This Ferrari 308 GTS is worthy of the film "Back to the Future", with its supercharged V8 engine.

The Virginia City Hill Climb is a hillclimb held in the state of Nevada, on the historic road linking the city of Virginia City to the surrounding valley. The route is approximately 8.4 km long and includes more than twenty turns, alternating fast sections, technical sequences and tight hairpins. The event is a time-trial: performance depends as much on power as on driveability, chassis balance and the courage of the rider in the face of narrow stretches without large areas of clearance.

Over the years, the event has become a regional benchmark, attracting both ultra-high-performance modern cars and heavily modified classic sports cars. In 2023, the event was won by the Pininfarina Battista.

A love of Ferrari

Bill Pound is a Ferrari enthusiast and tuner involved with the Virginia City HillClimb organization. His racing experience dates back to the 1980s, when he was "crewchief" and worked on Michelotto-prepared Ferraris entered in IMSA. His technical expertise, combined with his involvement in automobile clubs (notably the Ferrari Owners Club), led him to imagine a radically transformed Ferrari 308 for hill-climbing. 

The basis of this project is a Ferrari 308 GTS 1982, with chassis number #40675. Magnum's star Ferrari was launched in its uncoupled version in September 1977, at the I.A.A. Frankfurt show, to fill the gap left 3 years earlier by the discontinuation of the 246 GTS. The GTS features mechanical differences from the GTBs, with wet sump lubrication and two ignition distributors instead of one.

Double the power

It was around 1986 that Bill Pound embarked on this preparation, with the aim of creating a machine capable of competing with much more modern hillclimb cars. The engine is the famous F106AB 90° 3.0L 16-valve V8, which has been extensively modified with the installation of a B&M volumetric compressor, Hilborn mechanical fuel injection and Indycar-style methanol fueling. Estimated power is between 450 and 480 bhp (or even more, according to some unofficial estimates), almost double that of the original 308, which peaked at 255 bhp. The transmission has been replaced by a Ferrari 328 transaxle, better suited to the increased torque. 

Work also focused on the chassis, with a suspension equipped with adjustable Koni shock absorbers, reworked geometry, and reinforced braking with competition components (larger discs and Wilwood calipers). The aim was to achieve incisive, responsive handling. high capacity acceleration out of hairpins. A welded rollover bar has been integrated into the chassis, while the driver's seat has been lowered to allow helmets to be worn in racing configuration. 

Suction!

Of course, the most striking feature is the large air intake on the hood to cool the mechanical beast, which has no intercooler. If it isn't aesthetically pleasing, it certainly doesn't go unnoticed!

A guinea pig

Although designed for the Virginia City Hill Climb, the car had no official career. It was tested at Willow Springs, for example. The project remained mainly experimental and demonstrative. The 308 GTS Hillclimb Special represents an atypical case in the Ferrari universe: it is neither a factory model nor a limited series, but a private project taking the preparation of a classic berlinetta a step further.

However, it's not easy to resell a Ferrari that has been modified: the fairly recent ad seen on the Ferrari Online site listed the 308 GTS Special at a price of just 34,950 $! For a further 13,000 $, you could have a "new" engine with 4 valves per cylinder, original Borgo 11-1 pistons and a fully programmable engine management system, all mounted on a 1984 308-4V transaxle.