Category Archives: Ferrari

Ferrari

1994 Ferrari 512 TR

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We're too young to have had a Ferrari Testarossa poster on our childhood bedroom wall. Instead, we had a New Beetle, 996 911, and a Plymouth Prowler, all purchased from the book fair at school. Still, the Testarossa made quite an impression on us at an early age as we paged through our pocket guide of new cars from the 1980s.

We recently watched a video from Jason Cammisa that explained the mid-engine V12 Ferrari GTs, from the 365 GT/4 BB to the F512 M. The premise of his video is that the Testarossa was taken out of context due to its styling. It projected an imagine of a world-beater, a reputation it did not live up to, but in reality it was a competent V12 GT. In developing the 512 TR, the flat 12 was lowered an inch from its position in the Testarossa, and the result was a much better car to drive. Due to the better driving characteristics and their rarity in comparison to the relatively common Testarossa, the 512 TR is worth 2-3 times as much as its predecessor.

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Ferrari, Pininfarina

1995 Ferrari 456 GT

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We sort of set ourselves up for this one. Last week, while writing up another manual Ferrari 456 GT, this is what we had to say about maintenance on modified Ferraris:

At this juncture, the featured 1995 Ferrari 456 GT could end up with an enthusiastic new owner, who might tint the taillights, lower the suspension on 19" wheels, cut out the mufflers, and add Ferrari shields to the front fenders. That owner might not put aside the cash necessary for routine maintenance - we've seen listings where this has been the case. 


Which brings us today's feature. It's not a high-mileage example, but the owner has modified it almost exactly as we described last week! From the 19" wheels to the (replaced) exhaust to the (partially) tinted taillights to the fender shields, it's what we had in mind. So, was our assumption that a modified Ferrari would have deferred maintenance true? Not even close! While this car might have had some new issues crop up since its PPI in fall of 2019, we would imagine that most issues were corrected by the seller. The car has 400 miles on its most recent belt service - a far cry from the neglect that would have validated our claim from last week.

This doesn't mean that there aren't some neglected examples of modified Ferraris out there, but we'll refrain from generalizing in the future. We ourselves are in no place to pass judgement. After all, our Milano Verde - our favorite car - is lowered on 16" wheels, and has an exhaust, a couple of silly decals, and even has a vanity plate with an Italian word on it, which we are pretty sure gets us made fun of on YouTube by the Italian commenters. We'd say that our Verde is far from neglected. Live and let live.

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Bertone, Ferrari, Gandini

1975 Ferrari 308 GT4

We're following yesterday's high-mileage Ferrari 456 GT with a high-mileage Ferrari 308 GT4. To make it interesting, we've featured a 308 GT4 with even less collector appeal; this one has a 3.2L V8 from the later Ferrari 328 swapped in placed of its original 3.0L V8.

This is an interesting buy when compared to, say, a CIS-injected 16-valve 1981-1982 Ferrari 308 GTB with only 202 bhp. Styling is subjective - the GT4 is classic Gandini wedge, while the GTB is TV star cool. The nearly 70 hp advantage of this swapped 308 GT4 would be easy to sense by the seat of the pants, and we have to imagine that the acceleration would be startling for a car of this era.

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Ferrari, Pininfarina

1995 Ferrari 456 GT

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A high-mileage Ferrari possesses a very narrow appeal, and we would say that the potential buyers fall into two camps. The first camp is after the most car they can get for their money - we get that. Misguided, when it comes to buying a car with extraordinarily expensive repair parts, but understandable.

The other camp, we would say, is pained to see something special go to waste. At this juncture, the featured 1995 Ferrari 456 GT could end up with an enthusiastic new owner, who might tint the taillights, lower the suspension on 19" wheels, cut out the mufflers, and add Ferrari shields to the front fenders. That owner might not put aside the cash necessary for routine maintenance - we've seen listings where this has been the case. Those in the preservation camp are the brave souls who would take on a high-mileage Ferrari and fund the routine and unplanned repairs required to keep the car in its present, outstanding condition.

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Ferrari, Pininfarina

1986 Ferrari 328 GTS

In case you were curious, this is how we at CICFS would spec our 328. It's a GTS, because finding the rare GTB to have a stiffer chassis and slightly better styling would add too much to the purchase price. It's yellow - and here comes the important part - with a brown interior. No bumblebee theme here. That look will forever remind us of 2012 Camaros with Transformer dreams.

Since this blog was started, these cars have nearly doubled in value. We can tell you this because we spent the past two weeks updating over 900 photos and links to get in compliance with eBay's affiliate link program. In 2012, the concern with a 328 GTS was that the service cost would soon overtake the purchase price. Now, it seems more important to get one now before values go up.

