On the Italian market, a little tax subtlety reduced VAT to 18% for cars with less than 2 litres of engine capacity. Any engine with more than that capacity was taxed very heavily. With the Dino 208 GT4, Ferrari had already included a 2-litre atmo in its catalogue, which at the time only developed 170 bhp at 7,700 rpm. This formula met with some success, with 839 cars sold, and Ferrari initially extended the experiment as it stood from 1980 onwards, marketing a 208 GTB and GTS with the same two-litre V8 developing 155 bhp at 6,800 rpm.