308 GT4 vs 308 GTB driving comparison

I've got a carb dry sump GTB and have some experience of the GT4 but I only drove it a short distance so couldn't really compare on the handling and performance front. My late father had plenty of experience across both and he found the GT4 less nervous on the edge of adhesion probably due to the slightly longer wheel base but ultimately they were very similar in most ways. Both naturally tended to understeer but the GTB was quicker to turn that into oversteer when required (I can attest to that one!).

Not quite comparing onions with onions but I have a lot of experience with the Lotus Elan & the Elan+2 which showed similar traits when compared to each other. The +2 was more stable, less nervous and more predictable but ultimately the smaller Elan feels and is the quicker car. Both cars had an incredible front end so veered naturally to oversteer but the +2 was easier to manage, less snappy.

I imagine that's all down to the difference in wheelbase for both groups of cars.

I hope you enjoy your new purchase, I'm sure you will!

 

Not a carbed 308 but I've owned a GT4 and now own a 328GTS,for me they drive and feel completely different.

The GT4 was more roomier in the drivers seat.

Post this question in the Aussie section as Aircon has had both cars as well and could give you a better description.

 

Tha main difference is the sitting position: in a GT4 you are sitting ON the frontaxle and 70% of the car is behind you. It's like a 1980s F1 car. In the GTB you are sitting on the ground in the middle of the car. The wheelbase is shorter and the car does not run exactly straight forward. The GT4 is the better Traveler. They are two completely different cars, but I love both of them - in their particular way.

 

The general consensus of opinion from those who have driven both cars is that the 308 GTB is a busier and more nervous car than the GT4 due to it's shorter wheelbase.

The GT4 is rated as being more stable, better balanced and easier to manage at the limit of it's handling as the changes in handling balance happen at a slower, more predictable rate.

(It's horses for courses at the end of the day, but must test drivers rate the GT4 as the better chassis out of the two!)

 

I've owned a '75 GT4 and I now have an '83 QV, so not quite the comparison you are looking for. But they drive in some ways exactly the same and in other ways completely different. On the tight, curvy backroads I prefer, the QV is a better handling car thanks to shorter wheelbase, modern tires, lower CG. At high speeds on a race track I could see the longer wheelbase being better but I never tracked either one. On the freeway they are both about the same, I think - nice cruisers once you get used to cruising at 4k rpm. The GT4 is way stiffer than my GTS - no cowl shake on the GT4. The GT4 is roomier in every way and easier to enter and exit being higher and having a taller door, at least until the roof panel is removed in the GTS. The GT4 has a great dashboard. The GTS has great curves, you can't argue with the Pinninfarina design. The GTS is noticeably shorter

But really the cars are more similar than different. They are nearly all the same parts.

 

I have both a dry sump 'glass GTB and a series 2 GT4.
To me the biggest difference is that in the GT4 the driver sits relatively further forward compared to the GTB so the seat of the pants feel when cornering between the 2 is different.
The outward visibility is much better in the GT4, and having the extra space in the cabin is great. GT4's are really nice cars, the performance is not quite as good as the GTB but that's to be expected.
Mechanically the cars are basically the same, so the operation of the steering, brakes and clutch are no different.

BTW, your GTC/4 nearly became their stablemate (when it was for sale back in 2005 after the death of Ian C.)

M