www.QV500.com - Ferrari 308 Part 4: 308 Quattrovalvole
 

308 GTB Quattrovalvole

The 1980-82 308 fuelie's had been big disappointments in the performance stakes, but launched during October 1982 at the Paris Salon, Ferrari's 308 Quattrovalvole marked an important return for the power that had been lost after the firms initial switch from carbs. Once again, the chassis, suspension and brakes were left unchanged, the engine receiving all the most significant upgrades. In order to recoup as many horses as possible, Ferrari's heavily revised powerplant, designated the Tipo F105 AB, featured four valve cylinder heads, the first production Ferrari motor completed as such.
   
With flat-top pistons and Nikasil-lined cylinder heads substituting for the cast iron of old, output rose to 240bhp at 7000rpm (230bhp at 6800rpm for US-spec examples). Compression was also increased from 8.8:1 to 9.2:1 (8.6:1 on US 308's) whilst the Tipo F105 AB motor was immediately identifiable by it's red-painted intake box. Thanks to substantial improvements in torque, these last of the line 308's were as quick as the first glassfibre GTB's with sixty up in just 6.1 seconds and a 155mph top speed. At the same time, a number of fairly minor changes were made to the bodywork. These included a revised front bumper and grille, the latter of which now incorporated a pair of additional driving lights. The QV’s front lid also received a full-width grille, new wing mirrors, rectangular indicators and optional cloth seat centres also arriving. The interior got a new matt black leather covered steering wheel but other than that, cabin changes were minor. Quattrovalvle variants were the first 308's to feature the option of a rear aerofoil (as shown on the one-off 308 GTB4 of 1977) although many earlier examples have since had them retro-fitted. The only change worthy of mention that took place during the QV's production came in January of 1984, from which point on, all examples were manufactured with Zincrox coated steel panels to avoid the corrosion problems some early steel cars had experienced. By the time production ended in early 1985, 1344 GTB's and 6068 Spyder's had been constructed.
 

308 GTS Quattrovalvole