Thursday 12 November 2020 3:43 pm

As the show turns 40 we live the Magnum P.I. dream in a vintage Ferrari 308 GTS

When did television become so realistic? Today’s gritty crime dramas pull no punches, with flawed protagonists and unhappy endings. It wouldn’t have been acceptable in the eighties. Back then, my heroes had coiffured hair, tailored suits and exotic cars. Sometimes a speedboat or helicopter, too. Magnum P.I. didn’t chase drug dealers and hitmen in a second-hand sedan. He drove a red Ferrari 308 GTS.

Thomas Magnum, Private Investigator – played by Tom Selleck – first skidded onto our screens 40 years ago this month. And that was all the excuse I needed to follow in his tyre tracks, albeit with Hawaii traded for suburban Surrey.

A call to our friends at RNG Classics produced a Ferrari identical to the TV version and the stage was set. Cue the fist-pumping theme tune…

No doubt, the 308 has aged better than Tom Selleck’s ’tache. A wedge of shapely Italian style, it hails from a time before supercars were peppered with aggressive air intakes, diffusers and spoilers. The pop-up headlights are retro-cool, the four round tail lights a trad-Ferrari trademark.

The GTS (‘S’ for spider) also boasts a lift-out targa top, which stows behind the seats. In sun-kissed Hawaii, you could probably leave it at home.

Launched in 1975, the 308 was the first V8-engined ‘junior’ Ferrari – the start of a bloodline that stretches to today’s F8 Tributo. Early Vetroresina cars were glassfibre-bodied, but Maranello soon switched to cheaper, heavier steel. The 2.9-litre motor gained fuel injection in 1980, then four valves per cylinder in 1982. I’m driving one of those later Quattrovalvole models, with around 240hp and a top speed nudging 150mph.

Flick a delicate, one-finger catch to open the door and sink into the low-slung caramel leather seat. There’s no manettino, no infotainment, no fripperies. A simple three-spoke Momo wheel frames white-on-black Veglia dials, the rev counter redlined at 7,700rpm. And here’s Ferrari’s iconic manual gearbox, its slender wand rising from the open metal gate. I bite my lip and resist the urge for a side-stepping Magnum P.I. getaway.

Pottering in town traffic, the 308 initially feels like hard work. The steering is unassisted and first gear is left and down on a dog-leg, with ratios two to five in an H-pattern alongside. You need the forearms of an eighties action hero until the transmission oil warms through.

Still, a Rosso Corsa Ferrari always turns heads – not least my own. I find myself slowing down beside shop windows to admire the view.

The quad-cam V8 sounds a bit workmanlike at low revs, but builds to a hard-edged, snarling crescendo. You hear pumps humming, cogs meshing and fuel flowing, punctuated by the metallic clack-clack of the gear lever. It’s multi-layered and richly mechanical, even more so with the roof removed.

In its day, the Ferrari was a credible pursuit – or indeed getaway – vehicle. After being stopped by an Italian policeman in 1976, CAR magazine’s Mel Michols wrote: ‘I saw him disappear into the distance at something well in excess of 160mph. He seemed to have no apparent concern on the face I saw in his mirror. In response, I opened the 308 right up. It answers like the thoroughbred that it is.’

Now, a 0-62mph time of seven seconds is hatchback territory. Magnum would be out-run by a villain in a new Golf GTI.

No matter: this modest performance makes the Ferrari easier to exploit and enjoy (‘open up’ a 720hp F8 Tributo and even the Carabinieri might struggle to look the other way).

Its steering is chattier than Terry Wogan in his prime, the V8 buzz tingling your fingertips. Relatively soft suspension flows over bumpy B-roads, keeping the car on course and building your confidence. Incredibly, the 308 is also narrower than a Golf GTI, so there’s simply more road to play with.

Whether it’s supercars or cop shows, they don’t make ’em like they used to. YouTube helps us take nostalgia for granted – all those TV memories are right there, just a click away. But driving a classic Ferrari remains a rarefied experience, one with more depth than Magnum P.I. could ever muster. If you want to make your own memories, hiring this car costs from £349.