What was faster in the 1980s than the 308??

Fun thread! By the time the mid 80's rolled around the manufactures started to figure out the safety and emissions stuff and cars got exciting again...

Here are a couple - The Lamborghini Jalpa, a contemporary of the 308. And in 1985 the Corvette was no slouch and was often tested head to head with the Ferrari.

 

To be fair most of these cars that were faster came in around 1985 or so. The 308 was ending it's ten year run at that point. The 944 turbo and 300zx turbo and the Buick GNX (the faster ones anyway) comes to mind. The 5.0 mustang and the late eighties M3 I've driven seemed slow too. If their faster than the 308 I couldn't tell. I remember my girlfriend's dad had one of the first 84 corvettes and it was lame even to a 16 year old kid who snuck it out one night when he (my gf's dad) was out of town. Hope you aren't reading this Dr. Kalivoda. LOL.

 

Given that there's no "precise date range" it's kinda hard to say. "1985" seems
to be the top end.... the OP stated that year in a subsequent post, yet the 328 is
not a contender. So which 308 was faster than which 328?
(mine was built September 1985 - model year 1986 but sold in December 1985)

Kind of a silly thread IMO. If you're going to run a thread like this, define the
time range more precisely than "begins sometime in the 70s but ends around 1985 or so"

No offense to Patrick the OP.... just don't really get the point if it's not more defined than this

The SUBJECT LINE OF THE THREAD says "80s" but obviously the cutoff is well before the
end of that decade.

Jedi

 

Yuk.

 

Agreed

 

In 1984 with a top speed of approximately 180MPH this car was the fastest regular production car in the world.

In case you forgot
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BINGO !

 

That car just did make it in my time window It qualifies!

 

It really wasn't "slow". How many other new cars here could pass 145mph in 1980?

It took a while to get there but give it time and room and few could stay with it on the floor in 5th

 

The 1985 Corvette was faster than the 308 QV, Lotus, 928S at less than half the price...same as today.

 

Are you sure about this ?

The 85 corvette was 230hp with the 350 engine, like in the Z28. The Buick gnx was 245hp out of that 6 banger, which I could believe take the qv off the line.The Qv was 240 hp. I don't recall the corvette being faster or better than the qv

I was referring it being the slowest in the Ferrari line up

 

6.2 zero to sixty

Road Test of the 1985 Chevrolet Corvette - Full Authoritative Test of the 1985 Chevrolet Corvette - Road & Track

 

I know it's outside the 85' time frame but is in the eighties and I believe it was the fastest accelerating production car (well very limited production) at that point in time (and still is no slouch) at 4,0 sec,'s or less 0 to 60 and top speed of about 180mph if memory serves me correctly it was very capable with AWD,,,

I also remember one other classic that could best any 308/328 in acceleration/top speed/handling and it falls into the 85' or earlier window, if slightly rare, but oh so beautiful,,,
It is without a doubt my favourite car of all time are you ready the Ferrari 288 GTO,,,

If I ever had the means these two would be at the top of my list to purchase and play with,,,

Cheers All

 

Over on Rennlist the 928 guys seem to think that their early 80s 928 will kill the 308 and some of the knuckleheads even think it beats the Testarossa year for year. I have a 79' and I like the car, but it ain't no Ferrari.

 

I almost got to test this theory when I ended up at a light in my Dad's Grand National next to a 308. The driver of the 308 didn't bite but I knew I could take him.

By the way, the standard 1987 GN had 245hp. The limited production GNX was closer to 300, although Buick rated it around 275.

One thing they don't tell you about the GN is it was a cool weather car. On a hot-hot day the detonation sensor would retard the timing and kill power. Racers would release a can of Freon in front of the intercooler for 1/4 mile runs. On a good day it was a sub 14 quarter. No 308 could do that.

The standard GN was also the fastest production car top gear accelerator (50 to 70) in the world (faster than the Testarossa.) Passing was mind-blowing in that thing.

Top end with a chip was 150+

Dave

 

My only gripe.. only gripe with the GN (friend had one after high school) is that the car was very questionable handling in the twisties. Straight line bye bye.. but I could match it in my 924 in the twisties, tail end would come out too readily.

 

I tend to call 0-60 or 50-70 times "quick". "Fast" to me means "top speed".

GNX was dyno'd close to 300HP as you pointed out. There was another interesting (although not proven) phenomenon with the Buick Turbos - they were allegedly more powerful in extreme cold temps.

Can't say that's true, but when I drove one, my jaw dropped. And I was drag racing 11-sec cars at the time...it was that impressive.

 

As a teenager, that's what I loved about it. Every corner was a tail out slide. My dad couldn't understand why he had to replace the rear tires every 10,000 miles.

Dave

 

I'd want to see power-to-weight ratios before I take any such claims seriously. I doubt early-80s 928 owners want to see that data....

Corvette was a contender not-because they had gobs of HP and had solved the great 'emissions equation'. They solved it by retaining fiberglass coachwork - that's the only way Corvette stayed relevant in the 80s Horsepower war.

 

Which is a silly point, since as Corvette moved into larger displacement engines - so did everyone else, almost in lock-step.

 

"knuckleheads " like Formula One greats Phil Hill and Sterling Moss thinks the early 928 will also kill the 308.

they the had an extensive magazine group tested a whole slew of exotics in 82 and the pantera, M1 both came out ahead over the boxer and countach. the 308 languished somewhere in the mid bottom if memory serves.

interestingly the pantera and M1 were both a dallara chassis

 

IMO, it's a pretty sound theory. Cold air is more dense. More O2 per volume, more O2 = more engery = more power. Could be said for most cars. Just like cars at sea level vs altitude.