This 1984 Sbarro Super Eight is a one-off hatchback designed by Swiss builder Franco Sbarro with backing from industrialist Bernd Grohe, to whom it was delivered after being displayed at the 1984 Geneva Motor Show. The car is said to have been purchased by its next owner from the Sbarro Museum and later spent time in a Swiss collection before being purchased by its current owner four years ago. Based on the chassis, drivetrain, and running gear of a contemporary Ferrari 308, the car features red-painted fiberglass bodywork with a louvered fascia, flared fenders, and straked intake vents.
Are you kidding me?
A fuel-injected 2,927cc Ferrari Quatro-valve V8 provides power mated to a five-speed manual transaxle, and additional features include four-wheel disc brakes, staggered-width BBS basketweave wheels, brown leather interior upholstery with cloth inserts over two-place seating, power windows, and a Clarion component sound system.
Franco Sbarro
Franco Sbarro began designing his own cars while working as chief mechanic for Scuderia Filipinetti, which he left in 1968 to establish his own shop, Atelier de Construction Automobile, in Grandson, Switzerland. Sbarro’s projects included the conversion of Ford GT40 and Lola T70 race cars to road-going form and the construction of various replicas as well as several custom creations and design studies. The Super Eight was an offshoot of Sbarro’s 1982 Super Twelve and was based on Ferrari 308 underpinnings in lieu of the Super Twelve’s more outlandish layout comprising a tube frame carrying an inline-12 engine based on double Kawasaki powerplants and dual transmissions.
The Ferrari 308 GTB frame is said to have been shortened before being outfitted with two-door fiberglass bodywork carrying over much of the Super Twelve’s styling. Design cues include a louvered nose panel that extends over the headlights, a chin spoiler, an offset cowl vent, flared fenders, straked intake vents ahead of each rear wheel, ghosted horizontal stripes along each B pillar, simulated straked vents behind the rear windows, and a rounded rear profile with a painted heckblende and quad upturned exhaust outlets. The body is finished in red, and various imperfections in the finish are shown up close in the photo gallery below.
Staggered-width 15″ multipiece BBS wheels feature gold-painted basketweave centers wrapped in Yokohama AVS AV1-40 tires, while a red-painted spare is secured by leather straps in the rear compartment. Running gear is carried over from the Ferrari 308 and includes ventilated disc brakes and double-wishbone independent suspension with coil-over shock absorbers and anti-roll bars at the front and rear.
Interior
The cabin is trimmed in brown leather with cloth inserts over the two-place seating and door panels. Additional features include color-keyed carpeting, wood door caps and dashboard accents, shoulder belts, a lockable console storage compartment, a gated shifter, power windows, and a Clarion component stereo system with a cassette player and an equalizer.
The three-spoke MOMO steering wheel is wrapped in brown leather and sits ahead of Veglia Borletti instrumentation including a 280-km/h speedometer, a 10k-rpm tachometer, and gauges monitoring fuel level, coolant temperature, and oil pressure. The five-digit odometer shows 30k kilometers (~19k miles).
True Ferrari power
The 2,927cc Ferrari F106 V8 features dual overhead camshafts on each cylinder bank, four valves per cylinder, and Bosch fuel injection. Power output was factory rated by Ferrari at 240 horsepower. Power is sent to the rear wheels via a five-speed manual transaxle.
Available Now
This Sbarro Super Eight was featured on BaT in May 2018, and it is now offered on dealer consignment in Paris, France, with Dutch registration that lists the car as a 1980 Sbarro. The Dutch registration serves as the ownership document. The registration lists engine number F106AB31465 as the VIN, and the last five digits are shown on the steering column above. The seller has not been able to locate the full chassis or engine number on the car.
Go HERE for bidding details.
Above content © 2024 Bring-a-Trailer, reviewed and edited by Rex McAfee
