Ferrari powered Sonic7?

[exo308]

Ok so I know this sounds crazy but I'm just going to throw it out there. The Ferrari 308 has always been one of my favorite cars but one of the major downsides is the fact that they are slow by today's standards. They weigh in at over 3000lbs and the late QV engines produce about 240hp. Imagine if you were to have that same high revving 240hp jewel mounted in a lightweight chassis.

Everyone has seen the many Ferrari kit cars out there with crap drivetrains. I think it's time someone built a kitcar around a Ferrari drivetrain. After all, some people claim that the soul of any Ferrari is the engine not the chassis. In fact unless things have changed recently, Ferrari doesn't even design or manufacture the chassis/bodywork. Most of the bodies are designed by Pinnanfarina and built by Scaglietti. If you really break it down, ferrari is really a racecar and engine manufacturer.

I think this could be a really cool project but I'm not quite sure I want to tackle it. I picked up a wrecked 308 a couple years ago with plans of putting it back on the road. I've got most of the parts needed to rebuild it but now I'm thinking twice about what direction I want to go with it. I could pull the motor and probably part the rest out for what the Sonic7 kit would cost. Also I took some measurements of the engine/trans and it will be tight but it looks like it would fit!

Here are a few pics of my 308 and parts car.

[Chadillac]

Well that would be a great sounding Sonic7! It does sound like a lot of work though.

[cordycord]

I've always loved the look of the 288 GTO. I'd got for that, as it's a salvage and you're already 90% there, right?

The last Ducati I built was a salvaged 851 with 888 heads. Since it was salvaged, I didn't feel too bad about modifying it. I took it down to the chassis and repainted the dirty white frame black, replaced the heavy red FRP bodywork with carbon fiber stuff painted Ferrari Fly Yellow, made the single square headlight into a two-unit oval affair, and generally lightened the hell out of the thing. Not stock, but pretty damn nice at the same time, if I do say so myself.

[AZDave]

The sound would be great .. with the right exhaust of course. The only drawback would be maintenance costs. 3500 dollars to change the belts? Plus only about 260 horse if your lucky with the carburated car. I currently own a 308 GTB myself and have finally decided to sell my toy and replace it with something a bit more sensible ... well cheaper to maintain anyways :)

[exo308]

That's a badass 308 you have there. I see your not a purist! I love it!

The maintenance is costly but if you do the belts yourself the parts are only $250. Also with the engine in a kitcar I won't have to deal with smog. I can go with EFI and open up the exhaust.

I've looked into the GTO kits but it would cost way too much. I've also thought of just building a fiberglass front clip and stripping out the interior etc. to save weight. Like cordycord said, I wouldn't feel too bad as it's already salvaged.

[B-T]

A 308 powered exocar would likely sound great, but the parts for repair are obviously expensive. I have a 348 and even the maintenance runs me about $300 per year or so. I've been really lucky to not have any major repairs necessary. If you put some velocity stacks on teh engine it would look incredible!
BT