Words: Aron Norris | Photography: Scott Paterson

Ferrari 308 GTB.

Ok, so what do the Sony Walkman, the McDonald’s Happy Meal, Mother Theresa’s Nobel Peace Prize and Michael Jackson’s Off The Wall album all have in common with this Ferrari 308 GTB? 1979 is what, and seemingly, cool was in very strong supply back then. The car you’re about to see is an absolute beauty.

The Pininfarina Dream.

The 308 GTB, or "Berlinetta" as it is known in Italian (literally meaning “sports 2 seat coupe”) was also joined by the GTS open-top version and both cars were introduced to replace the earlier 246 GT and GTS. The 308 was actually Ferrari’s first mid-engined V8-powered two-seater - the 308 is the certainly the real deal.

The mid-engined 3.0 V8 certainly provides the pedigree to match it’s sumptuous Leonardo Fioravanti (Pininfarina) design, which is stunning from literally every angle, let’s be honest. With Fioravanti was responsible for penning some of Ferrari’s most beautiful designs, the 308 rubs shoulders with stablemates such as the Daytona, Dino and Berlinetta Boxer. The bonnet rake and curvaceous haunches combine perfectly to create one hell of a shape on this particular Fioravanti creation.

Under the rear hatch sits a wonderful Ferrari V8, which, based on Ferrari nomenclature (i.e. 308) should have been a 3.0 V8 but is actually a 2927cc, how’s that for Italian logic? The transverse “F106AB” V8 engine is twin-overhead cam and runs four weber twin 40 carburettors, producing 252bhp at 7700rpm. Given this steel bodied beauty weighs in at only 1200kg, the 308 GTB is a recipe for fun out on the road.

The Magnum P.I. Connection.

The Magnum P.I. connection takes the cool factor up to 200%. If you don’t know what or who Magnum P.I. is, Google it. This was the car of choice for Naval Intelligence Agency officer Thomas Magnum (played by Tom Selleck) in the 80s and that makes it cool as hell. Selleck’s 80’s-as-you-like style and red Ferrari 308 were the icing on the cake for this awesome car. Not that the 308 Ferrari needed much help, but thanks for the TV show, the 308 has cult movie car status along with Kitt 2000, the DeLorean, Ecto 1 and the Bullitt Mustang…

Rockstars and Supermodels.

The Ferrari 308 GTB was a car for people who were doing pretty well in life. Admiring this 308, I can literally imagine the original owner; a gold Rolex-wearing, massive moustached short guy blasting around the French Rivera with his supermodel girlfriend in the passenger seat really rather pleased with the hand he was dealt.

This little Italian beauty was red-hot back in 1979, so fast forward nearly 40 years and this is an outrageous slice of exotica, especially now it has had the full Kean Suspensions’ treatment. This posh potty is dressed to kill…

Kean Suspensions.

This ’79 GTB is probably enough to cause heart-failure for 90% of classic car owners out there and that’s why it’s definitely one for RollHard. This amazing prancing horse belongs to Andy Neirinck of Kean Suspensions in Belgium. We were lucky enough to catch up with Andy at the Essen Motorshow in Germany and find out all about the debut of his 308 GTB. FYI - this car wasn’t built for the internet, in fact, this 308 GTB wasn’t even meant to be at the Essen show at all, read on to find out why…



Andy runs Kean Suspensions with his brother Kenny and the family connection runs deep in everything they do. These guys have built their business from the ground up over the course of seven or so years. RollHard actually first met these guys six years ago at their original workshop and since then, things have got pretty serious, as their latest project car shows.



The Masterplan.

First things first, why did Andy buy a 308 GTB? Other than being utterly seduced by its gorgeous shape, Andy wanted to buy a car he could keep, forever. This car is a pretty archetypal “investible classic”, and if you ask me, it certainly has all the hallmarks of a bonafide collectors piece, they don’t make ‘em like they used to, Marjorie.

On the hunt for an heirloom classic, Andy was searching long and hard at Porsche 964s but felt that they were starting to get a little too popular in modified circles, so decided to go a bit more off-piste and widen the search to include prancing horses of the 308 ilk. Good taste indeed, Mr Neirinick.



Andy viewed plenty of donkey’s before he found his horse, which he has now owned for over five years. Thankfully in this car, whilst it wasn’t in perfect condition, Andy found himself an honest, original and complete example. This car was always going to be a long-term project spanning over a few years, after all, Andy was building his dream car, so there was no need to rush things.



