A fun story: When I first started attending Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Arizona, I was warned early on about the “rich kids and the rich kid cars” reputation by the school’s gear head population. I didn’t pay much mind to the statement at the time…it was winter, Prescott actually does get snow and I was already used to seeing a bunch of posers with stanced Audis by that point…but on an early Spring day, I saw exactly what they meant. As I was cruising the perimeter road of the campus heading out for a day of doing absolutely freaking nothing, I was cut off by some brat in what I initially thought was a beater Pontiac Fiero. I chased him down and quickly realized that there was such a thing as a beater Ferrari 308 that was spewing oil smoke out of the exhaust, and for a week afterward I seethed. Ok, the 308 isn’t exactly the most loved Ferrari, but still…it’s a damn Ferrari!

I’m by no means a Ferrari fanboy, but I like the fact that up until the early 1990s the entire company was directed by one man whose main intent from the word “go” was racing. There are cars they have built that I would love to drive, own or simply watch race on YouTube like the F40, the 512 BBi Boxer, and the 550 Maranello. There are the stunning pieces of automotive art they have created, like the 250 GTO and the Daytona that trade for honestly stupid money. But the racing part is what I truly appreciate out of everything: Enzo Ferrari wanted to win at every race he wanted to compete in. And towards the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s, rally racing had actually popped up onto Ferrari’s radar.

The 308 GTB pictured here was built into rally specification by the same man who built the Ferrari Challenge cars. This is one of 808 308s that were made out of fiberglass instead of steel (the change happened later on in mid-1977 and added over 300 pounds to the curb weight). If anyone speaks German better than either myself or Google Translate, take a crack at what they are trying to say, especially where modifications and history are concerned. I tried. All I know is that if I won the lottery right now, the first three things I’d do would be to hire a translator, a shipping company and start filling out the paperwork to bring this metallic blue monster over to the States. There are some canyon roads in the Southwest that need to hear that sweet Maranello song…

Schaltkulisse Link: Rally-prepared 1977 Ferrari 308 GTB (fiberglass body)

(Courtesy of Bring A Trailer)