Thank Frankel It's Friday: The 5 most underrated Ferraris

When I say ‘nowhere’, in this particular instance I mean the eastbound carriageway of the M20 in Kent, along which I was lucky enough to be being driven yesterday morning when I glimpsed something rather yellow up ahead or, specifically ‘Giallo Fly’ yellow. As it got closer it turned into the unmistakeable shape of a Ferrari 308 GT4.

And it set me pondering the identity of the most under-rated Ferrari of them all. The 308 is certainly in with a shout. Condemned forever to live in the shadow of the prettier Pininfarina 308 GTB, Bertone’s 2+2 styling of the GT4 has made it something of a curio, which I think is a shame, not least because this is an important car. It was not only the last Ferrari to be called a Dino (it launched in 1973 but Ferrari nomenclature didn’t arrive until 1976), but the first to be powered by a V8 engine, if you except the Lancia V8s used in Formula 1 in the mid 1950s. But it was a good car too, quick and capable of carrying at least one accommodating child across the back; and faced with a ride in a Ferrari which child would not be? Most of all though it handled well, all the better for its elongated wheelbase and to my mind at least, notably less tricky on the limit than the GTB.

So that was one candidate. But it was not the only Ferrari to be overshadowed by a more svelte sister. I won’t dwell on the 365 GTC/4 and its relationship to the 365 GTB/4 Daytona because I’ve done so on in this spot before and prices suggest the world has woken up to these gorgeous devices. But I will say that with power steering, self-levelling rear suspension, a spacious interior and a 4.4-litre V12 engine only fractionally detuned relative to the Daytona motor, it was not only a gorgeous but fabulously usable Ferrari.

And what about the Daytona’s successor, the Boxer? Tradition has it that the Boxer was not quite the all-conquering hero its much lionised father purported to be. People doubted the veracity of its claimed power output (at least in the early cars), it gained a reputation for roll oversteer because its engine was mounted above its transmission and when it met Lamborghinis in group tests, it usually lost. I can’t vouch for the opinions of my forebears but I’ve only driven one Boxer – a standard 512BB and one Countach – a standard 5000S – and the car from Maranello was preferable in every way that mattered to me. I’m told a later Countach QV is very different proposition and I’m sure that’s right, but I’d still have a Boxer without fail.

I think the Testarossa had a hard time when new as well. It was not then nor is it now a great Ferrari but I drove one quite recently for the first time since the 1980s and was captivated by its easy-going nature, the quite extraordinary engine and its ride and refinement on a long run.

And I guess I’d have to put the F50 on the list too. Because it was slower than the F40 in a straight line and quite a lot uglier, it never got the reputation its abilities actually deserved, so please take it from one who once did a great number of miles in one, the F50 provided one of the best engines in one of the finest chassis ever to be fitted to a road car. I found it utterly mesmerising.

The last on my list is, within the world of Ferrari, about as far from an F50 as you can get. Remember the 250 GTE, the first proper 2+2 Ferrari introduced in 1960? I always imagined these cars were cumbersome nails, entirely deserving the fate suffered by so many that were cut up to make fake GTO and SWBs. And then I drove one and could scarcely believe it: quick, comfortable, pleasant to handle, equipped with perhaps the best four-speed gearbox ever fitted to a standard road car and, of course, a Colombo V12 in the nose. To my immense surprise it was everything I hoped at 1960s Ferrari GT might be.

As for the identity of the most under-rated of all, to me it’s between the 250GTE and the 308GT4, and I’ll probably just give it to the GT4 just because I think that even today few people understand them that well, but it is a difficult call to make.

The most overrated however is easier, simply because after all I’d read my expectations of it could not have been higher. It’s the aforementioned Daytona, at least if the one I drove was any guide. Heavy to handle and not that comfortable, it only came alive above 100mph, which sounds good in theory but is of very little value in the real world. Maybe it was just a poor example – any Daytona owners out there wishing the set the record straight are more than welcome to get in touch…