Best Looking V8 (non-turbo)

Nothing else compares to the 308, in fact, the only ones that come close, the 360 and 355, are only evolutions of its design! In my opinion the 355 is a clean up of the design that went a touch too far and came out too clean, but still nice; while the 360 took it a bit too far in an evolutionary way. The 308 is just pure form.

 

Looks like someone took mercy on the California and threw it a couple of votes now..



PDG

 

lol...funny.

 

A Mondial 3.2 Coupe is quite fetching in nero.

IMHO

 

Yes, one wheel at each corner and a mid-mounted engine that uses gasoline.

 

No, I think it's more than that. But, I always felt the 308 was a squared off Dino with big black rubber bumpers too.

Having owned a 246 Dino and now an F430, I find when sit in the 430 and look out the hood and over my shoulder, it seems extremely reminicent to my old Dino. I never felt that with my 308. The hood is too flat. You might as well be sitting in a TR7.

Besides... pop up headlights are soooooooooo 80's. Even Corvettes gave them up.

 

The 308/328, to me, are the most striking designs - but not the most beautiful. It was a tossup between the 355 and the 458, and I chose the 458 - though I could be talked into going either way. It's hard to judge the 458's design because it's so new, but I've seen a few of these on the road now and I'm in awe of their styling - I really think time will treat it very well.

 

The reason why just V8s is apples to apples. Perhaps we should have a survey on the 12s.

The reason no turbos; the F40. Would blow them all away IMVHO.

The reason no Mondial is I just forgot about it. Why? Probably bcus it is my least favorite Fcar. My bad.

I know which Fcar I believe is the best looking however I wanted to find out what you think. Thanks.

 

Then I think your survey is flawed. Comparing cars by engine types is not a fair comparison. The CA will lose for sure against 7 other sportier mid engine cars.

Comparing the CA to other GT's would be more reasonable. At least it's apples to apples by car type, not just engine.

So, criticising the CA for not getting many votes in this survey is also flawed. Personally, I'd rate it better looking than the 599 and certainly the 612 --- and light years ahead of the 400. It's all relative.

I also think you're wrong about the F40. Although I truely respect this car, the 288 GTO is much better looking IMO.

 

While the rest of his post was true, this is the most true statement possible. Not only in the English language, but in all human tongues.

The 288GTO and then slightly lesser the 308 cannot be overcome, even by the recent - and very adept challenger the 458

 

This pole ended up right about where I thought it would, even though I voted 308. 355 is a worthy machine, but it's funny how the most beautiful of the lot is also the most problematic. Bipolar supermodel anyone?

 

Will the 430 still be beautiful in 35 years? Compared to the 458, it's already a memory. The Fioravanti design of the 308 is as timeless as it was in 1975 and still turns heads. When the 348 replaced it, I felt like it was the end of beautiful cars from Maranello. The only pretty cars since that time, IMHO, have been the 360 and 550. Hopefully, Ferrari is leaning back towards beauty as well as science in future designs. The 458 is a great start and I hope the other new models follow suit.

 

Since the 328 and 308 are very similar, variation on the same theme. If we combine their votes we have here a winner, but all in all, like many guys here already said ( including me to a certain extend ) the 3X8 and F355 are on the top in the beauty department.

 

I agree. It was sort of the end of an era not only for Ferrari, but in true hand made automobiles. Hand made as they used to be hand made just won't cut the performance mustard in today's high-strung performance market. The older cars, especially the carbureted dino's and 308s are the quintessential mid-engine Ferrari's and are the beautiful beginning of an era. While nothing compares to the 60s and pre-60s era, they remain a big mark in the F car lineage.

 

Absolutely Baby!!! 308 best looking by far.

 

I would lump the 360/CS and F430/Scuderia together. We're all extremely focused on the differences between them, but to the average onlooker they're identical. If you go back to the 250 GT SWB and 250 GTO, those are both gorgeous and different from nose to tail. Yes, they are related under the metal, but only an expert would know that. The F430 has the "painted toenail" tail lights, and the 360 has the "ox-yoke" front bumper, but these are plastic details tacked onto basically the same body shape.

I would call the 550/575 beautiful, not in the category of the great 250 series Ferraris, but relative to modern cars it's very striking. It is derivative of earlier cars, by design, so I don't think it will ever be regarded as a classic, but it is very, very good.

The 308/328 also look identical to people who don't live on FChat. I owned a 328, but I would give the 308 (in European GTS configuration) the edge in looks. But we overestimate the differences. In European trim, the 308 and 328 are visually close. In U.S. trim, less so, but the signature styling cues are intact in all of them.

FWIW, as a recent non-owner, I don't think Ferrari has come up with anything iconic since the 308/328. Those cars, plus the Porsche 911 and original Lotus Esprit, are the only post-1970 designs (well, 911 hit its stride in the early '70s anyway...) that really fall into the timeless category, IMHO. All were ruined by successive redesigns -- Ferrari dumped the 246/308 motif after 30 years in favor of something more aero and less brash and assertive; Porsche turned the 911 into a blobby plastic luxury car after 1998; and Lotus rounded the sharp Esprit into just another wedge so that it was no longer a dagger on the road.

And I do like the 355, btw. It's just a bit conservative for an exotic, and the interior is utterly normal and plastic (no more leather console). I see the 355 and always think, that's an extremely well drawn car with a nice wide stance. But I see a 308 GTS and it's so low, tight and outrageous that it's up there with the Countach (before that car was ruined with spoilers and Chrysler-era plastic add-on crap...) as one of the world's most recognizable exotic cars. Even the U.S. 'exhaust diaper' adds to the mad industrial look of the 308. It's still the mini skirt of exotic cars -- definitely curvy and feminine, shrink-wrapped around the engine and wheels, and it's from the era where Pininfarina was still giving the finger to focus groups and not paying attention to what everyone else was doing.

(And, again, I don't own a 308, and my 328 is with a new owner in Boston, so my vote was cast with no self interest.)

 

Nice! Except I think they look better without the eye shadow.

 

LOL!!!

What can I say, she likes her make-up

 

I think this one looks Pretty nice.
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It’s the F355 for me, followed by the 308. I do really like the new 458, it is definitely a step in the right direction imho.

 

Gotta be F355 for me.

 

F355 is a sexy *****
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TEASE.

 

MMMMmmmmmmmm, yum.
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Bias is of course part of it. I would like to own a 348, but I also consider it one of the ugliest Ferrari's in history. It's still a ferrari though

The 308 is one of the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful of all cars ever.