Unveiled at the 1973 Paris Motor Show and delivered to customers from 1974, the Dino 308 GT4 broke two long-standing Ferrari conventions simultaneously: it was the marque's first road car to use a V8 engine, and the first to carry coachwork designed by Bertone rather than Pininfarina. A 1974 example sits at the very beginning of that story, before the Ferrari name even appeared on the flanks.
Ferrari's First V8 Road Car — and Bertone's Only Ferrari
The 308 GT4's 2926 cc V8 sits transversely amidships, breathed on by four twin-choke Weber carburettors and producing approximately 255 hp (DIN). That architecture — compact, mid-mounted, eight cylinders — was entirely new for a Ferrari road car in 1974 and would underpin the 308 GTB, the 328 and a lineage that ran for decades. The 2+2 cabin gave it a slightly longer wheelbase than its two-seat successors, but the mechanical package was the same blueprint. Between 1974 and 1980 a total of 2826 examples were built.
Dino Badge, Bertone Lines — the Outsider of 1970s Maranello
From 1974 until 1976, the 308 GT4 left the factory wearing only the Dino sub-brand identity: no prancing horse on the nose, no Ferrari script on the tail. It is one of the subtler details that separates an early car from a late-production one and makes a correctly presented 1974 example historically distinct. The Bertone-penned body is equally singular: angular creases and wedge proportions that sit apart from every other Pininfarina-styled Ferrari of the era. In black that angularity reads with particular authority — none of the red-car showmanship, just geometry.
KK Scale 1:18 Die-Cast — Correct Badging, Correct Year
KK Scale has reproduced this car as a 1:18 die-cast metal model, specifying the 1974 build year and the black livery. Die-cast construction at this scale allows the Bertone bodywork's sharp character lines and the low roofline of the 2+2 greenhouse to read clearly. The absence of Ferrari badging on a 1974 car is a period-correct detail that a well-researched 1:18 model should respect — and the KK Scale release is catalogued accordingly.
In the Cabinet — Placing the GT4 in Context
The 308 GT4 occupies a genuinely singular position in a Ferrari collection: the only Bertone-bodied model in an otherwise all-Pininfarina lineup. A black example contrasts immediately against the red 308 GTBs and GTS models that typically surround it. For collectors building a narrative around Ferrari's V8 lineage, it pairs naturally with a 308 GTB (1975 onward) or a 328 GTB to show the architectural continuity. Those drawn to the Dino chapter will find it a compelling companion to a Dino 246 GT — the V6 predecessor it effectively replaced.
