Yet a couple of years ago Rod hit a crisis over his Ferrari hobby, one from which he appears to have recovered, partly through his own efforts. ‘Because of the potholes on our roads, I may have to find new owners for them,’ Rod announced on Instagram. ‘I’ve been driving these iconic Italian cars since the seventies, and I absolutely love and adore them.’

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Rod was pictured standing in front of five Ferraris, including a LaFerrari, that he had bought in 2023 for $6.3 million and for which he had built a special Celtic FC-themed garage.

This announcement was followed by pictures of Rod Stewart getting down and dirty by attempting to physically fix the offending potholes himself so that his ‘works of art’, as he referred to his Ferraris, would no longer have their undercarriages so endangered.

Healthily obsessed as he was with his Italian motoring classics, Rod came nowhere near in this to the owner of the company, Enzo Ferrari. For the great Enzo, street production cars were merely a way to finance the company’s on-track activities: the 1988 Grand Prix of Great Britain, which in 1951 had given him his first F1 victory, was the last Formula One race he watched on television.

And Ferrari remained dedicated to the production of two-doored masterpieces, one of which we have right now at Beverly Hills Car Club, a 1979 Ferrari 308 GTS, showing just 28,557 miles. Finished in its classic Rosso Chiaro exterior over a Nero interior, this open-top Italian sports car captures the unmistakable styling and driving character that made the 308 series a standout of its era.

Our car comes powered by a V8 paired with a 5-speed manual gearbox, offering an engaging driving experience through its signature gated shifter. The car is further equipped with four-wheel disc brakes, quad exhaust, and classic Pininfarina styling cues, along with a MOMO steering wheel and 14-inch Cromodora-branded alloy wheels & Goodyear Eagle GT II tires.

Inside, the cabin features period-correct Veglia instrumentation, bucket seats, power windows, toggle switches, a center console, and door pockets, complemented by a vintage AM/FM radio.

Additional details include driver-side rearview mirror, louvered rear quarter windows, side marker lights, and a full-size spare tire with jack and tool roll stored in the front trunk. Notably, the 308 GTS became widely recognized through its television association with Thomas Magnum, further cementing its place in automotive and cultural history.

Italian sports cars like this 308 GTS continue to hold their appeal, and this example offers a well-preserved presentation with desirable features, making it a strong candidate for collectors and enthusiasts alike that is mechanically sound. At the 1977 Frankfurt Motor Show, the targa topped 308 GTS was introduced. All GTS’s received a wet-sump engine and were steel-bodied. European GTB models retained the dry sump lubrication until 1981.

There were 3,219 GTS and 2,897 GTBs made from 1975 to 1980.Only 808 of the fiberglass (vetroresina in Italian) version were made, all with the Berlinetta bodywork.

As I said, the Ferrari 308 was made famous globally by the television series Magnum, P.I. in which for eight seasons while on his investigations the series’ lead character, Thomas Magnum, played by Tom Selleck, drove the car around Oahu, the third-largest and most populated of the Hawaiian Islands. Because of the location, the open-roofed 308 model made sense. It was also required so that the 6-foot-4 Selleck could fit in the car.

The series ran from 1980 to 1988, and several 308 GTS cars were used, a new one for each season, most being auctioned off after filming and all with the license plate ‘ROBIN 1.’

Although certainly not cheap, the Ferrari 308s were archetypal cultural magnets for their time.

The 308 replaced the Dino 246 GT and GTS in 1975 and was updated as the 328 GTB/GTS in 1985. The similar 208 GTB and GTS were equipped with a smaller, initially naturally aspirated and later turbocharged, two-liter engine, and were sold mainly in Italy.

The 308 had a tube frame with a separate body. The 308 GTB/GTS and GT4 were mechanically similar, and also shared much with the original Dino. Both 308s sit on the same tube platform; however the GT4 – being a 2+2 – has a longer wheelbase. The engine was a V8 of a 90 degree configuration, with two belt-driven overhead camshafts per cylinder bank. It was transversely mounted in unit with the transaxle transmission assembly, which was below and to the rear of the engine’s sump.

You just have to look at the Ferrari 308 GTS and you can hear Rod Stewart screaming at you: Don’t you think I’m sexy…

-Alex Manos, Owner