Words borrowed from Vincenzo Borgomeo (La Stampa) who dedicated this wonderful article to our Ferrari 308 GTS, to whom goes our deepest esteem.
Article written during the pre-restoration phase of the car, which was then masterfully carried out by Scuderia Baldini.
On the road with the 308 GTS that Gilles drove and loved for a long time. You breathe the air of myth, of crazy races, of unforgettable Red cars
There is one car that deserves a place of honor in the Pantheon of four-wheeled storytellers. We are talking about Gilles Villeneuve's Ferrari 308 GTS, a time capsule that bears the imprint of an era where driving was an act of rebellion, not an exercise in ecological conformism.
We tested it as it was the last time Gilles caressed it, or rather, thrashed it. The original tires, worn like the soles of a tireless traveler; the interior oozing with lived life, with scratches and smells that are medals of valor. Even a French parking ticket peeks out from the glove compartment, an archaeological find that testifies to how Villeneuve danced on the razor's edge, always one step beyond the limit.
As soon as you start it, you understand everything. Only 37 thousand kilometers, but "smooth". This 308 is loose, soft, accustomed to being "loved" in the way that Ferraris of yesteryear demanded love, that is, with cruelty. Push them hard, and they repay you with absolute fidelity; treat them gently, and they betray you at the first traffic light.
Gilles, with this 308 GTS, did the impossible: Monte Carlo-Maranello in two hours and twenty-five minutes, 432 kilometers of pure madness; Milan-Maranello in forty-three minutes, enough to make today's high-speed trains pale in comparison. And then that incident with the Road Police: a ignored paddle at full speed, a roadblock at the Modena toll booth, and almost an arrest. But the commander was a fan, one of those who understand that some drivers are not criminals, they are heroes in fireproof suits. An anarchic fairy tale, a reminiscence of a time when passion prevailed over bureaucracy.
Mauro Forghieri, then Ferrari F1 team manager, told novel-like anecdotes about this 308. Once, out of gas on the highway, Gilles sped past a gas station at supersonic speed. "Unfortunately," Forghieri said, "I pointed it out to him..." And him? A U-turn, driving against traffic for a stretch, and off to refuel as if nothing had happened.
Ferrari knew Villeneuve: they gave him a special 308, with a clutch taken from the 512 BB, a reinforced chassis like a gladiator ready for the arena. Standard engine, however. A 3-liter V8 with 255 horsepower, zero to sixty in six and a half seconds, over 250 km/h - numbers that were frightening. Dino Red color, as rare as true friendship; chassis 21371, license plate MO 439235. Given to Gilles by Enzo Ferrari himself in 1978, used until 1982, the fateful year of Zolder, Belgium, where the driver died in a tragic accident that still hurts the hearts of enthusiasts today.
Then the car changed hands in 1984: from Ferrari to a Puglian, then to Denmark. Then at auction by RM Sotheby's in 2018 for 269,000 euros, bought by another Dane and, finally, purchased by the generous collector who lent it to us, as one lends a precious memory. Now? Now it is in the care of Scuderia Baldini, masters of Ferrari restoration, who do not erase wrinkles, they enhance them.
Then it will end up in the Maranello museum, displayed like a goddess, so that everyone can admire it with wonder. Or rather, double wonder: it lived in the hands of the legendary Gilles. And it's still all in one piece...
