What was faster in the 1980s than the 308??

Dr.Tommy was it the GNX?

 

The GN definitely had the turbo lights on at as well as the GNX. The GNX had a turbo with ceramic impeller which was decidedly high-tech at the time, so it sure sounds like it.

One of my best friends had a GN in college, it was an awesome car. Would get 27mpg on the highway and could take just about anything off the line. It was decidedly NOT a good handling car though and would get toasted on a road course by a 308 (and dozens of other cars). The GNX was a different animal with Mclaren developed 4 wheel independent suspension and even more power. Those cars felt so fast in part due to the massive turbo lag. You'd floor it and then a second or two later all of a sudden it would just take off. So much fun.

A '79 trans am with w72 and ws6 packages would probably beat a 308 in anything but top speed. They topped out around 130mph (gearing limited) but could run a high 14 second 1/4 and handle and brake very well. I had one with a slightly warmed over motor (using all factory parts except headers) and it was fast and had tons of grip. The steering feel sucked, though, and it was a bit of a handful. I was able to get all of that 130mph on the front straight at VIR in it and actually could have used more gear as I was over the 5700rpm redline. The '79 was the only year, though, as it was the last year for the decently powerful w72 400 and the first year for 4 wheel discs in the ws6 (handling) package. VSE also sold a modified version of the trans am in those years called the Fire-Am that would destroy a 308. One actually raced at the Daytona 24hr in largely stock form. It later ran the Cannonball run but I believe retired from both due to blowing an oil pan seal.

The 308 would be more fun, if not as quick. It would also be more at home on track. The trans am needed attention to oiling as the oil pressure would drop in long right handers, so you'd have to overfill it for track use, eventually I installed a trap-door oil pan. The clutch was heavy as hell and it had way overboosted reciprocating ball power steering. I eventually converted it to manual steering to get some feel, but it would never be as good as rack and pinion. It was fairly at home on the track (for a muscle car), and the only non factory parts I had on mine were the aforementioned headers, a larger rear sway bar, polygraphite suspension bushings and subframe connectors. I sold it after I got my 355 but wish I'd held on to it.

 

Road and Track 1985ish
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Ahh the good old days I remember it was the Mustang vs the GN and it usually came down to the driver. A lot of GN owners didn't know how to properly launch the GN and it would bog off the line and if the 5.0 driver could launch the mustang without much wheelspin he could take the GN I remember the 5.0 LX notchback being a real sleeper when it came out in 87 with 225 horse and 300lbft of torque. Also the notchback was lighter than the Gt and lx hatchback. I don't recall the GN having much top end maybe only in the upper 120 range.

 

That is a great article Bill I have that issue at home in my attic I'm pretty sure it is from 1984 and those are 84 models. That 84 GTB is beautiful.

 

I can tell you without looking it was the Aug 1983 issue. Had a green cover with a sketch of the new 300ZX.
I bought mine in the Charleston WV airport that summer coming home from visiting my grandparents. C&D published their first QV test that same month and I thought I hit the jackpot for airplane reading material. I was 15 and LOVED the 308. Still do and I still have those two magazines.

 

I honestly don't know for sure. I rode in it several different ones. It seemed she was always bringing something new to school but that one in particular was different. I only remember seeing those lights on the dash and her telling me something about the turbo being "experimental". That was her word and it seemed that she wasn't really even sure herself. Her dad was always bringing these things home so who knows now. That was probably the spring of 1984 or 85. I know it was not 86 because she graduated in 85 (she was a year ahead of me) and she wasn't old enough to drive until 83 and I didn't know her that well then. Was the GNX available then? I don't know.

So your guess is as good as mine, really. I doubt she would remember if I asked her now but I can tell you for sure that mother****er would flat haul ass, period. It was NOTHING like the other turbos she brought to school.

She was a really cool girl. I sat behind her in a history class in 10th grade and she was telling me one day that she really wanted a Bitter SC. Now how many people, not just girls, could tell you that a Bitter was even a car back then?

