Ferrari CEO Sergio Marchionne once expressed his opinion on the notion of an electric Ferrari simply as an “obscene concept”. It was a response which warranted the opinionated boss’ desire to keep the brand “pure” to the ways of good old internal combustion.
Not everyone agrees with him though, especially since modern day Ferraris don’t even come with a manual option anymore. Enter this particular 1978 Ferrari 308 GTS which is about to hit the auction block – and yes, it’s fully electric powered.
Now before you begin to reach for that pitch fork and accuse San Diego based EV company, Electric GT, for destroying a classic nobody really wanted, it’s worth noting that the car wasn’t in pristine condition to begin with.
A fuel leak back in the day resulted in the 308 GTS burning up its entire engine bay and accompanying wiring. It was left to waste away in a sorry state before it fell into the hands of the Californian electric car builder who crammed three electric motors into it to grant the vehicle tyre shredding capabilities.
The resurrected 308 GTS is now a proper fast car with 250kW in the back pocket and a subtle badge change which sees the ‘GTS’ nameplate being retired for a sneaky ‘GTE’ one.
Even the transmission is unique with a four speed manual paired up with the electric motor. Obviously it’s not a real manual transmission since electric motors don’t require gears to operate, but at least it won’t stall. Clutch? Doesn’t need one. Upshifting is a simple case of selecting a gear to drive in with the first having the highest acceleration and the fourth designed for highway cruising.
Watch the video below to see the Ferrari GTE in action.
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