Hi I am new to this forum and currently looking to buy a 208 gtb/gts turbo from 1986-89 era. I am based in the UK and whilst rare as they were only produced for the Italian market I was wondering if anyone on this forum could help me out with a few queries. 1) GTS or GTB - which is more collectible ? 2) Any specific year that should be avoided or look for cars beyond a certain year of production? 3) Are their common mechanical issues and should i expect the servicing costs to be higher than a similar 328? 4) Black or Beige interior - which ages best? Many thanks for your comments/help
I don't think I can knowledgeably answer your questions, however just wanted to ask why would you want to buy a 208 turbo in the first place?. The only reason this car ever existed was purely as a tax dodge for people in Italy, due to the peculiarity of its tax system. In absolutely all and in any aspects of the car, it was inferior to the respective 308. So apart from being perhaps a rare "oddity" and I guess because it is probably less expensive than the respective 308, any other particular reason for wanting this over a 308??
Talk to Tim at Walkersport - I think I saw he has just imported one and knows a fair bit about both the 328 and the 308 based turbo cars - read further on here (try an advanced search on turbo in this section) for more details and opinions but they are never going to be particularly more desirable compared with non-turbos
As far as I understand, the 208 gtb/gts turbo produced from 1986-89 were based on the 328 and not the 308. In fact, bar an air duct, the 208 gtb turbo looks practically identical to a 328 gtb. I am looking for this as the price difference between a 328 gtb and a 208 gtb turbo is nearly very significant.
Normal 308s & 328s (not collector cars) are not going for such crazy money and you would probably be better off looking at them too - cheaper to maintain & insure - to get an idea look at the estimates for Silverstone Auctions View Lot List - Silverstone Auctions or for lhd www.mobile.de
Luis, You should read "Alberto-LP's" threads, because Alberto's got a 328 GTB + a "Turbo GTB" + a 328 GTS + a "Turbo GTS", so he is in an unique position to compare. He is very fond of his two "Turbos". As for numbers, there were 828 "Turbo GTS" build versus 308 (yes, 308!) "Turbo GTB". The car is usually called simply "Turbo GTB" or "Turbo GTS", this to avoid confusion with the earlier 208 Turbo, which has the body of the 308 QV, whereas the "Turbo for short" has the body of the 328. Visual differences from the standard 328 is the NACA air duct, the Pinifarina badge at the rear of the left fender, and the metal cover above the engine plenum, which is higher and with a grill as the intercooler is situated just under; hot air exit slots in the rear bumper. Both the "208 Turbo" and the "Turbo for short" do have the 2 valve engine; difference is that the "Turbo for short" has intercoooler and IHI Turbo. Rgds
Many thanks for your help guys. Very useful indeed. Shocking to see that a 328 gts sold in a London auction last week for over GBP150k!
First: 1982-1985 208 GTB/GTS are not interesting cars as they are not much reliable nor they work perfectly nor they push too much. They are based on 308 GTB/GTS. But they are very good looking with their black venting grills and they were the first turbocharged Ferrari ever produced. I think they aren't execellent cars but they are very important for Ferrari history. Second: 1986-1989 GTB/GTS turbo are completely different cars based on 328 GTB/GTS and MUCH UPGRADED. They are the same car as 328 except the engine and some air intakes and air outlets. They are commonly called here "Turbo intercooler". The name "208" disappears from the commercial name and car badges but it's still present in the documents of the car. Turbo intercooler cars are excellent cars like the 328, as fast or faster (but just at WOT, please pay attention because this is very important) My opinion: 1) GTS or GTB - which is more collectible ? A: Who knows, i think a turbo intercooler, that as a very strong and sudden turbo boost is more suited to a GTB, that is more "track oriented" than a GTS, but that's just my opinion. 2) Any specific year that should be avoided or look for cars beyond a certain year of production? A: just 1982-1985 cars without intercooler, no problems for all the intercooled ones. The 86-87 have better looking rims, but 88-89 have some (small) upgrade, but not in the engine. 3) Are their common mechanical issues and should i expect the servicing costs to be higher than a similar 328? A: they are almost rock solid. They require some check to the wastegate valve (easy to do and not very expensive) every some years (something like the belt service, every 5-10 years). Of course they have the turbo system with the Behr intercooler, so you have to expect some more extra cost sooner or later. The clutch and diff have to sustain the turbo bigger torque so expect a shorter life (20% less?) 4) Black or Beige interior - which ages best? A: black ages by far better and (imho) looks better on the GTS. Cream (and beige too) looks better on the GTB, imho. Anything else? ciao
