The yowl closes fast as the driver snaps the changes: soon a red dart comes into view, spearing down the boulevard

Beach Road. Now that’s a Ferrari-sounding destination. This particular Beach Road happens to be in Cape Town, in an area called Moullie Point. You would never guess it is Africa because this smart beach-front location resembles Miami Beach, with its gleaming white apartment buildings, chi-chi sushi restaurants and trendy bagel and cappuccino bars lining the wide boulevard which runs along the crisp and bright Atlantic Ocean seaboard.

Enjoying the sharp, salty aroma of the kelp-filled ocean 
as the harsh African sun begins to dip towards the horizon and the light turns creamy, photographer Ian McLaren and I hear the far-off wail of an engine enjoying the upper reaches of its rev range. The yowl closes fast as the driver snaps 
the gearchanges up through the closely stacked ratios, 
and soon a red dart comes into view, spearing down the boulevard.

Small, sharp and sounding full of energy, the red 308GTB swings into the 
car park, the engine is killed and the wall of sound stops with a deafening silence. 
Film-maker and historic racer Anton Rollino hops deftly out of the cockpit and chuckles at the attention the delicious noise of the bright red Ferrari has generated among the joggers, roller-bladers and surfers. Aftermarket Tubi exhausts are not for the shy and retiring. But then, neither are Ferraris.

Rollino has owned this 1978 308 for some years, and at one point it was fitted with 
a race-specification engine. He says: ‘It was just too hairy, so I had the local Ferrari 
agent, Viglietti, return it to standard spec. It now produces 255bhp and is great fun to drive.’ The car is shod with 16-inch Speedline rims which allow for lower-profile 255/55 and 50-section tyres. Apparently these make a big difference to the car’s handling. Also, this tyre size is more readily available than for the original 14-inch rims.

The rubber 
looks well scrubbed, but that’s what track day exuberance does – and that’s the whole point of a sports car from Maranello.

Anton has to take a phone call, so he tosses the keys over to me and disappears into the photo car. The 308 driver’s door opens via a delicate and unusual little satin black lever. This Ferrari is diminutive on the outside and diminutive on the inside as well. No Tardis, the two-seater best suits slim types such as its owner. Ingress is not helped by 
the unforgiving racing seat and full harness, but once ensconced the lovely steering wheel is just where you want it, even though the pedals are a bit offset. Encumbered by his lensed-up Nikon, our strapping photographer has trouble squeezing his athletic frame into the passenger seat.

The transversely mounted, DOHC, Weber carburettor-fed 3-litre V8 fires up with a typically Ferrari whirr of the starter motor, and then settles to a steady idle. The throttle response is razor-sharp, which is amazing considering the car has four twin-choke carbs – that’s eight butterflies working in perfect harmony. Meanwhile, the clutch is 
firm and the long gearlever requires muscle to select first ratio. The 308 lunges off the mark and immediately exhibits the quick responses that are so uniquely Ferrari.

It isn’t happy to lug like a 911 – it wants sturdy inputs and plenty of throttle. As the road opens up you hang onto the revs and allow the Tubi snaps to sing. The change is mechanical but fast, and the ratios are perfectly placed. Gearing is taut and soon you are in fifth, the little Ferrari building speed with intent.
The ride is firm but pliant, and the car reacts to all inputs with alacrity. Being mid-engined it seems to move from the hips, and this seat-of-the-pants connection is enhanced by the tight-fitting, hard, racing seat. This Ferrari is like a flyweight boxer: 
it bobs and weaves with lightning reflexes.

Weighing just 1065kg, it carries no flab. But the amazing impression is that this machine of the 1970s, all old tech with carbs and mechanical controls, is superbly reactive and communicative. You don’t really drive it, you think it. There is no modern car numbness at all, no dampening cushion between 
you and the controls.

You feel the 308 working with you, you feel it on the road and can place it with millimetre accuracy. Being narrow and low, the Ferrari can nip through gaps in the traffic and wind its way up a mountainside road with precision. Every change in camber or road surface is telegraphed back to you, and with this sort of immediate communication you soon find yourself really pushing things. What a fabulous driver’s car this is. It is raw and visceral, but also obedient and just plain good fun thanks to its tremendous dynamic ability. 
The brakes are strong and Rollino talks about hanging the tail out at race circuits, which is entirely understandable.