1982 Ferrari 512 BBi

The 365 GT4 Berlinetta Boxer was Ferrari's first mid-engine 12-cylinder production road car. It was seen as early as 1971 in prototype form but did not come on sale until 1973. They were built as direct competition for the contemporary Lamborghini Miura and newly designed Countach. The successor to the 365 GT4 BB was the Ferrari 512 Berlinetta Boxer, or 512 BB, which was introduced at the October 1976 Paris Auto Show, although actual production had begun several months earlier. It had a similar mechanical layout and exterior appearance, but with the addition of a new front chin spoiler and NACA intakes on the flanks. Instead of six taillights, the 512 BB had just four.

The 365BB and 512BB series were Ferrari's first production cars with a 180-degree flat 12-cylinder engine. The four camshafts were belt-driven, which was another 'first' for the Prancing Horse marque. The 512BB engine offered 360 DIN bhp at 6200 RPM, which was accomplished with the help of a quartet of Weber three-barrel carburetors. In late 1981, Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection replaced the carburetors to help meet increasingly strict US exhaust emission regulations, with the car's name being altered to reflect that change. The result of this change was a drop in horsepower to 340 and torque to 333 foot-pounds at 4600 RPM. Performance remained impressive, with 0-60 mph accomplished in six seconds flat, and reaching nearly 175 mph (the factory claimed 188 mph).

Standard equipment included a luxurious leather interior, full instrumentation, electric window lifts, three-point inertia seat belts, and air conditioning. The windshield wiper was a unique 'single-arm, twin blade' unit.

During its production lifespan, a total of 1,007 examples of the 512 BBi were built.

by Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2019