Does getting rid of the sonorous V8 make this classic Ferrari less fun to drive?
The Ferrari 308, manufactured between 1975 and 1985, is named after its mid-mounted engine, a 3-liter V8 with around 250 horsepower and an intoxicating sound. But these engines require frequent maintenance, they’re somewhat fragile and they are only good for a naught to sixty time of around 7.5 seconds.
But even if they don’t really provide what we today would call enough performance, these small V8s are an integral part of the driving experience, particularly if we’re talking about the targa top 308 GTS. So some purists may say that this particular 308 that was Tesla-swapped in the United Kingdom is sacrilege, but we aren’t so sure the owner did anything wrong here.
Especially since with around 500 horsepower and a whole lot more torque than the original V8, this 308 now flies and it should probably crack sixty in under 5 seconds now, with the right rubber. According to the Number 27 YouTube channel, in removing the mid-mounted engine, replacing it with a more compact and lighter Tesla drive unit, as well as putting the 45 kWh battery pack in the front, the car now has a nearly perfect 50/50 weight distribution.
So the conversion hasn’t affected the handling, the car is considerably faster than when it left the factory and it frees the owner from having to abide by the very frequent service interval. It’s a well thought out and executed conversion too, that was very sympathetically done to still stay true to what the original car was like.
Source: Read Full Article