Monday Moment of Zen

Fellow Automobiliacs: I have been travelling, and apologize for the week of radio silence! While I get my clothes unpacked and sift through my photos, here's a little something to enjoy.

Photo Credit: James Lamdin

New addition to the Automobiliac Stable

You may have noticed an uptick in posts about the Ferrari Dino GT4. And this is the reason for that.  I was idly searching for a FIAT Dino Coupe on craigslist and happened upon this Black GT4 which I suddenly realized I desperately wanted. 

I wasn't in the market for a car, per se, but I found myself dialing the number in the ad and asking questions of the seller.  It turns out the car is actually a very rare model called the 208 GT4.  This was an Italy-only car of which only about 840 were made.  The 208 was created to take advantage of tax laws in Italy on cars over 2 Liters in displacement. So Maranello de-bored the 3L V8 from the 308 GT4 down to 2L.  This decreased the horsepower, but they did change the cams to compensate somewhat.

The best part of the 208, apart from the fact that it came with the European bumpers, is that the grilles on the front and rear decklids are finished in silver, not black. With this 208 in black, the contrast is just marvelous!  The dashboard of the 208 was also black metal rather than matte silver.After a few weeks of slow, steady discussion with the seller, my mechanic and I trailered it away.  Then the car had a 3 week stay at the mechanic while he replaced the fluids, timing belts, and cam cover gaskets. We also fitted new Vredestein tires.

Now that the car has been mechanically sorted, it's really a joy to drive.  The exhaust note is fantistic too! You'll be seeing a lot more of it in these pages in coming weeks and months.  And don't worry, The GTV6 is still alive and well.  And it's still being driven regularly!

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