1982 Ferrari 308 GTSi

The Pininfarina-penned 308 GTB debuted at the Paris Salon in 1975 as both a replacement for the Dino 246 and a sibling for the Bertone-styled Dino 308 GT4 2+2. A notable departure for the early, fixed roof, 308s was the use of GRP for the bodywork and, whilst for some countries wet-sump versions of the 2.9-litre V8 engine were employed, European specification cars were fitted with dry-sump units. The Targa-topped GTS was first seen at the 1977 Frankfurt Motor Show and, in common with its GTB sibling, then had its carbureted engine replaced by one with Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection in 1980, giving rise to the GTSi and GTBi models respectively. The mechanical fuel injection was coupled to a Marelli MED 803A Digiplex electronic ignition system, incorporating a coil, distributor and ignition module for each bank of cylinders and these modified engines produced 211 bhp. The slightly disappointing reduction in performance was remedied by altering the final drive ratio to give similar acceleration to a carburettor car, with the whole car weighing just under 1,300 kilos. By now the use of GRP for the fixed roof bodies had been dropped and both variants were clothed in steel. Production of the GTSi version had totaled 1,743 cars by the time the model was replaced by the 308 Quattrovalvole in 1982.

PDA 120X is a relatively late build, American specification GTSi delivered new to Ohio in 1982 and imported into the UK in 2013. It was then entrusted to Barkaway Ferrari to conduct a full service, including timing belts, dampers and tyres. Although the mileage cannot be fully substantiated, the history file suggests that the total figure of 18,000 could well be genuine. Certainly, the excellent overall condition of the car and the interior is commensurate with low mileage. The vendor informs us the speedometer head was changed in 1991 and the old unit is present and showing 7,000 miles with its replacement currently reading around 11,000 miles.

The Ferrari is very well-presented in the classic Prancing Horse combination of Rosso bodywork teamed with a Nero hide interior, and is presently considered by the vendor to have "excellent" transmission, and "very good" engine, bodywork, paintwork and interior trim. It has recently benefited from a new timing belt, dampers, and tyres courtesy of Ian Barkaway of Tonbridge. This fine-looking, low mileage example comes complete with an original sales brochure, a collection of invoices, its wallet and handbooks and is offered with an MOT until March 2018.

One of the prettiest Ferraris" ever designed and at this sensible guide and in this condition, certainly worthy of consideration.