Four-seater Ferraris with a V8: the first against the latest
What do the Ferrari 308 GT4 and the Ferrari Roma have in common?
Well, more than just their cylinder count and seats; they are both Ferraris with a design that caused a stir when they appeared. De Roma has been praised for being less ostentatious than the stuff Ferrari has been making waves with in recent years. There was some criticism here and there because it would look very similar to the Aston Martin with which it competes. But the 308 GT4 had a lot more to choose from; the first production Ferrari designed by Bertone apparently looked far too much like any other flip-up headlight iron from the Italian design firm.
He’s dried up nicely…
Yes right? We bought one for this magazine in 1997 under the motto ‘We buy a Ferrari for Mondeo money’. A lot has changed; at the time he did about 20 grand, now he must yield almost 60k. But the 308 GT4 is still one of the ‘cheapest’ Ferraris.
Are the Ferrari 308 GT4 and the Ferrari Roma a bit family-friendly?
The old car has more room, although its 2.9-litre V8 is in the middle and the Roma’s 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8 has found a place in the front. Don’t pay attention to trifles like safety and interior temperature (it can get ugly there), and the 308 can handle rear passengers with greater ease. You then sit with your legs around the front seat, but there is plenty of headroom. Four decades later, there is hardly any head or leg room, even a modern child seat is still cramped. It feels more like a 2+bags than a 2+2.
Enough about that practicality. To drive!
The pedals are far from directly below you, so you have to have contortionist legs in the front of the 308 too, but if you have to slide that far to the middle, you do have a great view of the road. With its 255 hp it has only a pittance of the power of the 612 hp that the Roma throws on the asphalt, but given the openwork, manual doglegfive-speed gearbox and the shamelessly heavy steering, we don’t think you have time left to dwell on it. The whole car is constantly alert and a bit nervous.
And the Roma?
It seems like Ferrari can’t help it: they keep making a sports car, even if it looks like a GT. Which makes the Roma a lot more hyper-active than you might say. He exudes more class and elegance, but starts shaking his hips at the slightest encouragement. And big creeps, how fast it is…
How will he go down in history?
The 308 GT4 still has some serious dents in its image. The fact that he started his life as Dino and not as Ferrari means that he does not occupy a prominent place in the illustrious history of the brand. But a day out with him confirms that even the less desirable Ferraris are still Ferraris – exciting to see, let alone drive. The fact that the Roma is such a frenetic device suggests that posturing about its styling will soon be forgotten.
