rear aspects, providing a homogeneous family image. The exhaust air louvres behind the retractable headlight pods on the 308 series disappeared, coupled with an increase in the size of the front lid radiator exhaust air louvre, which had been introduced on the 308 Quattrovalvole models, whilst a new style and position of exterior door catch was also provided.


The interior trim also had a thorough overhaul, with new designs for the seat panel upholstery and stitching, revised door panels and pulls, together with more modern switchgear, which complimented the external updating details. Optional equipment available was air conditioning, metallic paint, Pirelli P7 tyres, a leather dashboard, leather headlining to the removable roof panel plus rear window surround, and a rear aerofoil (standard on Japanese market models).
In the middle of 1988 ABS brakes were made available as an option, which necessitated a redesign of the suspension geometry to provide negative offset. This in turn meant that the road wheel design was changed to accommodate this feature. The original flat spoke “star” wheels became a convex design, in the style as fitted to the 3.2 Mondial models, whether ABS was fitted or not.
Chassis and Engine
The main European market 328 GTS models had a tubular chassis with a factory type reference F 106 MS 100. Disc brakes, with independent suspension via wishbones, coil springs, and hydraulic shock absorbers, were provided all round, with front and rear anti roll bars. There were various world market models, each having slight differences, with right and left hand drive available.
The V8 engine was essentially of the same design as that used in the 308 Quattrovalvole model, with an increase in capacity to 3185cc, with a bore and stroke of 83mm x 73mm, and a type reference number F 105 CB 000. The engine retained the Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection system of its predecessor, but was fitted with a Marelli MED 806 A electronic ignition system, to produce a claimed power output of 270bhp at 7000rpm. As with the preceding 308 models the engine was mounted in unit with the all synchromesh five speed transmission assembly, which was below, and to the rear of the engine’s sump.
The 328 GTS continued in production for four years, until replaced by the 348 ts model in the Autumn of 1989, during which time 6068 examples were produced in the chassis number range of 59301 to 83136, the GTS production outnumbering the GTB version almost five to one. The early part of the series was numbered in the Ferrari odd number road car chassis sequence, and later examples (post chassis number 75000) in the continuous number sequence.

Taken from Ferrari's own website


The nature of the design of the 308, combining elements of the Berlinetta Boxer and the 246 Dino, was of a pure sporting nature. It was strictly a two- seater, with no pretence to being anything more. The biggest surprise concerning the bodywork was the use of fibreglass for the main body shell (the front deck lid was the only exception, being of aluminium). The reasons why this material was chosen have never been divulged by Ferrari, leading to a number of speculations. It was, of course, a weight-saver, and certainly an effective way to prevent the body corrosion which plagued the 365 GTB/4 and 246 Dino (both, like the 308 GTB, designed by Pininfarina but built by Scaglietti). It has also been suggested that the use of fibreglass allowed production of the car to begin much earlier, but was never intended as anything more than a stopgap measure until the dies for steel bodywork could be produced. Finally, it has even been suggested that the first batch of 308 GTB's were in fibreglass so the car could be homologated for competition in that form with, again, a weight advantage. Whatever the reason, there were no complaints about the quality and finish of the fibreglass bodywork, which was superb.

Mechanically the 308 GTB was obviously a direct descendant of the 308 GT Dino. The engine was the same 90 V8 with bore and stroke dimensions of 81mm and 71mm, giving a displacement of just under three litres. All main engine castings were of traditional Ferrari light alloy, with cast iron wet cylinder liners. It had four overhead camshafts (two per bank) driven by the toothed belts pioneered on the 365 GT4/BB, two valves per cylinder, and four Weber twin choke carburettors. The end result, the factory claimed, was 255 horsepower at 7700rpm.

It was mounted transversely, just ahead of the rear wheels, and transmitted its power through a five-speed transaxle, which was, again, identical to the 308 GT4 Dino's unit except for the higher fifth gear ratio. The clutch was a dry, single plate, mechanically operated unit. One major change, at least as originally introduced, was the adoption of a dry sump lubrication system for the engine. Finally, a change in the exhaust system resulted in only a single tailpipe, on the left side. The chassis was also straight from the 308 GT4 Dino, with 210mm missing from the wheelbase giving a total wheelbase dimension of 2340mm.

Front and rear suspensions (and the track dimensions of 1460mm each) were also unchanged. Of course, the car had four-wheel independent suspension and disc brakes all round. New on the 308 GTB were the wheels, which copied the five-pointed star design of the Daytona but were mounted via five lug bolts.

One final innovation with the 308 GTB distinguished it from the 308 GT4 Dino. Whereas the first 308 had been seen as a continuation of the Dino as a separate marque, with the cars bearing a number of Dino badges and receiving chassis numbers in the even number five digit sequence of the 246, the new 308 carried only Ferrari badges and was numbered in the odd numbered sequence that so far had been reserved for only the 12-cylinder production Ferraris.

Whilst fuel injection had been a useful adjunct to performance in its previous applications by Ferrari, its introduction on the 400GT and 308 series cars had been more in the nature of a "civilising" factor with the important by-product of bringing the cars closer to current legislation on exhaust emissions. The resulting decrease in power, though bad enough in Europe, was even more telling in the US. Whilst speed limits might stay at unrealistic levels compared to the performance potential of a Ferrari, customers did not take kindly to continuing loss of power, no matter how worthy or otherwise the cause. In a move to restore power, Ferrari decided to introduce 4-valve heads for the 308 series. This came about in the latter part of 1982 shortly before they were seen on the Mondial. By way of identifying the cars the "i" was dropped from the designation at the rear - all the cars were by then fuel injected - in favour of the Italian script "Quattrovalvole". It has not so far been shortened to "QV" although that is the way they are generally spoken of.

Introduced at the 1985 Frankfurt Motor Show, the 328 V-8 has evolved through fuel injection and 4 valve heads from the unit introduced in 1974 to power the 308GT4. With the bore and stroke dimensions increased to 83mm and 73.6mm respectively, capacity was raised to 3185cc. Power went up to 270bhp at 7000rpm - an increase of some 12.5% - and torque to 224.2lbs/ft at 5500rpm - an increase of some 17%. A number of internal design modifications, including raising the compression ratio from 8.8 to 9.8:1, were incorporated.

Although in general outward appearance the new cars were very similar to the previous models, the opportunity was taken to improve those items that affect drag and stability. The front air intake for the radiator, brakes and air conditioning was redesigned. The bumpers were integrated into the underfaring and painted to match the colour of the car. The radiator air discharge was ducted into what was referred to as a 'defined area' under the bonnet in the interests of efficiency. New lights which incorporated parking, turn and flashing, as on the Testarossa, were fitted. At the rear the bumper was painted to match the body and was also integrated into the underfaring along with the exhaust tailpipes and rear fog lights. Within the interior the dashboard was completely redesigned and new-style door handles - which incorporated the controls for the electric windows, exterior door mirrors and courtesy lights - were used.



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