A ‘brand new’ 328 GTS

Richard Aucock

This flawless classic Ferrari has never been driven, or even registered. We tell its story

There’s no other way to describe it: this 30-year-old Ferrari gleams. Its paintwork has a magnificent lustre and literally beams with bright iridescence. Seeing it in the metal for the first time is almost like viewing hyperreality: it’s the same 328 GTS spider profile we know and love, simply taken to an entirely new level of perfection.

Why is it so immaculate? Because in 30 years, it has never been registered, never driven on the highway, never exposed to the elements. It has led a sheltered and cosseted life hidden away from the world. Only now, three decades after it rolled off the line in Maranello, is it finally going public to show its untainted, unblemished beauty.

To tell the story of this unique Ferrari, we have to go back to the late 1980s, when demand for supercars such as Ferraris was sky-high. The original owner purchased the 328 GTS from SA.MO.CAR S.p.a of Rome – and almost immediately sold it for almost twice what they paid for it. After spending such a breathtaking sum on their new Ferrari, the car’s second owner was then afraid to actually use it. Instead of registering it to drive on the road, they chose to place it into professional storage, preserving this amazing car in as-new, delivery condition.

Almost 25 years later, Ferrari dealership in Rome was assigned to recommission the 328 GTS, before it was sold to its third owner, taking its place in a significant private collection. And now, the virgin Ferrari is up for sale again, as a genuine time-warp – complete with delivery stickers affixed to the driver’s side front wheel, protective plastic covers on the inner sills, original Goodyear tyres and an unused tool kit, spare bulb kit, torch and roof cover within a red Prancing Horse logo’d bag.

What a sight it is to behold. This 328 GTS is sensory overload, from the cool metal door handle that opens with a precise, positive click, to the gorgeous smell of unblemished leather within. The seats, which have never been sat in, are immaculate. The leather steering wheel retains its as-new matte appearance. The rich, deep-pile carpets are soft and enveloping. Every single switch, button and control is as perfect as when it left the factory more than three decades ago. The odometer? It reads just 456 kilometres. This Ferrari is a time machine.

The 328 GTS was a popular car that, today, is still well-loved and well-used by enthusiastic owners. Everyone should be fascinated by the appearance of this car – a rare 328 GTS for which time has stood still for three decades. What happens to it now depends on its next owner. It’s such a beautiful object, we wonder if it has now transcended the automotive sphere and become a genuine piece of art worthy of a new home in a museum. Time will tell what’s in store for the next 30 years of this Ferrari’s life.