If you replaced your 3*8, what would it be?

I've had my 328 for 26+ years now, been around Europe in it, up & down mountains etc etc. I've been threatening to sell it for at least the last 15 years!

I did come to the realisation that I probably didn't want to do any more really big trips in it though - its just bit small for that these days & my days of fixing cars in hotel car parks are done I think!

So I bought a Portofino for that. Then I realised if I sold the 328 I'd have nothing to work on or generally tinker with.....so I've kept that as well !

The Portofino is there to do a job though, I bought it as a GT car & that's what it will get used for. If it doesn't get used enough then it'll go. I'm nowhere near as attached to it as I am to the 328 - at least not yet anyway!

Even though it will only get used for shorter trips I honestly can't see me selling the 328 now unless I had to or I could no longer drive it for some reason or another.

 

Well I have a 550, so I’m biased but I think it makes a great addition to a 3x8. No overlap, but still fundamentally feels analogue and a manual V12 is a thing.
575 a slightly different beast, very much a matter of personal taste and probably a ‘better’ car but 550 for me.

 

Very similar here with out GT4 . Maybe 1/2 the “ pleasure “ of ownership is actually fiddling about with it , maintaining it when you are retired ? The rest driving . I will add the more electrotwackery new cars have theses days tends to only strengthen one’s bond with a analogue car .

I added a 348 SP a yr ago and this is our new GT , hood down , working AC , electric mirrors , analogue hood ( no hotel car park fixing ) it’s boot is large enough and even with a tubi the noise …you just get used to it 2-3 hrs down the autoroute .

Previous to this we had a Bentley GT for 6 yrs …..plenty of omph , but too insulated and comfy .

I said at the time with the BGT i would never go back to a mid engined F car and looked closely at the Cali. But I suspect the Cali would be more ruinous than the B GT . So opted for a analog as far as poss 348 . Eliminated the 355 as again too much to go wrong compared to 348 and wanted a cab , so the 355s Merc based electro hydraulic hood mechanism was a no no .
Already had a 360 F1 back in the early noughties but I thought my GT4 was a better driving experience and aside you need a computer to fix them so as a retired hobby they are a no no .

If you have the time to fix them ( with forum help ) older F cars esp with Carbs are the way to go .
imho .
Additionally with the GT4 I like the whole , Ghandini + Dino thing the even chassis serial numbers and all that malarkey .So it’s a keeper .
Buying another F car to sit alongside is definitely the answer . Doesn’t matter which all personal preferences.

 

Something with a V12. Not including a Jaguar made after 1974.

Doug

 

The 550 or 456 with stickshifts would be good cars to age out with. Most people seem to own the 550 and 456 for fairly short periods before moving on, while the 308/28 Mondial crowd seems more attached to the cars. The newer cars must not be viceral or beautiful enough, or insufficient jewelry/bespoke feel in the interiors, to get emotional traction with their owners. Maybe be similar to the Portofino not gaining immediate attachment.

Personally I would consider an Almafi for posterity. The car is to my eye classically beautiful from all angles and that is a big part of where emotional attachment comes from. The price is not obscene, road performance suitable for more than just a weekend run, and I would place a bet that in due course these will be among the very few collectible Ferrari's of the modern era. Kind of end of an era cars, just as the 328 was in its time.
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Many years ago, I thought I wanted to trade up to a 355 . Ive long since came to the conclusion that one Ferrari in my lifetime has satisfied me plenty enough. I just dont have the desire to start what would be another long time marriage so to speak . I would also like to say that the Testarossa has been a desire of mine , and dare I say even now when I see a picture of one.

 

I would readily trade for a well sorted 308 GTB; nostalgia's more important to me than performance. I have zero interest in newer Ferraris.

I miss the green hue of the 308's gauge cluster.

 

Oh man, this is a tough one. So hard to replace the iconic 3x8. But if I was forced and couldn't go back to another 3x8, all the while remaining financially realistic, I think I could suffer with a 430 (immediately converted to a manual) or a 488 GTB. (I already have practical cars.) Sadly, neither of those are as beautiful or receive the same attention at stop lights or at meets. With such a large depressing void to fill, I'd also require an 80s 911 widebody, so I have something to tinker with.