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Abarth, Ferrari, Fiat, Uncategorized

Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari

Forbidden Fruit Fridays

Ferraris can be tough to pull off. Ferrari tributes? The Fiero conversions are beyond reproach. But, how do we feel when things get closer to home? Last week, we saw an Alfa Romeo Milano Verde with a "Friends of Ferrari" plaque on the dashboard, and it just seemed excessive. Today's Abarth 695 Tribute Ferrari? It's a lot if you own a Ferrari, and it's a lot if you don't.

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Ferrari, Pininfarina

1985 Ferrari Mondial Quattrovalvole Cabriolet

We are glad that FCA, or Stellantis, as they are known these days, is able to root around the Ferrari parts bin every once in a while. The Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio is a prime example of technology sharing between the brands; Considering Alfa's sales volume in its market segment, can we really expect them to develop an entire engine on their own anymore? Today's 1985 Ferrari Mondial Quattrovalvole Cabriolet doesn't lend any technology to the FCA offerings, but it does offer a rare and wonderful color combination of plum over tan. And where do you think we've seen that today? Why, on the Dodge Charger Hellcat Redeye, of all things!

We've never loved the Mondial Cabriolets until seeing this one in plum or prugna. The photographs here really capture the low-slung shape, only possible with a double wishbone suspension front and rear, well. Being a Quattrovalvole model, this Mondial actually makes respectable power, with a 235bhp rating from its 4-valve per cylinder F105A V8. Fuel injection comes courtesy of a Bosch K-jet, or CIS, system, which controls fueling entirely electromechanically. Sensitive to rusty fuel tanks, the systems are robust, if not exactly optimized. And, in our experience, they somehow lend to a great exhaust note with hints of overrun on decelerations.

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Ferrari, Pininfarina

Price Reduction: 2005 FERRARI 612 SCAGLIETTI MANUAL

We are running this post again now that the seller has dropped the asking price by $77,000! The price is still pretty high for a high-mileage 612 Scaglietti, but the rarity of the gated manual makes for a competitive market. Original post from when car was priced at $224,977 can be found here.

You almost have to pity Ferrari when it comes to development and manufacturing costs. A niche automaker such as Ferrari cannot spread the development and tooling costs for each new model over a large production run like GM can with the Corvette, for example. When GM decided to move the Corvette to a completely new mid-engine chassis, it did so with the prospect of 25-30,000 sales annually, a luxury not available to Ferrari.

Ferrari manages development costs by sharing powertrains and vehicle platforms. The 612 lead the way in aluminum front-ship V12 chassis development for the 599 GTB Fiorano (sadly, it didn't pass on its styling grace). And, the 575 Superamerica, a limited-production model, shared its similar tipo F 133 V12 with the Scaglietti, spreading out the development costs over the two models.

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Ferrari, Pininfarina

1981 Ferrari 308 GTSi

This thing won its spot on the site because of the yellow/tan color combination. We saw our first of these in these colors a couple of falls ago when we were visiting the local Alfa shop, where an old friend of the shop was borrowing some time on the lift to check over his 308. Having spotted the yellow paint through the glass in the garage doors, we were relieved to see the tan interior when we walked into the garage; the yellow on black look has too much of a bumblebee feel for our taste.

As far as the Ferrari 308 series goes, this is the least desirable to us. Bosch K-jet is fine on a Volkswagen (where it actually sounds great and provides a nice, natural crackle and pop exhaust), but a Ferrari deserves to breathe. The earlier carb'd cars make significantly more power than the injected cars, and the later quattrovalvole cars made up for the restrictive emissions equipment on fuel-injected cars by using 4 valves per cylinder. Add to that the TRX metric tires from the factory, and you have what we would say is the least desirable of the 308 series - and yet, we would be perfectly happy with one if that's what we ended up with. It's only relative - these probably drive great.

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Ferrari

2005 Ferrari F430

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Yesterday's Lamborghini Gallardo was an example of the model that ushered Lamborghini into an era of building user-friendly and tractable automobiles. With Ferrari, we would say that the 360 was the first Ferrari model offering a reasonable ownership experience. The F430 added refinement to the aluminum monocoque from the 360, and introduced the first new V8 to the Ferrari lineup since the original Dino V8 was first offered.

Styling, too, was an update to the 360. The same basic form is present, with tightened edges and updated details that we really enjoyed during its time as a new car. Looking back, the 360 has aged slightly better, but the F430 still holds its own among the modern mid-ship V8 Ferraris.

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