﹒Originally from the USA, has spent two decades in Arizona and Texas
﹒$12,000 comprehensive interior refurbishment
﹒Recently brought back to the UK by current owner
﹒Lighting converted to UK regulations, fully UK road legal
﹒Only 18,500 miles since new
The Background
When you think of Ferrari, chances are a mid-engined V8 will spring to mind. It's the car that Ferrari sells in by far the greatest volume, but it didn't actually exist until 1975. That was when Ferrari replaced its entry-level Dino V6 cars with a new line powered by a new V8.
The first of the line was the 308, with a transverse-mounted three-litre V8 (although it was actually a 2.9!), which Ferrari developed gradually over the years. That was replaced with the 328 in 1985, and though it was closely related to the 308 it was a fairly major overhaul.
Along with the increase in engine size to 3.2-litres (hence the name), Ferrari made a number of changes to the exterior and interior design, perfecting the Pininfarina original. Over a four-year run, Ferrari made almost 7,500 examples of the 328, and the car is held in high regard for its reliability as well as its performance.
This 328 GTS – the more popular of the two body styles – has only arrived in the UK very recently. It's actually a US-market car which the current owner bought in 2017 to drive from his house to business meetings in Los Angeles, quite literally cruising Sunset Boulevard. Rather than sell the car in the US, he brought the car home with him.
The car started its life in Arizona, moving around between Arizona, Texas, and California before coming over to the UK, so it's spent a lot of time in a very dry climate; in fact the car had to have new windscreen wipers when it arrived as they'd not been used.
Despite shuttling around the south-western states, it's only picked up just over 18,000 miles in its life so far, and only 300 of those since a cambelt change in 2017.
There's a good deal of paperwork covering the car's life in the USA, stretching right back to the original warranty card from the dealer in Tuscon, along with an original service book and owner's manual.
In addition there's a Carfax report – broadly equivalent to an HPI check – from 2013 which details the car's history across the early 00s, including regular “smog” checks and a clean bill of health showing no accident history.
Some impressive bills on both sides of the Atlantic are included too, with a $12,000 spend on a comprehensive interior retrim and refurb in 2013 (around £8,000 at the time), and cambelt changes in 2013 and in 2017. A recent bill of around £3,500 covers work carried out to make the car road legal in the UK, including RHD headlights and a rear foglight.
As you'd expect from a car with a recent interior refurbishment, the cabin is stunning. There's tan leather – 130.75 square feet of it, according to the receipt - with white stitching on both seats, the centre (or rather “center”, as it's American!) console and door uppers and it looks as good as new.
The exposed gear gates on the centre console are a classic piece of Italian sports car design, and the array of buttons behind very much of their era too. As an American-market machine (and one from Arizona at that) it also sports air conditioning among those dials.
Likewise the carpets – black, with the prancing horse emblem in red – and lower cabin is as far as we can tell spotless. The dashboard itself also looks in great condition, and recently had a backlight upgrade to LED.
Another nod to modernity comes by way of a Sony headunit. While not original equipment it does provide Bluetooth connectivity for phone and media.
The paintwork, which is of course in classic Ferrari Rosso Corsa, is original and again looks in top condition; life in the dry climates of Texas and Arizona has clearly been kinder than the salty UK air.
When the interior refurbishment was carried out in 2013, the owner also had the targa roof recovered. Of particular importance to note, is that this example is provided with 2 Targa roofs. One in standard black, and the other in colour coded paint, as seen in the gallery. Unusually, this 328 sports a high-level rear wing, also in body colour, which was a factory option.
All of the exterior lighting is clear and undamaged too, and of course some of it is brand new, with the rear fog light, RHD headlights, and front wing indicator repeaters all fitted for compliance with UK road regulations.
Again, all four wheels and the full size spare all seem to be in as-new condition. 328 fans will note that these are the later, convex items which mark the car out as a post-update model (as do the emblems on the wing mirrors) from late 1988.
Although the owner has only driven it a few hundred miles in the last three years, the report is glowing – it's “beautiful” to drive.
The 328 is known for its relative reliability, and that's borne out by the relative lack of bills. In essence it has only needed scheduled servicing (again, the 15,000 mile service is in the paperwork, along with two cambelt changes in the last seven years), and that's unsurprising given the reputation of these cars to hit 100,000 miles or more without any problems.
Everything under the engine cover looks just as it ought; not a concours garage queen, but there's no sign of anything amiss. It should, with continued scheduled maintenance, stay that way.
It's an absolute icon of the 1980s, adorned bedroom walls in poster form, and it's the last of the transverse V8 Ferraris. Throw in the classic Rosso Corsa paint work and the targa roof and you have what many would consider motoring perfection. On top of all that, this is a car that has spent almost all of its life so far in the moisture-free air of Texas, Arizona, and California, and come out looking close to brand new. What's not to love?
** The photos in this listing have been provided to us by the seller **
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1988 Ferrari 328 GTS
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