308 pininfarina design studio clays

Was this original intended to have pop-up headlights to pop forward (like a Porsche 928)?

 

So glad they went with the OEM side air duct version, so more more integrated.

 

Interesting, have not seen these before; are they dated? Just curious if the NACA duct might have been inspired by the revised Countach prototype that dropped at the Geneva and Paris auto shows in ‘73. I have a book of Pininfarina design studies for select Ferrari models and much of the 308’s design language was seen on proposals for the Dino 246’s successor from both Fioravanti and Brovarone - even before the GT4 was introduced - yet none of those sketches feature a NACA side duct, so maybe indicative of a later element?
Couple of other interesting details besides the side intake:

1. The decklid spoiler doesn’t seem as prominent as it is on the production version.
2. No front spoiler at all
3. No louvers on the rear 3/4 windows.

Very cool pics, thanks for sharing.
- Dave

 

You have to remember back then one of the design requirements were 5 mph bumpers at a certain height. It's another reason why the 308GTB by Pininfarina was embraced with so much more enthusiasm than the 308GT4 by Bertone. The overall design was so great with the Pininfarina car that the bumpers were hardly notice whereas with the Bertone car they looked like battering rams.

Yes, Fioravanti was a genuis.

 

The 365 Boxer lacked a front spoiler then too.