Photography by Tim Suddard
We started our hunt for a Ferrari at one of the marque’s biggest events, Cavallino Classic at the Breakers in Palm Beach. Our dream was to find dozens of cheap Ferraris and decide what model, color combinations and options we wanted.
This dream was not to be.
With entry fees that would make all but the wealthy buckle at the knees, this event was certainly not the home of cheap Ferraris. We did get lucky, though, and see a beautiful 308 GT4 in what looked to be a Gulf Blue color called Azzuro Cielo.
We were even more smitten.
A 308 GT4 had to be the right Ferrari for us. Unfortunately, we were not able to locate the owner, so we couldn’t learn more.
Our career choice has us going to a lot of car events and talking to a lot of car people. So, perhaps more than the average car nut, we could accelerate the search a bit.
While at the Gooding auction during Monterey Car Week, we noticed a beautiful early European-spec 308 GT4 (serial No. 09070). This car looked fabulous and nearly perfect. It was bright red (Rosso Corsa) and had a black leather interior.
There were only two things we didn’t like about the car. First, it had a black interior (we like the tan interior much better), and second, it sold for $92,000. So much for cheap Ferraris–and our $50,000 budget.
While at Monterey, we talked to a friend and fellow car collector who had joined us on one of our Classic Motorsports Road Tours. He told us that he had a red 308 GT4 and that it not only had the tan interior, but that it might be for sale. Price would be about half what that perfect car at Gooding sold for.
The best part of this news was that the car was located less than 200 miles from us, and we were welcome to come drive it and see if we liked it. Thanks to a busy schedule, it took a couple of months before we got down there and drove the car.
Once behind the wheel, we instantly fell in love with the spacious greenhouse, the classic Momo steering wheel, and the unparalleled three-piece dash filled with Veglia gauges.
This car also was equipped with Boxer paint. In Ferrari lingo, this means the bottom half of the car is painted black, with another black stripe the length of the body above that paint line. (While initially we weren’t really fans of this paint treatment, it has grown on us. And it does hide the large U.S. bumpers pretty well.)
The car was an early example (No. 10746) built in the spring of 1975 and had the optional air conditioning, optional front spoiler, power windows (standard on later models), passenger-side mirror and the aforementioned Boxer paint scheme.
The only really good options it was missing were the leather interior and the wider five-spoke wheels. While wider wheels are desirable, we think the early 14x6.5-inch wheels look cool and make the car ride a bit better.
Yes, the car had needs, but we were smitten.
We went home and very logically made a list of those needs: an oil leak, non-functioning air conditioning and some paint issues.
We respectfully made an offer.
As is often the case, we met in the middle, and for less than $50,000, we were Ferrari owners. The owner was willing to keep the car for us for about a month until we could figure out how to raise some money and gain some space to keep it, making the deal even easier to accept.
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