How many of you were influenced by Magnum PI when you bought your 308/ 328?

I'll put my hand up to say guilty as charged.

Anyone else in the same boat?

 

Sure - loved the series and was where I first saw these cars when I was a kid.

 

Long before magnum PI, I was influenced by the Bob Bondurant review in Road & Track December 1976, their first review of the 308. I was 17 at the time, had been reading R&T for about 4 years, was fascinated by Ferraris but had only seen 2 Ferraris ever in person in Manitoba, and was captivated by that article describing Bondurant driving the first 308 GTB in the US.

Among other things, Bondurant said

"This is so much better than a Daytona"

"Of course, the car looks sleek as hell; like it's already moving quickly. The 308 has a nice finish and is pretty well detailed. I think the BBS wheels really add a lot to it"

"The 308 is probably the best sports car I've ever driven "

He mentioned BBS wheels - that 308 was fitted by the dealer with 15" BBS E50 mesh wheels, and I loved the look of them... so much so that 37 years later when I finally got a 308, I tracked down a set of 16" BBS E50 wheels of my own! Here's that cover, and the pictures from the article:
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Never saw it before I bought my 308 GTS. Had already owned a Dino and Daytona previously.

 

So jealous right now !!

 

zero: It was the best looking new Ferrari that I saw when I was young (1981-82), just later I saw Magnum P.I. telefilms.

At those times there were the "i", the turbo and the QV.

I remember very well how bad looking were at my eyes the GT4, the 400-412 and the Mondial 8: they looked "old". Then there was the BBi, not bad but nothing special. The 308 and 208 turbo were stunning and outscored all the others.

I still have impressed a red 308 GTS QV, a silver 208 GTB turbo, a yellow 208 GTS and silver 308 i with red interiors: they were simply too good looking to be true, they looked more ike a dream than a real thing.

Those cars are by far the best looking Ferrari since 1975

ciao

 

Nope: people from my age in Europe having at least "some interest" in Sports cars knew and admired the 308 long before having Magnum P.I on TV...since the Paris salon of 1975, and she was in all automobile magazines afterwards. Every young boy knew what it was, even if, Paris and Cannes-Nice-Monaco excepted, your chance to see one from your own very eyes in any french city was about zero.
Of course, the fact that the show used a 308 GTS was a nice touch of class; but we didn't need it to crave for the car...

Rgds

 

Not one iota. I heard about it first in various car magazines of the period. "Car" was probably the first since we had it in our school library. If I could see the front cover of that issue again, I'd probably recognise it.

 

Not really, i started off with The Persuaders,early 70's..Tony Curtis 246 GT...did 00810 ever resurface? ( checked the 206/246 thread not conclusive)

 

Probably would not have been interested in the 3x8 at all without Magnum! But even at that, it was the 328 that got my real attention; that was the model, that, when it came out in '86 I said, "I have to have one of those!"

 

I was ages 10-18 while Magnum P.I. was on TV and never missed an episode. So yeah, the 308 is burned on my brain.

 

Absolutely! I credit Magnum PI for introducing me to the world of Ferrari although I'm sure I would have stumbled into that world one way or another at some point. Growing up in Yellowstone park we didn't see many exotic sports cars. Have a picture of me in my teens looking at a Dino with great interest. Was just a matter of time I guess. To me, the 308 represents automotive art at its finest along with a piece of my childhood.

 

I expect this is almost entirely a US/Europe thing. In the US it would have been a major influence, in Europe very little.

We had the show here in the UK but I never bothered watching it. I was probably too busy doing more interesting things as a teenager by then, like chasing girls. The decade before, I liked Hawaii Five-0, though

 

No I was not.

 

Oh yeah. For sure, the first 308 that I saw was in a magazine with the boxer paint scheme thought it was most beautiful car ever. 'Still Do' magnum pi came out shorty after that. I still watch it have several seasons on DVD favorite episode. Summer school.

 

About 75%

I was sitting in front of the TV back in 7th grade when the pilot aired. I skipped a fraternity meeting (required because I was a pledge) for the final in 88. Never missed one (in fact I have many on old BETA tapes that I recorded when they originally aired and even a few on cassette recorded in 81 to listen to the 308 engine before we had a VCR.

The other 25% was from this:
http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/308-328-sponsored-yellow-compass-group/342118-please-help-me-find-chassis-21277-308-gtb.html

 

Magnum PI was my first real exposure to Ferrari and it made me a fan for life. I wanted to pick up a 308 as it was my childhood dream car.

 

There is a story about that car he drove for the article. I don't recall now but it was something along the lines of an engine swap or it was set up to race later in its life. Paul Newman raced it?

Anyone remember?

 

I don't even remember Magnum on UK TV at that time so the answer would have to be 'not me'. And anyway, I drive a B

I was however heavily influenced by the below book, purchased by me at age 8, with my own pocket money and is still in my library where it has pride of place due to the impact it had on my life. The 308 has a section in there.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I bought that book, too & I also still have it

 

Oh yeah! Immediately after the car was tested by Bondurant for R&T, the owner entered it in the Virginia City Hillclimb, where it set fasted time on the first run... and crashed and rolled on the second run. It was rebuilt as a racer for Newman to run in SCCA and IMSA events. It was written up in Forza magazine recently, here's the article with more photos: The Prancing Clydesdale | Issue 125 | Forza

I still have that book too! I received it as a birthday present from my best friend in high school. I was closer to 18 than 8, though...

 

Great story, thanks for posting that link

 

Absolutely. I can still remember the opening episode and my jaw fell open when the 308 first came on screen.

 

In those days I was more interested in Emma Peel in The Avengers in her Lotus Elan and then Tara King in her Lotus Europa. Both cars I later owned.

Magnum didnt really seem a very cool show. I liked Miami Vice later though.

 

Magnum's first two or three seasons were the best. First two without question.

I loved the show but by 86 or so, I thought they could do better.