The legend of the “baby” Ferrari and how it created a subculture
Maranello’s legendary 328 GTB and GTS raise a renewed perspective on the exotic world

A funny thing happens to many car enthusiasts as those enthusiasts begin to delve into the world of exotics; we often lose sight of those qualities that make a sports car a “sports car.” As a high-performance enthusiast, I am more guilty than anybody of overlooking a car’s subtle features, but all-too-often it’s those features that make all the difference.
And so this very important issue in the world of all things automotive came, at least for me, to the surface all over again as I studied and observed the San Fernando Valley’s most beautiful collection of custom and exotic cars, right here in the Warner Center. It was one car in particular that made me feel that maybe I really had lost something in my appreciation of fine auto, something that enables the true enthusiast to enjoy the “fine” qualities of an expensive sports car, or even an inexpensive one, for that matter. The car in question was a tremendous example of a 1988 Ferrari 328 GTB.
Within the context of the Warner Center backdrop, the 328 GTB seemed a rather mild specimen of the exotic sports car “jungle,” overlooked by several enthusiasts while others took notice of the Italian “redhead.” But still, there are some “factoids” about Ferrari and Maserati history that must never be taken for-granted. First, it should not be overlooked that the 328 series of Ferrari is more than just an entry-level model, in fact, the 328, both Berlinetta and Targa, was the Ferrari model that was a direct derivative of the previous 308 GTB and GTS, proving that Ferrari was and still is perfectly capable of building a user-friendly, entry-level exotic that would not bust nearly as much of a dent in wallet as the higher-end 12-cylinder cars from Italy, like the Enzo and the 512 TR. And Ferrari incorporated a lot of the previous 308 car’s functional and aesthetic features, such as the nose and tail sections, the nose section of the 328 being further rounded-off from the previous “wedge” profile of the 308 model. Other functional cues, including the transverse, V8 drivetrain layout, suspension geometry and tail valence panel were borrowed from the original 308, and though the overall body shape was maintained, Ferrari’s small-displacement V8 was punched-out to a 3.2 liter displacement.1
The V8 used in both 328 models was derived from the engine used in the Quattrovalvole variant of the 308. From its predecessor, the V8 borrowed a Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection system, though it utilized a Marelli, 806A ignition. The small V8 was rumored to put out 270 BHP at 7000 RPM, and like the 308, the 328 cars were built with the entire drivetrain dropped as a single unit into the car itself, an all-synchro 5-speed manual mounted just behind and below the engine sump.2
Ferrari’s 328 GTB and GTS were built from 1985-89, until they were replaced by the 348 model in the fall of 1989. By that time, production of the GTS had outnumbered that of the GTB five-to-one.3 The 348 would therefore become Ferrari’s first in a whole new series of what have famously become known as the “baby Testarossas” of the Maranello sports car family.
But that very term, “baby Testarossa,” seems to imply a sort of inferiority along the edges of the Ferrari pyramid, if such a “pyramid” even exists. Ask any Ferrari owner and/or enthusiast and they will tell you that Maranello’s introductory sports cars, including the 308/328 series and the Dino GT, are exactly that: introductory. But again, something gets lost in translation, terribly lost, as a matter of fact. Something is lost and they we are reminded again, as the 328 GTB’s interior gives off an almost effeminate aura, and indeed the smell of the interior and curvaceous body style add to the whole “Ferrari experience.” In other words, I didn’t choose, even as a performance specialist, the 328 GTB as a study subject because it’s fast; the 328 GTB represents the true art/science of sports car construction, and it’s reflected in every nook-and-cranny of the car’s very being.

- Sal Alaimo Jr., B. A. (2/14/11)

S. J. A.