To Be OFFERED AT AUCTION WITHOUT RESERVEEstimate:
$50,000 - $70,000
- Offered from the collection of Raymond Boniface
- Traditional Rosso Corsa over attractive brown leather
- 202-hp, 2.9-liter fuel-injected V-8 engine; five-speed manual
transaxle
- Equipped with 16-inch Campagnolo alloy wheels and Unielektra
mirror; Nardi steering wheel
- Offered with owner's manual and warranty book, window sticker,
and tools
Changes to US emissions equipment laws caused Ferrari's two-seater
308 series to be equipped with a Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection
system for the 1980 model year. The aptly termed 308 GTSi and GTBi
used the same 202 hp (205 PS), 2.9-liter V-8 powerplant and
five-speed manual transaxle. The only distinguishing feature
between the two models, styled by Pininfarinia's Leonardo
Fioravanti, was their roof: The GTSi offered a removable targa
panel, while the GBTi's was fixed.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the targa heavily outsold the coupe, with
1,743 GTSi variants produced through 1982, compared to 494 GTBis.
Later that year, the engine configuration experienced further
changes and the 'i' designation was dropped entirely.
This 1982 Rosso Corsa over brown leather example is offered from
the stable of noted Ferrari collector, the late Dr. Raymond
Boniface of Poland, Ohio. Dr. Boniface was an exceptional collector
of all beautiful Italian machines, though his most notable arena of
curatorial expertise was clearly that of V-12 Ferraris. His passion
for Italian automobiles was born of his time spent in the country
during World War II. Honorably discharged from Army service in
1946, his time stateside proved brief; Boniface returned to his
ancestral homeland in 1948 to enter medical school at the
University of Bologna.
The university proved a convenient location from which to explore
the finest facilities of Italian automotive brilliance; Maranello
(Ferrari) and Modena (Maserati) were both just 30 miles away, while
Milan (Alfa Romeo) proved a leisurely 150 mile drive north, and
Turin (Fiat/Lancia) a 210 mile drive west-all convenient distances
in contrast to the expansive frame of reference for American
drivers. By the time the newly christened Dottore returned home to
Ohio and set up shop, he was already planning his first new
acquisition: a 1955 Alfa Romeo Giulietta spider. Of course, that
was only the beginning.
Acquired shortly before his 90th birthday, this 308 GTSi was the
last Ferrari purchased and driven by Dr. Boniface. In January 2017,
Fowler Automotive of Glenshaw, Pennsylvania completed several
deferred maintenance items. Over $8,000 worth of invoices document
a timing belt service, complete fluid flush, and oil change along
with the replacement of the water pump, spark plugs, front brakes,
and air conditioning unit.
The car's set of 16-inch Campagnolo alloy wheels are presently shod
with older Michelin TRX tires-proper for showing the car, though
replacement would be advisable before regular road use. A Blaupunkt
CR-series cassette player is found in the central dashboard fascia
above the pair of tunnel-mounted gauges and five-speed gated
shifter assembly. The Nardi steering wheel and near-unobtainable
"Unielektra" mirror driver's side mirror round out this Ferrari's
period-correct presentation.
This highly original 1982 308 GTSi is offered with window sticker,
owner's manual and warranty book with pouch, tool roll, Ferrari
light with case, jack, spare, and select service records and
registrations.To view this car and others currently consigned to
this auction, please visit the RM website at
rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/mo20.