For many, the Ferrari 308 is not the most beautiful model to roll out of the gates in Modena, but there are quite a few examples that have become special thanks to their owners.
We already saw earlier the white Testarossa from Miami Vice, the Ferrari 308 from Magnum PI, Michael Jackson's black Testarossa en Nigel Mansell's Testarossa to change ownership. In 2014, a track car in which Gilles Villeneuve clocked up kilometers also went under the hammer, in the form of a Ferrari 126 C2. Now, however, it concerns a Ferrari that he primarily drove on public roads.
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Rarely are bare statistics so misleading: 67 Grand Prix starts, six victories, two fastest laps, and a relatively modest 101 World Championship points. Statistically, this list is light years away from Fangio, Ascari, and Clark, yet the way Gilles Villeneuve achieved those six victories gave the man character and ensured that he—with the possible exception of Ayrton Senna—is the most charismatic and spectacular driver to ever race the circuits.
Joseph Gilles Henri Villeneuve was a Canadian Formula 1 driver. He started his F1 career as a third driver for the McLaren team in 1977, for which he drove only one race. Villeneuve was known for his all-or-nothing driving style. There were several moments during his short career where he truly provided a spectacle, such as at Zandvoort in 1979. While leading the race, Villeneuve suffered a blowout on the right rear tire on the straight, causing him to slide off the track at the Tarzan corner. Instead of giving up, he drove back onto the track and tried to reach the pits. Because he had just passed them, he had to drive almost a full lap on his punctured tire. He did so as hard as he could, with the result that first the tire and then the right rear suspension disintegrated, leaving a shower of sparks in its wake. He reached the pits, but the car was beyond repair.
He was killed in an accident on May 8, 1982, at Circuit Zolder during his final qualifying lap for the Belgian Grand Prix. Jochen Mass was driving a slow lap and swerved to avoid the charging Villeneuve, but Villeneuve drove into Mass with his left front wheel. Villeneuve was launched and thrown from his car. He landed in the barriers, where the medical team managed to resuscitate him, but Villeneuve died later that evening in the hospital in Leuven.
Ferrari 308 of Gilles Villeneuve
Ferrari built over 12.000 copies of the Ferrari 308The 308 received a V8 under the hood and replaced the Dino 246 in 1975, and was updated as the 328 in 1985. The car was designed by Pininfarina and shown to the public at the Paris Motor Show in 1975 as an extension of the Dino 308 GT4 (which, incidentally, was a design by Bertone). GTS stands for the variant with a Targa roof. This version came onto the market in 1977 and 3.219 units were built. Technically, the GTS was identical to the 308 GTB.
This particular example has only 37.000 kilometers on the odometer and has had multiple owners. After Gilles's death, the car returned to Enzo, who sold it two years later to a resident of Modena. In 2010, this 308 became Danish property, only to be exhibited in the Ferrari museum barely two years later. Now, this special 308 is being auctioned by RM Sotheby's without reserve. Perhaps it is time to empty that piggy bank and hope for a stroke of luck?