 

I ordered a new Mustang GT in 1985. I went for performance on the order sheet. It had a 5-speed with the 210 hp, 300 foot pound 302. The automatic only had 180 hp that year. It was the last year of the 4 bbl carb. I remember the car felt light. With the 5-speed, I could spin the tires in the first three gears. I didn't do it often because it had the new Goodyear Eagle gator back tires that came out on the Corvette the year before. They were the equivalent of about $700 each in todays dollars. It was redesigned for 1985 and it was a huge step forward from the 175 hp 1984 models.

 

I had a few friends that bought Mustang LXI's (?) with the 302 option back then. It was that same car more or less but the insurance was less because it wasn't the GT.

 

I began my continuous subscription with that issue...
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I liked the look of the GTs better than the notch back LX 5.0, although the notch backs were about 50 pounds lighter as I recall.

 

I had an 82 mustang gt only 157 h.p. but it was very light then an 82 capri with the gt package same as the mustang gt then an 86 mustang gt first year for fuel injection horsepower was down by 10 from the 85gt 200 versus 210 andfinally a 89 gt. I remember when the 87's came out that was a huge deal as the cars were up to 225 horsepower by then. I learned a lot about car control with these Mustangs as they were very squirelly cars.

 

That's it!

 

Yes my issue is missing the cover but I remember it that is indeed it!

 

I collected some contemporary test results of some supercars in the 80's recorded by Motor Week (UK). These are all European versions without cats. My conclusion is that the 3x8 wasn't all that bad... Check the 0-60 performance of the 328 and Testarossa...
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True, Erwin; I remember very well that, when the 328 appeared on the market here in France, almost all magazines, (I still have some of these) pointed out the fact that, for some measures of "pick up", the 328 was indeed quicker than the Testarossa.

Rgds

 

Thanks for posting that Erwin I've collected quite a few roadtest articles of 308 qv's and none of them have exceded sub six second 0-60 times, the 5.7 time of the 308 you posted shows that the euro version is quite a bit quicker.

 

Err anyone notice the testarossa engine in that diagram?

 

Yep; same diagram as the 328; it's a transverse V8 Testarossa....

rgds

 

Maybe that explains that imho the criticism on the performance of the 3x8 mainly exist in the USA. In all of the contemporary European road tests the 3x8's were complimented for their high performance. The results of Motor week didn't stand apart. The German magazine Auto,Motor&Sport recorded 5.8 sec for the 0-100km/h (0-62 mph) acceleration for the 328GTS in 1986. Recorded top speed was 267 km/h at 7600 rpm (166 mph).

For the 308GTB QV they recorded 0-100kmh in 6 sec and a top speed of 258 km/h (160 mph)
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LOL, never noticed that before.

 

True indeed, Erwin: these cars were complimented for their high performance and accelerations & pick-up: quick quote, translated, from the french magazine "Sport Auto", end 1985, when the 328 appeared on the market (quick quotes are allowed without copyright infrigement):

"What's really makes the new 328 stand out is the performance augmentation when compared to its predecessor, that gives her now a very sharp character indeed.
Top speed goes from 250 to 261 km/h (the car was a GTS) which is altogether very honest for a modest 3,2 liter non supercharged engine: Porsche 911Carrera and 944 Turbo are left behind by more than 10km/h.
But the sweetest thing, undoubtly, is the vista of its accelerations: we recorded 14"2 (for the 400m from standing still) and 25"6 (for the 1000m), against 14"8 and 27"2 to the 308 GTS QV; to find better than that, you have to climb the last step, the one to the "sacred monsters".
To tell the truth, as far as temperament is in question, no turbo engine can compete with that normally aspired V8 (…) The 328 takes 9"2 to go from 100 to 140 km/h in fifth, that is 2"5 seconds quicker than the Testarossa…"
End of quote.

I won't declare a war of figures, but I seem to recall that the 308, and especially the QV, was badly hurt by the weight augmentation when adapted to the US market. I remember figure of more than 100 kilos heavier than the euro cars, and that hurts...

Rgds

 

funny

never noticed it either

 

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYmgLO16ul0&feature=youtube_gdata_player[/ame]

One of the best movies involving a 308 and it's arch rival the 911, straight out of the eighties