Automobili Maggiore, the small Italian car manufacturer responsible for several Lancia, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, De Tomaso and Maserati models, finally closed down in 2003. Some 15 years later, the new Maggiore company was launched by “car and design enthusiasts” who have so far came up with an extensive restomod program for the iconic Ferrari 308 GTB/GTS. Past the standard nut-and-bolt restoration, Maggiore can leave only the doors, engine block and base chassis untouched, modifying Pininfarina’s original until it becomes the Ferrari 308M.
Ferrari’s V8 gets rebuilt and upgraded by motorsport specialist Italtechnica, growing from 2.9 to 3.1 liters to produce 300 horsepower at 7,000 revs, and a peak torque output of 221 pound-feet. The 308M uses Brembo’s four-piston calipers with racing pads grabbing self-ventilated 280mm discs. With the track widened by 50mm at the front and 100mm at the rear, Maggiore chose Koni’s racing dampers with adjustable coaxial springs. To correct the stance and geometry, the traditional five-spoke alloy wheels grew to 17 inches instead of the 14s and 16s that were originally available from the factory on the 308s and 328s.
Maggiore uses a new carbon fiber body and several machined aluminum components to create a virtually new V8 Ferrari, complete with a fully customizable interior layered with the finest leathers, high-tech metals and even a piece of Italian marble as the shifting knob. The door panels are now made of carbon fiber like on an F40, with the 308M’s cabin also showing a new center console shaped like Ferrari’s own, yet featuring modernized instrumentation.
Most noticeably, while the Lamborghini Huracán-based Ares Panther is all about brining back the pop-up headlamps of the classic De Tomaso Pantera, Maggiore’s 308M uses a pair of horizontal LED strips as daytime running lights, while the main units are now recessed into the 308’s grille. Complementing the front, the rear also gets a pair of modern LED taillights while the engine gets exposed through a new plexiglass cover.
Slap a pair of turbos on this, and you’ve almost got yourself a 288 GTO. Now imagine what Magnum P.I’s mustache could have accomplished with that…
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