GT4 Essentials
A clear, more number focused introduction to the Dino 308 GT4 — what the name means, what defines the car, and why it remains Ferrari’s most underrated 2+2 V8.
A clear, more number focused introduction to the Dino 308 GT4 — what the name means, what defines the car, and why it remains Ferrari’s most underrated 2+2 V8.
Introduction
The Dino 308 GT4 is often explained through context — its history, its design, its engineering.
This page steps back from interpretation.
Instead, it focuses on the car itself: what it is, how it is configured, and why its fundamentals matter.
Seen this way, the GT4 becomes a reference point — the clearest place to understand the Dino in concrete terms.
Length: 4,300 mm
Width: 1,710 mm
Height: 1,210 mm
Wheelbase: 2,550 mm
Front track: 1,460 mm
Rear track: 1,460 mm
Top speed: 248 km/h*
0–100 km/h: 6.8 s* (full tank, two occupants)
Curb weight: 1,320 kg* (full tank)
US specification: approx. 1,470 kg
Fuel tank capacity: 78 L
5.7 kg / hp
*Period road test measurement (Germany, 1974)
Model Identity
At its core, the Dino 308 GT4 is a mid-engined, 2+2 sports car powered by a naturally aspirated V8.
Its identity is shaped less by extremes than by balance. Compact exterior dimensions house a surprisingly
usable cabin, while the drivetrain layout prioritizes weight distribution and predictability over raw drama.
Unlike many Ferraris of its era, the GT4 was conceived not as a single-minded performance statement,
but as a cohesive whole — blending speed, practicality, and clarity into one package.
Naming and Meaning
Ferrari’s naming was typically quite direct and this model was no exception:
> 308 refers to the car’s 3.0-liter V8.
> GT signals grand touring intent.
> 4 marks the car’s defining deviation: four seats in a mid-engine Ferrari layout.
It was a technical name for a car shaped by engineering as much as ambition.
The GT4’s proportions were not drawn first — they were engineered.
Its upright stance, long cabin, and distinctive silhouette emerged from the challenge of combining a sideways installed mid-engine V8 with genuine usability.
Double wishbone suspension, neutral balance, and strong visibility gave the GT4 a character that was composed rather than theatrical.
It creates confidence, not intimidation.
Styled by Bertone rather than Pininfarina, the GT4 remains one of Ferrari’s clearest departures from its expected visual language.
Its form was never meant to flatter convention.
Early cars carried no Ferrari badges at all — inside or out.
Only later did the Cavallino appear, not because the car had changed, but because the market demanded clarity.
The GT4 has always existed slightly between identities.
What began here would underpin Ferrari’s future: the V8 platform that defined decades of road cars, from the 308 lineage onward.
The GT4 was not an anomaly.
It was the starting point.
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