We are excited to offer what we believe to be the highest mileage Ferrari on the planet. Our research has brought up articles showing a Ferrari 308 GTS QV similar to this car, as the highest mileage Ferrari. However, that pretender to the throne is barely run-in at a paltry 240,000 miles, whereas this car has over 260,000 miles! However, don't be put off by the mileage as this is a very different prospect to what a few digits on its odometer implies, please read on for an interesting story and a spectacular car.

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The Model

The Ferrari 308 GTS is a classic targa-top sports car produced from 1977 to 1985. Featuring a mid-mounted 2.9-litre V8 and sleek Pininfarina styling, it combines open-air driving with Ferrari performance. It's an iconic design, thanks in part to its beloved styling, but also due to it co-starring alongside Tom Selleck and his legendary moustache in Magnum P.I. However, having reached this advert you probably already know that.

This particular car is the QV, which stands for Quattrovalvole, or 4-valves in less exotic sounding English. It's in reference to this model gaining 4-valves per cylinder which gave a useful power upgrade to 237hp, along with fuel injection and better engine management improving both driveability and reliability. Both attributes having been put to good use here.

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This Cars History

This car begun its life stateside and comes accompanied with US bills totalling over $60,000 of spend between 1989 and 2015 before it came to the UK. Surprisingly, in 1989 the cars mileage was 237,135 meaning that the bulk of it's mileage was totalled up in its first 6 years of life. Unfortunately there is no history before 1989, it is possible that it may have begun life as a pretty special hire car, and to have covered over 230k in 6 years it is fair to say it must have received its fair share of maintenance! Cas are built to be driven and often  those with high mileage which have been properly maintained can be amongst the best driving cars. Seals, gaskets, batteries, fuel often don't do well sat around where sediment can build up in fuel tanks and seals go brittle, a regular flow of fuel along with more consistent lubrication can do these parts the world of good.

The current owner of the car acquired the car in 2015 after what transpired to be a heroic session on Craigslist where he purchased and imported thirteen cars in total including this car, all purchased blind from this side of the pond. All thirteen cars came through as good as their word with only one exception, a missing hood from this car. Undeterred our man cracked on with using, enjoying and maintaining his new found collection of cars. He tried searching for a hood for the car to no avail, so left a search alert running on eBay for one. A few years later the alert went off and our man hit 'Buy' as quickly as he could, once the hood arrived (also from the US), he was advised by a specialist that it will need to be adjusted to fit his car as a hood from one 308 won't fit another 308. Ever curious, he decided to try it anyway to see how far off it was, to his surprise it fitted perfectly, in fact even marks in the hood lining lined up perfectly. He had only gone and bought what was the 'missing' roof for his car!

When it came to maintaining the car it first went to Joe Macari in 2016 and 2017 for service and maintenance work. Then from 2018 onwards it became a regular at esteemed 308 specialists QV London. Initially with them in 2018 for a brake overhaul and major service, it returned in 2022 for another check over and a new steering rack.

The first piece of major undertaking was the requirement of a new gearbox. Whilst touring through northern France the gearbox took on significant damage due to the king wheel stud shearing off. This was a known common issue on 308's and is quite something in its self that the car managed to cover 260,000 miles before being an issue on this one, luckily QV London had a refurbished unit on the shelf ready to go. However, she returned to again QV London in 2024 this time due to a blown engine caused by a cam belt pulley bearing failure. What began as an already very significant piece of work soon spiralled to nearly £55,000 and twelve months of work due to the owner wanting to take the opportunity to completely overhaul the vehicle. In for a penny, in for a pound! The amount of work carried out is pretty dizzying and includes:

• Zero-mile engine rebuild
• Complete wiring overhaul
• Full suspension strip and rebuild
• Interior completely re-trimmed using Ferrari leather
• Dashboard re-trimmed in Alcantara to reduce glare
• Fully refurbished alloy wheels
• Correct new tyres all round
• New steering wheel in suede (original also supplied)
• Upgrade radio to Blaupunkt modern retro unit (original also supplied)

The net result is a car, which although says 260,000 miles on the odometer, is actually a thoroughly well-sorted Ferrari 308 GTS QV, with the above work having been finished in April 2025 and less than 100 miles ago.

The bodywork was not in need of work and stands up in excellent honest condition. There are a few minor marks and blemishes around the body, nothing particularly serious and the car certainly presents extremely well, but equally it would not be a car you'd be afraid to put miles on, quite the opposite in fact!

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Final overview

This is a very special proposition. We cannot overstate the level of mechanical work this car has had done to it. The engine, suspension, gearbox and interior all look factory fresh and waiting to be enjoyed. With many Ferraris ownership can be very mileage sensitive, you don't want to add more miles in fear of depreciation, what if it ticks over 10k, 50k, 100k - each being a very significant milestone, a 102k mile Ferrari feels like a different proposition to a 98k one, even though it's only 4,000 miles. Here, though, we have a car which has done 260,000 miles. It presents the next owner with a very different proposition, will you be the one to crack the 300k mark, in fact will you possibly be the first person to ever crack the 300,000 mile mark in a Ferrari? And why stop there? This is a Ferrari begging to be driven, isn't that why you're considering a Ferrari in the first place?

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We say this with every car, but it feels even more important with this one in that to truly appreciate this car you need to come to see it and drive it. We would love to show you around this fantastic Ferrari, so please do call to book an appointment with us.