Lot details Registration No: EU-Reg Chassis No: F102AB18229 Mot Expiry: None
With Lamborghini debuting the rolling chassis for its upcoming mid-engined Miura as early as 1965, Enzo Ferrari had time to adopt the same configuration for the Daytona. However, he was reputedly concerned that his customers might struggle with the inherent handling of so powerful a mid-engined car, so once again opted for the tried and tested front engine/rear-wheel drive layout.
By the time the Daytona needing replacing, however, he had been won over. The smaller Dino had proved to be a big hit and the mid-engined offerings of his competitors were proving popular enough. The Pininfarina-designed
365GT4 BB (where BB stood for Berlinetta Boxer) therefore became Ferrari's first 12-cylinder road car to feature a mid-mounted engine.
Though the Boxer tag was sparked by the use of a flat rather than V-12 engine, it is something of a misnomer as (unlike Ferrari's flat 12 race engines which were genuine boxer units, in which opposing pistons echo each other's movements) on this engine the pistons moved away as their opposite number approached. The unit shared the same bore and stroke - and therefore 4390cc capacity - as the Daytona, and was mounted longitudinally above the transmission. The quoted engine output of 344bhp was reputedly sufficient to launch the 365 BB to 60mph in a whisker over 5 seconds and on to a top speed of some 188mph.
The 365GT4 BB was first presented at the 1971 Turin Motor Show, but was not actually released for sale until the Paris Salon of 1973. Though it was recognised from the outset as a replacement for the Daytona, the two cars were in fact produced alongside each other during 1973. Just 387 examples were reputedly made of this early version of the Boxer, 88 of which were in RHD form and 58 of which were delivered to the UK.
A revised Boxer was debuted at the Paris Salon of 1976, for which the 512 nomenclature of Ferrari's racing past was resurrected (where the 5 related to the engine capacity and the 12 to the number of cylinders). Aside of the increase in engine size to 4942cc and a higher compression ratio of 9.2:1, the 512 BB featured a deep chin spoiler, NACA style brake cooling ducts on the flanks, wider rear tyres, twin rather than triple rear lights and twin rather than triple exhaust tailpipes.
The example offered is a 1975 left-hand drive 365GT4 BB car that has remained in Italy and covered just 44,000 kilometres from new. It sports Rosso Corsa bodywork and Beige leather interior. The Boxer had evidently been serviced by Visauto in Cremona, a renowned Ferrari service outlet that boasts the former shop foreman of Rosso Corsa, (in this case not the colour but) Italy's largest distributor of the Prancing Horse marque.
According to the vendor, the Boxer is in "near perfect original condition" and has been awarded Grade 3 recognition by the ASI - the highest level usually given to a non-restored car. The Ferrari currently carries an Italian registration and comes complete with invoices, handbooks etc.
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