I like every single Ferrari produced, of course, but there are some that i like more than others. I like the first 1982 208 turbo very much, but i can say it isn't a perfect car too. ciao
Jim's'car is not a 208 Turbo (308 QV body) Greg; it is a "Turbo Intercooler" (328 body). :e bought it from Nino Vaccarella. Rgds
Glickenhaus family knows which Ferrari to buy... Does it have a GTB turbo or a GTS turbo? Thanks ciao
Luis1977, if you want you can read also here: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/308-328/452899-328-engine-vs-turbo-intercooler-engine.html http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/308-328/457063-turbo-intercooler-prices.html At the end, the 328 is a better car, in my opinion. But the turbo intercooler is very close and costs much less. ciao
the 208 GT4 lacks power and it's not the most good looking Ferrari ever. There is also the 208 GTB and 208 GTS, with the same 208 NA carbed GT4 engine and some FI too. They all are not loved due to the lacks of power, but they all are very good cars. I do not know about the value of a 208 GT4, but the 208 GTB/GTS are around the 25-30 K euro, more or less. They all are very rare. ciao
That is NOT my opinion !!! My 1984 "208 turbo GTS" (that is the right name to different the "late 328 looking like Turbo GTS or "Intercooler") runs fantastic and has a very hard boost above 4500 rpm. "At the end" it leaves a 308 QV far behind. And: It is one of only 254 cars ever built. Sure: the 328 based "Turbo intercooler" is the "newer" car, but is it the more collective one ? I IMO think NO ! btw ... do NOT buy a red one, because more than 90% of all were red. The more collective one is a "non red" car. FE, my 208 turbo GTS is one of approx. 3-5 white ones, because 231 of 254 were red ! No question: black leather - no tan !
Markus, i understand very well you like very much your 208 turbo: it's a great looking Ferrari. I do not want to say that it doesn't work or it cannot make you happy: it's a Ferrari with a top speed of 242 Km/h and not a tortoise! I just want to say that my tip is to buy the intercooler version, that has a better engine with different valves and valve seats, an higher compression ratio, an intercooler and a turbo pressure of 1.05 bar instead of 0.6 bar. You say "over 4500 RPM it pushes hard": yes, but the intercooler pushes much harder starting from 3500 RPM, that means 1000 RPM less. This makes a big difference when you drive the car. But this does not mean that a 1982-85 208 turbo is a Ferrari to thrown away! I like it very much how it looks, as i already wrote many times, but it's undoubtful that the intercooler is a better, faster and more reliable car. But you (and others) can prefer the former 208 turbo, of course! ciao
Agree, Alberto. But what was the question ? The better, faster, more reliable car is the GTS turbo intercooler - not doubt about it. The more collective car ? IMO it's the 208 turbo GTS btw. 0.6 bar pressure runs no one with a 208 turbo ;-) At 0.8 bar it's REALLY fast, at 1.0 bar it's brutal. ;-) just my 2 Cents ...
I guess we should read it as "the more collectible among the italian market models", which was one of the O.P questions Rgds
Yes, please excuse my circumlocution. But it doesn't matter, because the initial question was not about the 208 turbo GTB/GTS but only about the GTB/GTS turbo intercooler and wich model of THEM (GTS or GTB intercooler) should be the collectible Model. Pardon me for my excursion. For me (1,97 meters height) only the GTS is the car, I can sit in quite comfortably, but if THAT is the criteria for colecting or not ... I Don't know. ;-)
my tips still are to buy an intercooler, a red one, in the best condition you can find. It's not difficult to find a GTB/GTS turbo, but it's not easy at all to find a very good one, trust me. ciao
Another point of view: GTB Turbo intercooler: 308 cars produced GTS Turbo intercooler: 828 cars produced At the former Models (208 GTB/GTS and 208 turbo GTB/GTS) it was the reverse ratio between the GTB and GTS Models: 208 GTB: 160 cars produced 208 GTS: 140 cars produced 208 turbo GTB: 437 cars produced 208 turbo GTS: 250 cars produced Pardon me, Alberto, but my recommendation is a "not-red" GTB intercooler with black leather in best possible condition, but the interior-color is not as important as the over all condition. ;-)