 

365BB.

 

I went to a TR (and will probably never go below ~350 ft-lbs torque again in my lifetime ).

 

Alpine A110, no question about it.

 

I would go to a Testarossa. I might consider it next year, but I’ve done so much to my 308 that I’m not sure I want to sort out someone else’s problems again!

 

928 5 speed with the original backend.

In a second

 

How about another 308? But make it a MAT Gr. 4 clone this time around.
- Dave

 

If I can afford it I would get a 288 GTO

 

I'm a bit of the opposite here...sold my 355 earlier this year with an eye towards possibly adding a 328 at some point.

I could see keeping a 328 forever. Most everything else is too big/more expensive to buy/more expensive to maintain/too complex/not as pretty. I loved the time I had with the 355 and possibly should've kept it, but if I bought a 328 back then instead, I think I'd still have it.

 

I'd buy a helicopter. A Hughes 500 would be nice, but I've always wanted a Gazelle.

 

My thoughts exactly. We have a TR too but until I can afford a 288 the 328 is a keeper.

 

360

 

As in the uk and daily driver and sleeping policeman , it would have to be something thin like 308 , modern cars are not road friendly . So maybe etype , but thats not as good as a 308.

 

It's hard to imaging anything else that fits the niche that a 308/328 does. Maybe some 90s-00s Pbug product? From a cost perspective, a 328 is roughly equivalent to a 360 or a California. I also own a Cali T, and while it's a very good car, the driving experience isn't anywhere close to the same.

 

I sold a 328 GTB that I had enjoyed for about 5 yrs after owning a 308, thinking I wanted to get another 308GTB as it was more analogue..... got fed up of the extra maintenance and faffing around with the 308 and bought another 328, GTS this time ( my second). A year on and really appreciate the generally better build quality and drive of the 328 after a few thousand miles in Europe.
If your wanting to spend a bit more money though..... I also have a 488 Spider alongside for the past 6 years, obviously totally different to the 328, but epic in every sense of the word. 20k miles done so far, can't imagine selling it.
The 328 though is so different to the 488 that it is a wonderful companion car. Hard to say which is better, both have very different high points.

 

Keeping it real rather than fantasies of 288 GTO's, F40's 365 GTB/4 /365 GTS/4's and such like:

I currently own a 328 GTS, but THE Ferrari for me is the 308 GTS (thanks to a 308 GTS being the first Ferrari I ever saw, and thanks to Magnum p.i), and the ultimate version of that car is the 308 GTS QV, so my 328 GTS could go for one of those.

If I was offered my previous 348 TS back again, that could be tempting (it was my first ever Ferrari and meant a lot to me - Buying your first Ferrari is something extra special! )

Non - Ferrari:

A Jaguar F-Type 5.0 AWD, black , black trim with red leather interior would be tempting - It's a fabulous looking "James Bond Villain-esque" car, with great performance, that can be used in all weathers, all year round.

An Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio - A 509bhp rear wheel drive Alfa Romeo is pretty bonkers, and as Jeremy Clarkson has always said: "You can't be a proper petrolhead if you haven't owned an Alfa Romeo!"

A BMW E24 M635 CSi (the full 24 valve M-car) - Always love them! Just super cool, classy cars!

A 1980's BMW E12 M535i in Kastanienrot Metallic (chestnut red metallic), with black interior - The second car I owned, and the first car of mine that I fell in love with, was a 1981 BMW E12 520 in Kastanienrot Metallic with a black interior (that was sadly scrapped off decades ago )

An M535i version in the same colour scheme (I would more than likely have to have a car repainted and re-trimmed), would bring back some very happy memories, and have the "pep" that my 520 was missing (I was 19 years old when I owned it, and the 2 litre engine was mega expensive to insure - Any engine bigger was uninsurable due to my age at the time)