We can officially call this the “piss-off the purists week” since we quite recently talked about a Ferrari 308 time attack build, featuring a K24 engine swap. Although this 308 still features its original drivetrain, we still think it’s a love it or hate it kind of car. A classic Ferrari is one of the last cars you’d expect someone to modify visually. If you know something about car culture in Japan, you’d know that the more unique-looking your car is, the cooler it is. Because of this, the Japanese company Liberty Walk is not afraid to alter the aesthetics of even the most exquisite cars. This 308 GTB is their latest and probably boldest project.

An Aggressive Body Kit

Liberty Walk is known for its crazy wide-body kits that they put on everything from the Lamborghini Aventador to the Daihatsu Copen. If you thought the guys at Mansory have no fear touching the visuals on exclusive vehicles, Liberty Walk takes it to another level.

The Ferrari 308 still very much looks like itself, even retaining the factory red paint. Unlike other modified supercars, it retains the original silhouette, while receiving the usual Liberty Walk treatment. Since this a classic car, the people at Liberty Walk have refrained from giving it a crazy over-styled front fascia, instead opting for a more subtle and true to the era front bumper upgrade. It still gives the 308 GTB that more aggressive and hunkered down look, while being easy on the eyes.

Another undoubtedly irritating for a purist modification is the air suspension, which can either give you a slammed stance or a closer to the normal ride height for when you’re on the move. The wide wheel arches are complemented by a ducktail spoiler, which looks surprisingly at home here. Overall, the car looks a lot more aggressive and race-worthy even though it probably won’t see a racetrack. It even has a racing number on the side.

Standard Interior, Standard Thrills

The interior is left the same and that’s a good thing. It does have a modern stereo and a control panel for the air suspension, but other than that it’s the same beautiful leather interior, with a nice chrome finish around the gauges and switches. Of course, we still get the amazing gated shifter that makes Ferraris of old such a blast to drive.

All Show, No Go - Kind Of

Since Liberty Walk is focused on making striking wide-body kits for supercars, performance is left standard. Still, the Ferrari 308 GTB has a glorious 2.9-liter naturally-aspirated V-8 producing 252 horsepower (188 kW) at 7,500 RPM and 210 pound-feet (285 Nm) at 5,000 RPM. Power is sent to the rear wheels through a five-speed manual. This means that the 2,403-pound (1,090 kg) Italian stallion can accelerate to 60 mph (97 km/h) in just 6.2 seconds, on its way to 157 mph (252 km/h).

Ferrari 308 GTS by Liberty Walk specifications

At this point, it is unknown whether the Liberty Walk 308 GTB is a one-off exercise in classic car visual treatment or the company is planning to offer the kit to the public. One thing is certain: most 308s will probably never step on a racetrack, so the stock power output is more than enough for cruising, even at higher speeds.

Conclusion

Many would agree that the Ferrari 308 is not as collectible as a 250 GTO. That said, it still wears the Prancing horse logo with which comes a certain authority, dictating what you can and cannot do to a car. However, if we look at the Porsche 911, companies like RWB, Singer, Gunterwerks, and others each have their own vision for the car. We think the 308 is at that category of cars that you can interpret in different ways, without sacrificing what it stands for. Regardless of whether it remains a one-off or it will be offered to the public, the 308 Liberty Walk easily fits in the category of cars that you shouldn’t really modify, but at the same time can be looked at as a clean slate and start over.