The body panels were all slightly different shades of Ferrari Rosso Red, the dash was cracked and the engine had a mystery leak, which might have others off, but not Andy. Challenge accepted, the deal was done and Andy was on the way home with his dream Ferrari. Let the project begin...



The Power of Friendship.

With customers cars and family pressures taking priority since buying the car, Andy’s 308 project was on the back burner, that was at least, until his good friend, Sven Schulz (one of Essen’s event organisers) got in touch with him a few months before Essen 2017 asking if Kean Suspensions would have any freshly built cars for the show. Andy being Andy, said the Ferrari would be ready and set himself the challenge of getting the car show ready, even though it was going to be a pretty tight deadline. His 308 GTB is the result of a crazy promise of a show car between good friends.

If it wasn’t for the power of friendship, Andy’s project car wouldn’t have surfaced for a while, as Andy confessed “I needed a deadline to work towards, and if it wasn’t for my friendship with Sven, it wouldn’t have been completed in time for this event”.

Resto-mod.

The pressure was on and with the aforementioned engine leak lurking as a potential problem of blank-cheque proportions, Andy decided to take no chances and remove the engine to give it the belt and braces treatment. With the engine out, Andy replaced the pistons, bearings, cylinder-shells and replaced every single gasket, valve, seal and bolt, along with fully reconditioning the 5 speed “dog-leg” gearbox. In the process of rebuilding the F106AB V8 engine, Andy carried out an unleaded conversion and overhauled the entire engine back to its original colour and finish. With a freshly rebuilt engine ready to go back in, mechanically, Andy’s project really was off to a canter.

Whilst the engine was out, the Kean Suspensions team stripped the car back to its bare shell, getting ready bit by bit for any restoration work that would be required and of course, a fresh coat of gleaming Rosso Red. Before the paint could be laid down and with the Essen show deadline looming, Andy still wanted to add his own little touches, following the resto-mod brief he had set himself at the beginning.



This is where you’d probably have to be a Ferrari boffin to spot the carefully executed modifications. The subtle changes include rear spoiler and passenger mirror delete, which are classy changes, less is definitely more. Andy wanted to add a hint of motorsport to the car, so added a custom (non-OE) drivers-side mirror in genuine carbon weave and continued this theme with carbon front and rear bumpers. The carbon weave looks amazing against the fresh red paintwork.



Inside, the original interior has been re-trimmed in the finest tan leather, with everything from the seats, door cards, dash and centre console given new hide. The seat stitching design has been switched up to modernise the interior, but as with the other changes, you’d be hard pushed to notice it because they look so factory fresh and sympathetic to this 1979 beauty.

Low and Lean.

The suspension setup started out in life as just a lowering kit for the double wishbone setup, which was actually the last set available off the shelf from Koni. Of course, a suspension kit alone was never going to cut the mustard for Andy and his brother, so the Koni kit went under the Kean Suspensions’ knife with some custom fabrication and conversion to air ride. With these guys being specialists in suspension, their custom 308 GTB air ride kit was built in a day, hooked up to Accuair E-Level management with rocker switches and phone app controls.

In the wheel department, most of you will know what these are. For those who don’t, these are motorsport BBS E50 magnesium centres built out to 18” with BBS gold centres and mirror polished step-up dishes. E50s are automotive jewellery and work so perfectly on the 308 in all their motorsport glory. With 18”x8” (215/35/18) front and 18”x10” (235/35/18) rear, the BBS wheel and tyre combo nestles itself under the GTB’s arches with aplomb.

It is safe to say Andy used all of his available deadline to get this car ready in for the Essen show, working night and day right up until the event to finish everything off in time. Check out the ROBIN 1 license plate for a nice reference to the Magnum P.I. TV show.



Hyper Car.

Aside from the obvious “stancey Ferrari hype” this is a very well executed and sympathetic build, from the ground-up. This is so much more than just a “wheels and suspension” kind of car: think Singer Porsche, this is a Belgian reincarnation of an Italian classic with real engineering by Kean Suspensions.

This car fully deserves the recognition it receives. We don’t know many people with the balls to modify a legitimately collectible classic car with this kind of heritage. We absolutely love how this car has turned out and all that better that guys responsible, Andy Neirinick and his brother Kenny are such humble guys with it. Kean Suspensions' 308 GTB was a highlight of our recent trip to the Essen Motorshow in Germany.

So there we have it, thanks to the Kean Suspensions, this 308 GTB lives on to completely wow the crowds. Andy also let us into a little secret that they have some incredible builds on the way… did someone say De Tommaso…? Don’t worry, RollHard will be staying tuned to provide you all with updates...