{"id":31065,"date":"2024-09-08T08:00:24","date_gmt":"2024-09-08T07:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/?p=31065"},"modified":"2024-09-03T11:50:50","modified_gmt":"2024-09-03T10:50:50","slug":"ferrari-308-the-cars-the-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/ferrari-308-the-cars-the-star\/","title":{"rendered":"Ferrari 308 – The Car’s the Star"},"content":{"rendered":"

With so many Ferraris to choose from it can be difficult to pick a favourite, or to pick one that defines a particular era, but they do exist. Those models that perfectly captured the zeitgeist of their time, firmly ensconcing themselves in the collective consciousness of car fans the world over. Sometimes, they’re given a bit of a shove into the spotlight, a little helping hand from Hollywood that raises them on a pedestal, because let’s face it, if a car appears in a good movie or TV show then it’s almost guaranteed to be a hit with the prevailing petrolhead population. It’s a story we’ve seen countless times, a story that perfectly encapsulates the rise to stardom of the Ferrari 308, for instance.<\/p>\n

\"Ferrari,<\/a><\/p>\n

It happened to the Testarossa, too. We see cool-as-a-cucumber Don Johnson cutting about in a white Monospecchio in the hit ’80s TV show Miami Vice and all of a sudden we’re grabbing the nearest pair of Wayfarers, rolling up our jacket sleeves and salivating at the prospect of driving or owning that very same car.<\/p>\n

But it wasn’t just Enzo and co. who were making waves by showing off their wares on screen. Seemingly everyone was in on the act. Look at Templeton \u201cFaceman\u201d Peck’s Corvette from the A-Team, or the Countach<\/a> from Cannonball Run. It’s the same deal. We see it, we want it.<\/p>\n

\"Ferrari,<\/a><\/p>\n

Ferrari was a repeat offender though. Alongside the aforementioned Miami Vice Testarossa, they were also at it with the 308 in Magnum PI<\/a>, which actually came out a whole four years earlier. Here was another hit TV show about a crime fighting hero who drove a Ferrari. Featuring a much more rugged looking Tom Selleck in the titular role of Thomas Magnum in place of the suave Don Johnson, and with a red 308 GTS instead of a white Testarossa, Magnum P.I. took the tried and tested crime drama formula but presented it in a way that really resonated with audiences, birthing a legend in the process.<\/p>\n