How did you get interested in Ferraris?

One of the questions we are asked most often here at Ricambi America is, “How did you get interested in Ferraris?” The answer, quite simply, is “Magnum P.I.” What child of the 80s doesn't remember wanting to be Magnum, complete with mustache, Detroit Tigers hat, and Hawaiian shirt, off an another adventure, racing around Oahu in his trademark red 308? We would have given anything to have traded places with Thomas Magnum, yes, even if that meant running from Dobermans and even scarier, wearing short shorts. But the car … that car … it was love at first sight.

 

So in honor of Tom Selleck's birthday (January 29th), we'll be kicking off our new series here at Ricambi America, “Ferraris on Film” with “Magnum P.I.” and it's iconic red 308.

The behind the scenes story of Magnum's Ferrari is almost as interesting as any given episode. Many different models were used over the course of the series' 8 season run, and during the course of filming each episode, many different individual cars had to be employed for different purposes (there was an “action” car used for chase scenes and driving sequences, one used for close-ups, and another “kit car” used for the more dangerous road scenes). And each Ferrari that Tom Selleck drove had to be modified to fit his 6 foot, 4 inch frame—padding had to be removed from the seat, which was moved back as far as possible from the steering wheel to give Selleck more leg room.

Would it also surprise you to learn that Magnum almost drove a Porsche instead of his trademark Ferrari? If Porsche had been willing to modify their 928 model with an extra-large sunroof, as Magnum's producers requested (which went against Porsche's strict policy against granting special customer requests), Magnum's adventures along with our car fantasies, might have looked very different.

The news that a 1984 308 GTS driven by Tom Selleck on the show is going up for auction this week at Bonham's auction house in Scottsdale, Arizona has the Ferrari has put the spotlight back on this classic example of Italian style.

 

Of course, 308 owners have always known that this car is much more than a good looking piece of Hollywood history—it's fast (for its age), fun, and for some of us, a way to recapture just what it was that made us fall in love with Ferrari all those years ago. So, if there is an empty spot in your garage, why not try and find your own dream car? Once you've taken the leap, we here at Ricambi America will help you with all your restoration needs!