1983 Ferrari

When presented at the 1981 Frankfurt Salon, the 512 BBi represented the last development of the 365 GT4 BB. It had minor differences however to the outgoing 512 BB - chiefly the adoption of Bosch K-Jetronic fuel-injection system instead of the Weber carburetors used previously.

For many clients, the addition of fuel injection was a welcomed change; so much so that, today, the BBi is considered to be the most functional of all the Berlinetta Boxer models made by Ferrari.

Of course, adopting fuel injection increased the performance resulting in an extra 20 foot-pounds of torque over its carburetor predecessor, and the power-plant proved to be far more manageable overall. A sprint from 0-60mph took 5.4 seconds and it could reach 174mph.

For the most part, aesthetically speaking, the BBi retained all the 512 BB character. However it did have added exposed driving lights on the nose and rectangular parking lights adjacent to the exhausts at the rear. By 1984, the final year of production before being replaced by the Testerossa, only 1,007 examples had been made.

The vehicle offered here was delivered on 31st January 1983 by the German authorised dealer Auto Konig, Regensburg. It was only driven in Germany and to this day never exported before coming to the UK in October 2015. It has had only four owners and the previous owner had it since 1988.

He decided to sell it in 2015 and therefore had a large inspection carried out on the car resulting in a new timing belt and the replacement of various parts that had worn. All work was done by an official Ferrari distributor in Germany. It comes with a complete set of books including its original service book.

The 512 BBi is one of the first fuel-injected cars to come from Maranello and its mid-engined layout makes it one of the most stunning designs to come from Pininfarina. These cars are not only sublime to drive but, with only 1,007 ever made, are also fantastic investment opportunities with a long future ahead of them.