About those Ferrari "kit cars."

[Karrnut]

According to the information on this site: "There were also "kit car" versions of the 308 that were used for some of the more aggressive driving scenes done on the show. The kit cars were made of fiberglass and were built on a Pontiac Fiero chassis."

My question is; does anyone know which manufactures "kit" was used, and in what years? I just bought a "Mera" 308 replica and am curious if there is any connection. Thanks

[J.J. Walters]

Hi, Karrnut. Welcome.

That's a good question; a tough one! I've never heard those details mentioned before, but somebody here might know. I'll shoot out a couple of emails on it, as well.

[Coops]

There are numerous, and I mean NUMEROUS, kitcar websites/BBS forums out there. Search until you hit gold! IIRC the 308 kitcar was based on the Fiero chassis, but I'm not 100% sure.

[Karrnut]

True enough, there are a lot of Ferrari 308 Kits, today. But just which were around in the early 1980's? According to the information I got with my MERA, it was the first professionally built 308's. The Mera was not a "kit" per say, you could only buy it as a fully built car (on a new Fiero frame) from your Pontiac Dealer @ $23,000.00, it is also said that all other "Kit Car Manufactures" cast their bodies off a MERA (true??). There were only 254 MERA's made before Ferrari put a stop to it, the car I just bought is the number 2 car made, and is titled as a 1988, which, of course is at the end of the Magnum Series? It makes sense that the producers would use a less expensive Kit Car for the 308's "stunt" work, you just can't afford to trash too many $63,000.00 Ferrari's in any given season, no matter how good the numbers are. But just who's kit could it have been IF, the MERA is supposed to be the first one created, and in 1988 as well??????

[Steve]

Fascinating...Of course you probably already know of this site..
http://www.fiero.net/mera/article.html
I found it after your post and now I WANT ONE!!!
You know, $23,000.00 in 1988 for the completed MERA/308 would have been a great deal, as I recall looking at the Fiero GT's with the V-6 around then and they were running for around $18,000.00...........

[Karrnut]

In my opinion (not shared by all) the Mera/Fiero/Ferrari is a darn good compromise; it looks just like the 308, fools even the "car guys" gets lots of thumbs up, and takes extra time when you stop for gas (for Q&A). If you are really into the Ferrari world you would see the signs that its not the real thing, such as: Gas Filler door just rear of the door, in the real thing its behind the black louver, a sun roof, Ferrari 308s didn't have one, and the interior's are different, though you can retro fit a Ferrari interior for $$$. Other than that there dead ringers, both are mid engines, handle great, and sound awesome.
The big difference is not the cost of the car, a Mera will run between $12,000 - $17,000, and a real 308 can be found for about $23,000. The real "difference" is in up-keep: Ferrari scheduled maintenance can run as much $10,000, and thats IF you can find someone qualified to do it. With the Mera any GM dealer or garage can work on them, as a former British and German car owner I can tell you that's a real BIG Deal. The Mera is the best of the Replicas, others don't fit as well, if you watch e-bay and craigslist you can find them, I did.