Garage Find: A 1989 Ferrari 328 GTS

This 1989 Ferrari 328 GTS was found parked in a dusty garage alongside a Cadillac, a Corvette, and a Jaguar E-Type V12. It hasn’t been started or driven in at least 8-10 years, and it’s being offered for sale in the hopes that it will be recommissioned and put back on the road.

The Ferrari 328 GTS was the replacement for the earlier 308 GTS, it was an incremental upgrade that improved on the early car in almost every way. Between 1985 and 1989 Ferrari made over 7,400 examples of the 328 GTB/GTS and today they remain one of the most popular “affordable” Ferraris from the era.

Fast Facts – The Ferrari 328 GTS

• Introduced in 1985, the Ferrari 328 GTS (Gran Turismo Spider) and its hardtop counterpart, the 328 GTB (Gran Turismo Berlinetta), were evolutionary developments of the earlier 308 models. The “328” in its name denoted its 3.2-liter engine size, while the “8” represented the number of cylinders.
• The 328 was powered by a 3.2 liter naturally-aspirated V8, producing 270 bhp and 231 lb ft of torque. This was a step up in power over the 308, and the car was capable of completing the 0-60 mph dash in 5.5 seconds, with a top speed of approximately 160 mph.
• The 328 retained the iconic Leonardo Fioravanti (of Pininfarina) designed bodywork of the 308 but showcased a more rounded, softer appearance, especially in the bumpers and the grille. The car also introduced convex front and rear fenders, which gave it a slightly updated and more modern look while preserving the characteristic mid-engine Ferrari wedge silhouette.
• The 328 GTS you see here is a 1989 model, the final year of production. It’s had three owners from new and has accumulated 34,572 kms on the odometer. It’s now been sitting in a garage unused since approximately 2014 and it’s being offered for sale so it can be recommissioned and put back on the road.

The Ferrari 328 GTS

When it was released in 1985 the targa-topped Ferrari 328 GTS and its tin-top GTB sibling had large shoes to fill. The cars were an evolutionary step forward over the earlier Ferrari 308 GTS and GTB series, a series that had become beloved on both sides of the Atlantic and featured prominently in the TV series Magnum, P.I. starring Tom Selleck.

Instead of reinventing the wheel with the new model, Ferrari opted to instead develop the new 328 as an incremental series of improvements that kept the spirit of the 308 well and truly alive. It turned out to be a winning formula, as they went on to sell over 7,400 of them over the course of the 1985 to 1989 production run.

The 328 was designed by Leonardo Fioravanti at Pininfarina, the same man who had designed the earlier 308 GTB/GTS as well as the Ferrari 288 GTO, Ferrari Testarossa, Ferrari 512 BB, and many others. He took his earlier design and carefully updated it with slightly softer curves, new front and rear bumper/grille sections, and a significantly revised interior.

The engine was also updated, it was sourced from the 308 Quattrovalvole model with its displacement increased from 3.0 to 3.2 liters. It kept the double overhead cams per bank, four valves per cylinder, and the Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection system of the earlier engine design and produced 270 bhp and 231 lb ft of torque with a 0-62 mph time of just 5.5 seconds – impressive for the time and not bad even by modern standards.

The car was fitted with an updated version of the oval-shaped tubular steel space frame used on the 308 GTS/GTB, fitted with a body mostly made of steel panels, with the addition of an aluminium hood up front and a lighter weight fiberglass sandwiched steel floorpan.

The independent front and rear suspension used the popular unequal length double wishbone design with coil springs and tubular shock absorbers front and back, as well as four wheel vented disc brakes, unassisted rack and pinion steering, and ABS became a standard fitment on all cars from 1988 onwards.

Ultimately it would be the open-top 328 GTS that would sell in the highest numbers, by a significant margin in fact with 6,068 GTS models sold and just 1,344 GTBs. The Ferrari 348 would follow in 1989, it was also styled by Leonardo Fioravanti and it offered a significant change over the earlier 308/328 vehicles, though some missed the more analogue approach of the earlier cars.

The 1989 “Garage Find” Ferrari 328 GTS Shown Here

The 1989 Ferrari 328 GTS you see here is currently in need of a savior, it’s been sitting for years in a garage gathering dust and the engine hasn’t been run since at least 2016 with the last safety inspection for road registration taking placing earlier in 2014.

The listing notes that the bodywork is in good order and that the car will be supplied with its original papers and manuals. There’s no mention of service history so any buyer should probably budget for a full servicing and timing belt replacement at the very least.

The car is said to have had only three owners, with the current owner having bought it in 2006. It was recently rediscovered in his garage alongside a Cadillac, Corvette, and an E-Type (as mentioned in the instruction), making it an eclectic collection by any measure.

The black leather upholstery is said to be in very good condition, as are the carpets, though the listing say they will need cleaning. The mileage is currently sitting at 34,572 kms, or approximately 21,514 miles.

If you’d like to read more about this car or register to bid you can visit the listing here on Artcurial. It’s due to roll across the auction block with them on the 22nd of October with a price guide of $42,100 – $63,200 USD.

Images courtesy of Artcurial