Original Magnum PI 308 displayed at Universal Studios, Florida?

Paul,

Not wanting to highjack the thread, I'll try to stay brief. Basically, Magnum did not start my interest in the car, it came much earlier, in 1972 to be precise; I was twelve, and the french TV was airing "the Persuaders", and, among other things in that show, that Dino simply did the trick for me. I was into Ferraris after that.
Therefore, after that, I followed closely everything related to "little Ferraris", the first 308, etc...and when the first "Magnum" episodes were aired in France, I think it was 1982, I already knew every model of the 308; so I did not discover the car with the series, but simply thought to myself: this serie is nice entertainment, and they have taste fine enough to use my favourite car as well! Didn't have much spare time at the time as I was studying, except during my mandatory year in the french army, when I did follow the serie closely. I still consider it as a very fine entertainment.
Then, I still followed the evolution of the "small Ferrari"; and when the 328 appeared on the market, I was beginning to earn my life and said to myself: "this is the one I really must have one day". I eventually bought one, twenty years later; it was a '89 GTB, as I always had/have a soft spot for the "B"; two years later, and rather unexpected, came a '89 "S".
My wife didn't say much, except: "does any other variation of that car exist?"; I answered "no...except there is one single 328 full convertible"...

Best,

 

I fell for the 308 with the June, 1978 issue of Car & Driver. It's been my #1 car ever since. I have a copy of that issue too

 

The first series car was a red / tan. The opening sequence showing the car for the entire first series, is snippets of the first 10 minutes of the first episode, and I think for the whole series.
See the attached picture of my tv screen, crappy pic I know but it is not the car the op posted.
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Now THAT was a classic cheesy detective/PI series. It was my first taste of Ferrari, too. Sorry Magnum!

 

yes Columbos next to it - well spotted - was going to mention it then thought I could feels flames.... - also have another photo with DeLorean mockup used in Back2TheFutue - was next to Columbos

 

Cool thread! Magnum P.I. definitely gave the 308 a following! Same with Back To The Future for Delorean! I think we'd still have enthusiasts for these models even if it weren't for these shows, but surely not as many.

As for the intial subject.........I remember seeing this car in the early 90's at Universal Studios in Hollywood. It was definitely a fiberglass shell mounted to what looked like a racing go cart type vehicle. Inside was very sparse with a piece of a dash, and I think no gauges if memory serves me correct. The car was very "open" and you could see the ground and daylight on the inside. It was a tube type frame with hard plastic hollow seats.......almost the type of seats you'd find in a boat. If this car WAS used in the show, it would most likely be used for risky scenes or scenes where the car was driven excessively hard for stunts.

When I saw it, it had no engine or drivetrain. It was on display with no ropes and you can get right up to it and touch it. The sign said "Do Not Touch" but people were getting inside and taking pictures. I remember kids jumping on top of the hood and using it as a jungle gym too! Maybe there was more than one of these built, but the one I saw looked just like this.

 

You should look into this chassis number and car also. I took this picture in about 1985 at a show here in Birmingham. The "letter" states this was chassis #28525
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When I was at the smithsonian , in d.c., they have a magnum pi Ferrari on display there, in the television, and movies, building, that was 10 years ago

 

Anyone know which 308 Larry Manetti owns ?

 

Not so sure that is a roll cage, but might have been used for mounting internal cameras for rolling shots while being towed. Sign does say studio car, so might just be a prop too.

 

That is a prop, nothing more. Look at the very first pic the OP posted, specifically the steering wheel relationship to the instrument pod. Ever see a real 308 look anything like that? Lots of other details way off too. Those wheels aren't TRXs, look like replica 14s in the TRX style, and they have an offset a Winnebago would be proud of.

 

Love it.

 

For Tommy and all guys out there:
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You sure it was at the Smithsonian? I get into that section at least once a year and don't recall ever seeing the Ferrari there or even hearing about it. Would hate to have missed it!

 

Actually they also used a lot of Fiero kit cars for distance shots and stunts.

http://magnum-mania.com/Articles/The_Ferrari.html

There is a lot of info about the cars that were used on this link.

 

Thank you for that

 

+1....one instance is when Mac is killed by the car bomb....as the car is burning, you can see some odd Detroit-style dash components in there, etc.

 

Matt
That was one of my favorite episodes. "Did you see the sunrise" Actually it was a Fiat X-19 and the only episode where Magnum ever shoots an unarmed man.

 

Daniel
Heres the list

http://magnum-mania.com/Lists/Car_Damage.html

 

I actually owned an X-1/9 at the time. Broke my heart to see one torched 8-(

 

Good to know. It's a great episode. During Photo Play the other night, the dialogue with the tow driver was great....."where to, brah?"......."Lefty's"..........."for this car?......you're the boss.". Only TM would send the 308 to Lefty's in just that episode, you can see some great car-swap wizardry and long shots. It's also a favorite episode of mine for the good bit of screen time that the wonderful Gillian Dobb had. Agatha was always great.

 

I agree that this one is a stunt car.

I am going through right now and watching the episodes every night. So far I am on Season 4 and its interesting to watch some of the scenes as they really switch cars during an episode. I saw one where he was driving down the road and it was obviously not the QV, then it cuts to another shot and he is in the QV, then it goes back again to the other car. I wasnt paying enough attention to register which version it was though.

Loving this topic, this is a fun read!!!




PDG

 

The theme of assassins planning long range "triggers" was used as a theme in the series. The writing was brilliant--Bo Svensen as Ivan, was impossibly good casting.

The reason the writing was so good was because it was completely out of character for Magnum to shoot Ivan the way he did it--but it was a modern play on the morality play "If you could go back in time would you kill Hitler, knowing you would commit murder but you would save millions of lives?" Magnum answers the question eloquently with blast of his .45.

In "Deja Vu," Season 6, Geoffrey St. Clair, one of Magnum's buddies, was said to have been involved in the assassination of Anwar Sadat.

In China Doll, he shoots a guy who is an expert at martial arts--whose hands are lethal weapons. The guy's martial arts' specialty was . . . wait for it . . . "Wang Chung."

I like these themes, they are very creative.