Which car put Ferrari on the "map"

308

 

Totally agree, the 166 MM Barchetta is probably the car that put Ferrari in the map. The little car won Le Mans and the Mille Miglia in 1949. By 1975, when the 308 was released, Ferrari had already won everywhere it had gone.

 

It was Chinetti driving 23 of 24 hours to win Lemans.....

That was the beginning.......

 

For me gorwing up, it was always the Testarossa and Countach on posters.

 

I first heard the name Ferrari as in automobile in the 50's from my mother, who spent time with US Red Cross in Rome during WWII and came back enamored of all things Italian. My Ferrari education began with Road & Track and Car & Driver mags from the early 60's on--they devoted a lot of pages to Ferrari articles, roadtests, comparison tests with American musclecars, and especially in R&T, Grand Prix and other racing coverage. Actual sightings were few and far between in 1960's Dallas. I'm middle aged and Ferrari has always been part of my lifelong automotive enthusiasm so it seems strange yet makes sense to read that Magnum PI, Miami Vice and the 308 model made it a household name. I never even watched those shows but then that era was one of many other priorities for me and my interest in cars was pretty much at its low point.

 

0008
Only chassis to ever win LeMans AND Mille Miglia, both in '49. Never repeated, never beaten.
My 400K lire
Lee
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It's probably the 308, but my earliest and most lasting impression was the Daytona Spyder in "Gumball Rally."

Said in an Italian accent..."What isa behinda me, does nota matter!"

 

Very interesting that SMILES' post
I was aware of Ferrari being a popular common last name in Italy but didn't know it meant Iron Worker (actually it makes a lot of sense) since spanish for IRON is Hierro o Fierro then the spanish last name equivalent for Ferrari would be : Herrera

yes I agree it was the 308 hands down.
it it wasn't for the 308 probably we'd be talking about a dead name by now.

 

I wonder if that is where GM got the name Fiero.

Note also the name for the Ferrari script Ferro Rosso, 'Red Iron'.

A common theme

 

It's amazing that car is only worth 1.5-2 mm

 

I am sure it was the 308. But it seems that many comments, may be from those that active in the 60's and 70's, mentioned that the name was known long before. I could be wrong becuse I was a teenager in the 80's. As we all know that Today Ferrari is known to everyone who live in the modern world. Was it well known like this in the 60's and 70's.? Do all the children know what a Ferrari was in the 60's, 70's as they do today? If not so, if 90% of the people know Ferrari today and 40% know Ferrari in the 60's and 70's, then there has to be a turning point that changes this. Wouldn't that be the 308?

 

I'll say the 250 GTO. It inspired a Pontiac and made Ford spend a lot of money to try and defeat it. The 308 played a role, but the GTO had already made Ferrari a well-known name.

I'll also say the movie "Grand Prix" made a difference as well.

 

The 166 barchetta

 

166

 

Ferrari was big but Magnum PI made it even bigger !!!

The reason I watched Magnum was: Tom Sellack and 308.

All model cars that were available at the time were only the 308/328.

The lines of the 308 is timeless. Bring it back 100 years later, it still looks great.

If I remember correctly, the 308 in Magnum was a GTS !!! is that right ?

 

If you look at production numbers then it was the Dino that really put Ferrari on the map, despite it not being badged a Ferrari. Everyone new it was a Ferrari. There were 3761 Dino's produced, but prior to the Dino no model had had more than 600.

However it was really the success in the 50's and 60's on the race track that fuelled the legend especially in Sportscar racing at LeMans at over famous races. Ferrari sold during the week the cars that the racing heroes were driving at the weekend.

 

all ferrari made the history of the cavalino rampante...specialy the factory's victory in fifthies and sixties....and every new ferrari continues this story...

 

I think that the Magnum P I Series/308 made Ferrari a household name in the USA. Sure there were the car enthusiast that were well aware of Ferrari's racing heritage, but Magnum P.I. put the Ferrari name in every house the had a TV.

 

I think 308s is probably the Ferrari that started it all, especially for the general non-automotive oriented public. However, they may not know what it is except it being a beautiful red sports car driven by Thomas Magnum in the show Magnum P.I.. By the mid 80's, with the popularity of Miami Vice, Testarossa may have been and gained the iconic status. Again, this is only referring to the none-automotive enthusiast group. As for the automotive enthusiast crowd, you simply CAN NOT be an auto-enthusiast and not know something about a Ferrari.

 

From what I can gather I would say that the Ferrari myth started quite early. E.g. I have a car magazin from 1961 listing all the supercars of the world and - of course! - the 250 SWB is among them.

I think a car brand is on the map as soon as an auto magazine that is read by a wide public has a frequent coverage of it. In this light Ferrari was already on the map in the late 50ies or early 60ies and cars like the 250 SWB, the Lusso or the 250 GTE brought it there.

 

Another thought: I remember that I had a Ferrari model (it must have been a P4 or so) at age 5 in 1969.

Well, come on, Ferraris were sold as kid toys in the 60ies, and some of you believe, it became known to a wider public only by the 308?? Not if we are talking about the civilized part of this globe

 

OOOOooooo some insulting I sense...

 

Dear Freinds,

Of course the 308 put Ferrari on the map for masses of the uneducated or unenlightened or those growing up then (no offense intended, even if it sounds that way) but the real car that did it was the first Ferrari made. In my opinion every car company since has just been playing catch up. One question, if america is so great how come we cannot even field a f1 team let alone a competitive f1 car or driver. Ferrari is my religion, my love, my passion. In Italy it is called the Red Religion and it has never let me down. I my garage Enzo is my God.

Rob
who wishes he was Italian

 

you guys prefer anything as along as It's foreign.
what if the guy in the pic was named Vincent Smith? (literal and hard translation)

 

308 it is.

I was in a parking lot last week with my Dino. A couple pull up in a Jag convertible, stop behind me, and ooh and ahh over my car.

Then she says, "Just like MAGNUM'S CAR right, a Ferrari?"

I carefully explain the differences between MAGNUM'S CAR and mine, and she says, "I loved that show. You'd need to grow a little to be Magnum sized." (I'm 5'9")

But, I think the point is well taken. My car doesn't say "Ferrari" on it anywhere, but the style shares components with the 308, and that's the car that put Ferrari in the public eye.