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Ferrari 308 GTB Vetroresina Was the First-Ever Fiberglass Prancing Horse

Vetroresina is the Italian word for fiberglass. It is also the moniker used by Ferrari to designate its first-ever car which used this material for most of its body.
Ferrari 308 GTB Vetroresina 22 photos
Photo: Silverstone Auctions
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The Vetroresina name was attached to the Ferrari 308 GTB way back in 1975, when the car was first shown by the Italians in Paris. In itself, the 308 was not unique only because of the material used for its body, but also for being the second ever V8-engined road Ferrari, and also the first one to be designed by Pininfarina after an affair the Prancing Horse had with Bertone.

Built as a replacement for the Dino and its various incarnation at the time, the car packed a 3.0-liter V8 engine capable of developing 255 hp, and nifty enough to shoot the car to a top speed of 150 mph (240 kph).

As with most other Ferrari-branded cars, this one too was produced only in limited numbers. For the British market, for instance, there were only 154 Vetroresinas made. One of those cars just popped up on a local auction site, and this one is according to its seller “one of the most well maintained and best driving examples out there.”

Backing this statement is the fact that the car has been in the possession of the current owner for the past 20 years. It underwent a complete engine rebuild at 53,000 miles (85,295 km), and in 2001 a photographic restoration of the car was made, and there are tons of documents as testimony to that.

As is the case with most vintage Ferraris on the market, the red adorning the car’s body is not the original color used when the car rolled off the assembly lines: decades ago, this Ferrari was painted in Blu Dino Metallizzato.

Silverstone Auctions, the organization charged with finding a new owner, hopes to fetch up to £95,000 for it during the Race Retro Classic & Competition Car Sale this coming weekend.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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