The 2025 Detroit Auto Show, scheduled from January 10-20, will showcase some of Hollywood’s most iconic cars and an extraordinary collection of Motor City classics. For enthusiasts, a starring role will belong to the 1982 Ferrari 308 GTSi used by Tom Selleck in the television series “Magnum P.I.” This sports car has been made available by the Petersen Automotive Museum, which normally houses it in its Los Angeles exhibition spaces. It wasn’t the only one used during filming, which saw several examples of the same model enter the scene.
Several iconic Hollywood cars, including the Ferrari 308 GTSi, will be at the 2025 Detroit Auto Show
The show started with a 1979 308 GTS (chassis 29109). Then came the Ferrari 308 GTSi (chassis 34567) that will be displayed at the 2025 Detroit Auto Show. This supercar gained media spotlight from the second to sixth season of the successful TV saga, accompanying the famous private investigator’s adventures. It then gave way to a 1984 308 GTS Quattrovalvole.
The choice of the removable hardtop version rather than the coupe, in all steps used during filming, wasn’t just due to the car’s charm in this form and its adaptability to the Hawaiian landscapes of the series, but also because of the more comfortable accommodation offered to the tall host in its open-air configuration.
The model’s lines, born from Pininfarina‘s creative flair, are splendid. Its iconic features still excite today. It seems time has stood still for this supercar. In the version we’re discussing, the power is the lowest of the family. The Ferrari 308 GTSi‘s 3.0-liter V8 engine produces 214 horsepower. A figure significantly lower than the 255 of the first series (240 in the US version).
The power drop was caused by the introduction of Bosch K-Jetronic injection, to comply with stricter emission regulations that came into force overseas during those years. To restore power to a more suitable level, the Quattrovalvole was later launched, with power rising to 240 horsepower, thanks to 32 valves instead of the previous 16.
Along with the “Magnum P.I.” Ferrari, the 2025 Detroit Auto Show will display the Ford V8-powered kit car, styled after the Ferrari 250 GT Spyder California SWB, which was used in the 1986 film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, written and directed by John Hughes.
During the American auto show, visitors can admire vehicles that starred on the small screen, from various brands with varying degrees of prestige. Among the other original cars or replicas offered for public viewing, alongside the Magnum P.I. Ferrari 308 GTSi and the convertible that mimics the mythical California, visitors will be able to see the Volkswagen Beetle “Swinger 2” from “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me” (provided by the Petersen Automotive Museum), the Pontiac Firebird Trans Am “KITT” from the TV series “Knight Rider,” and the Jeep Wrangler from “Jurassic Park,” made popular by the ’90s dinosaur film.