This 1978 Ferrari 308 GTS Brings Magnum P.I. to Life

Yes, the Ferrari 308 is the Magnum P.I. car, and yes if you wear either a Hawaiian shirt or a white suit, you will be perfectly poised to cruise the roads of Oahu, or in this case, Southern California with this One Take review. Matt Farah and the Smoking Tire boys give the One Take treatment to this 1978 Ferrari 308 GTS, and from the sound of things it has more than just the nostalgia factor working in it’s favor.

This 308 GTS features a carbureted  2.9L dual-overhead cam V8 engine making 240 horsepower. That doesn’t seem like much now, even Matt admits a modern day Honda Accord V6 would smoke the 308 in a straight line, but back in ’78 that was still a specific output of 83 horsepower per liter, which is quite impressive. Additionally, as is the way of old Ferraris, this 308’s engine is paired to a gated 5-speed manual transmission with a dogleg first gear and a clutch-type limited slip differential.

Those are the tech specs, now let’s hear about the important stuff, how does this time capsule of a 308 GTS, with only 4,000 miles feel, and how does it drive?

Jake Stumph

Jake Stumph is a lifelong car enthusiast and racer, and former content editor for Internet Brands Automotive which he joined in 2015. His work has been featured by several other prominent automotive outlets, including Jalopnik and Autobytel.

He obtained a bachelor's degree in Political Science at the Ohio State University in 2013, then pivoted from covering politics and policy to writing about his automotive adventures, something that, he says, is a lot more fun. Since that time, he has established connections with most of the world's major automakers, as well as other key brands in the automotive industry.

He enjoys track days, drifting, and autocross, at least, when his cars are running right, which is uncommon.

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