Ferrari progression questions

I came of age carwise in the late 1950s and ealy '60s, became familiar with the Ferrari name and already-legendary status through my Italophile mother. Therefore, the Ferraris that I was first exposed to were the front-12 models; first I saw in the metal was a tired '56 Boano coupe. The first I saw and heard at the same time was a dealer-new 330 Series I. Love at both sight on both.

By 1992 and age 52, Boanos were out of my price range and a Series I or II 330 2+2 affordable...not that owning a Series I as my first Ferrari was any kind of hardship. Nearly three years after the accident that totaled it, I'm still mourning that car.

At first, the choice of a 308 as a replacement was more practical. Hagerty cancelled me for two years after the total, though they paid me the full agreed-value amount. I couldn't get collector insurance anywhere else and at that time State Farm and the other majors either weren't writing old exotics at all or would do stated-value only.

SF was straight-off willing to insure my 308 with full daily driver coverage and stated value; at a $40K entry price as opposed to $80-$120K to get back into a nice Vintage 12 or Boxer, it made sense. I wanted to buy back into the game before Hagerty's $80K check got spent for something else...we were then planning the house we now live in, and it would have gone fast.

The 308 arrived in January '08 and I've been happy from the start. Cooling was an issue, but I think it's all sorted now...we'll see this summer. I've added a Tubi, lots of small upgrade items, and have a new early-308 style steering wheel on the way from England.

Performance-wise, it's not as quick as I'd like off the line, but literally screams above 3K. It's also the true 2-seater experience, and a great balance between "modern comforts" and "vintage simplicity"...no computerized junk.

Will I keep it longterm? Tough question. I'm an Vintage-12 guy at heart, but the 308 is paid for, well sorted, and I'm genuinely happy with it. Cranking it up and getting on the road brings exactly the same gut-rush that my 330 did.

In addition to the grunt-end performance deficiency, my only negative observation is that many people mistake it for a Corvette.

 

When it comes to Ferrari's, I think the visual appeal, more so than absolute performance, is what drives buyers to particular models. I always loved the looks of the 308 and personally think it is a timeless design. I wouldn't trade it in for another model.

I have thought of others. I like the look of the 308 GT4. Don't know why exactly but they always grabbed my eye. I am not a fan of the 348/TR cheese-cutter air intakes.

I thought about the 355, but have recently moved on to the 360. 550/575's have come down quite a bit in value and is something I've considered for a V12, but the styling works for me only at certain angles.

I don't know if it is symptom of middle age, but I like '80s style cars better than today's offerings. An '80s Porsche 911 is most likely my next purchase. Again it is the looks and not the performance that keeps me looking at the cars on Ebay/Autotrader.

 

Truly, unless it was a fantastic deal, I would stick with the 308/328/Mondial just because I love the classic lines and having more of them would just be more of a good thing. I would probably modify the cars differently but not too radically. I have a GTBi now but would like to compliment that with an S and then a Mondial. That would give me three that would have essentially the same setup.
Hey, things change in life but the 308 has that classic Pinanfarina look that I love and does everything I want on a mountain road.
If others want to have pecker contests, let 'em.