So I guess that some obtained this incorrect information from this page. By now the Wikepedia page has been corrected though. But afterwards some more recent adverts were still quoting a Borg Warner automatic.
Something triggered me earlier this week and as such I had a look on the official Ferrari page and in particular the 400 series :
http://auto.ferrari.com/en_EN/sports-cars-models/past-models/400-automatic/
To my great surprise I read the following:
The Borg Warner three speed plus reverse automatic gearbox was, perhaps surprisingly for purists, an immediate hit with Ferrari clients, and would account for approximately two thirds of the cars manufactured for the remainder of the 400 into the 412 series production run. In Great Britain the figures were even higher, with the vast majority of purchasers favouring automatic transmission.
And another surprise for the 400 GT model (manual version)
http://auto.ferrari.com/en_EN/sports-cars-models/past-models/400-gt/
Basically a more powerful version of the famous 365 GT4 2+2 reaching 4.8 litres, the 400 GT brought the development of the high performance, big displacement front-engined 2+2 coupé to new levels. Greater attention was also paid to interior detailing and this was the very first Ferrari to be offered with an optional three-speed General Motors gearbox to meet the demands of the US market.
Here they state it's a GM automatic gearbox though but remarkably they mention it's available to meet the demands of the US market. While in fact this car is not even sold in the US (just like the BB - mostly because of the stringent emission and safety rules - meaning large investments on a low volume car, thus to high costs)
Moving on to the 400i Automatic:
http://auto.ferrari.com/en_EN/sports-cars-models/past-models/400-automatic-i/
As can be read, here they quote again it's a Borg Warner being used:
The 400 Automatic i succeeded the 400 Automatic in November 1979, the “i” suffix in the model name standing for “injection”, as a fuel injection system replaced the two banks of three side draught Weber carburettors. The fuel injection system used was Bosch K-Jetronic, and concurrently a single distributor mounted at the right rear of the engine, with a Dinoplex electronic ignition system, replaced the earlier twin distributor layout. The adoption of fuel injection was to satisfy ever more stringent worldwide emission legislation, and it dropped the claimed power output to 310bhp. The engine was a V12 unit with a bore and stroke of 81mm x 78mm giving a total capacity of 4823cc, with factory type reference number F 101 D 070, coupled to a Borg Warner 3 speed automatic gearbox. This transmitted power through a propeller shaft to a limited slip differential, and from there via half shafts to the independently suspended rear wheels with hydraulic self levelling units.
And finally the 400i GT
http://auto.ferrari.com/en_EN/sports-cars-models/past-models/400-gti/
And here you can read the Bosch K-Jetronic injection was used to comply with US emissions, whilst the 400 (and the BB also using K-Jetronic) was not sold overthere. I think by then it had become more a worldwide demand to meet emission and fuel efficient criteria:
The glorious V12, complete with new Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection to comply with US exhaust emission standards, demonstrated generous powerful and enviable torque. This was a GT on which several body-makers vented their imaginations, even producing soft-top versions. Pavesi of Milan transformed it into a cabriolet with leather and veneer trim and modified the central tunnel.
And despite being the GT model (manual version) they had to mention it had a Borg Warner as well:
The engine was a V12 unit with a bore and stroke of 81mm x 78mm giving a total capacity of 4823cc, with factory type reference number F 101 D 010, coupled to a Borg Warner 3 speed automatic gearbox.
I suspect many copywriters will use the official Ferrari website as a trusted source for their articles or adverts. So likely that explains why I have seen so often the Borg Warner automatic quoted.
So I figured to notify them accordingly. And as Always with large companies they are difficult to reach by email. But since I'm a registered customer I do happen to have a specific email address to approach their customer service desk. So I dropped them a line. Let's see if the pages will be corrected accordingly.
.webp)
