Description
Compiled by R.M.Clarke, Softbound, 216 Pages, ISBN: 9781855204256
Ferraristi and regular readers of Brooklands Books will know that we already have books in print on the Dino 308s and the early Mondials and that up until recently we had a Gold Portfolio on the 328s and 348s. Instead of reprinting this book we have decided to expand it into one of our new Ultimate Portfolios.
As always, we depend on the generosity and co-operation of those who own the copyright material which we reproduce here. On this occasion, we are pleased to express our sincere gratitude to the publishers of Autocar, Automobile Magazine, Autosport, Can Car and Driver, Car Australia, Car South Africa, Fast Lane, Modern Motor, Motor, Motor Sport, Motor Trend, Petformance Car, Road & Track, Road & Track Special and Sports Car International. We are sure that our readers will also recognise how much these publications have contributed to bringing the Ferrari experience to those who have never had the chance to enjoy the cars in the metal.
R M Clarke
The articles in this book tell the story of the cars which used the 3.2-litre and later 3.4-litre editions of Ferrari's twin-overhead-camshaft V8 engine. There were essentially three ranges - the classic GTB/GTS models, their tb/ts replacements, and the controversial four-seater Mondial.
The GTB coupe and GTS targa-top models were beautiful creations by Pininfarina which first appeared in the mid-1970s with a 3-litre dry-sump V8 mounted transversely behind the seats. Re-engined with the bored and stroked 3.2-litre V8 in 1985, these models carried on as the 328GTB and 328GTS until 1988.
Their replacements were the 348 tb targa-top cars, which featured longitudinally-mounted V8 engines, now further developed as 3.4-litre types. Time will tell how these cars are viewed in the overall context for Ferrari history, but when new they were often criticised for undistinguished styling and for performance which was not sufficiently ahead of that offered by rival machinery.
Like the GTB/GTS range, the Mondial was a well-established model by the time it was equipped with the 3.2-litre V8 in 1985. First introduced in 1980 with the older 3-litre engine, it never quite had the elegance of the two-seater cars, although in cabriolet form it was an extraordinarily attractive machine. The Mondial retained the transverse 3.2-litre V8 until 1989, when it was re-engineered to take the new longitudinal 3.4-litre engine. These later cars were known as Mondial t models, that additional letter standing somewhat illogically for the transverse gearbox which went with the new engine.
Were the GTB and GTS models among the most attractive Ferraris ever built? In my opinion they were - and an aggregate sales figure of 7,412 examples with the 3.2-litre engine suggests that Maranello's customers thought so too. By contrast, the Mondial sold just 987 copies in 3.2-litre coupe form, plus a smaller number of cabriolets. Read this fascinating collection of reports and form your own views of the "mainstream" Ferraris built between 1985 and 1994.
James Taylor
