Saturday 19 October 2024

The Iconic Sale at the NEC Classic Motor Show 2024 - Cars 1988 Ferrari 412 - Classiche Certified

 A interesting one popping up on this auction:

https://www.iconicauctioneers.com/1988-ferrari-412-rec14185-1-nec-1124

It does have an interesting history record of owners but this one also was used in Ian Tyrells garage as per blogs:

https://erwin400.blogspot.com/2024/06/ferrari-412-legacy-of-classic-tyrrells.html

https://erwin400.blogspot.com/2024/08/ferrari-412-final-fixes-suspension.html



Adding it here just for the records:


SUMMARY

A fabulous example of just one of 55 UK-supplied cars, Classiche Certified, with known ownership and some 31,200 miles from new.

DESCRIPTION

Produced between 1985 and 1989, the Ferrari 412 was the final flowering of the 400 series of luxurious four-seaters that had commenced with the introduction of the 365GT/4 2+2 in 1972. Launched at the 1976 Paris Salon, the succeeding 400GT gained a 4.8-litre version of the four-cam V12 engine, but otherwise differed only in detail. Following successful experiments carried out by engineers in the US, the 400 became the first Ferrari to offer automatic transmission as an option. The unit chosen - General Motors 3-speed Hydra-Matic 400 - was widely regarded as the world's best, having been used by Cadillac and subsequently by Rolls-Royce and Jaguar among others. Flagship of the Maranello range, the splendidly equipped 400GT featured self-levelling independent rear suspension, power-assisted steering, electric windows and optional air conditioning. Its arrival reaffirmed Ferrari's determination to compete with the world's finest luxury saloons.

Representing evolution rather than revolution, the 412 debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in 1985. The newcomer enjoyed a small (119cc) capacity increase, anti-lock brakes, revised interior and bumpers colour coordinated with the bodywork, while an improved front air dam and raised boot deck reduced the 412's already low co-efficient of drag by around 10%. By the time production ceased in 1989, Ferrari's finest 2+2 had been in production for a remarkable 17 years, though its exclusivity meant that there were seldom more than 200 sold in any one year.

The detailed history file that accompanies this elegant Ferrari confirms that it was bought by its first owner, a Mr. Steinberg, from H.R. Owen, London on 18th March 1988 and registered as E930 MUC. Some three years later, Mr. Gidwaney, a director of E.W. Fact PLC, bought the car on 16th January 1991, transferring it later into his company's name on 14th February 1994. The third owner, as it were, was a Mr. Ballard who kept the car for some 18 months from 29th November 1996 until, on 2nd May 1998, it was sold to a Ms Harrison , who had homes in Edinburgh, London and Monaco. The car was exported to Monte Carlo in 2003 where it was maintained by G Cavallari of Monaco until 2014, going through the exhaustive Ferrari Classiche Certification process and receiving its 'Red Book' in 2009. Repatriated to the UK in 2018, it was subject to restorative and recommissioning works, including a repaint by Edinburgh-based specialists, Stewart Roden, at a cost of some £29,779, prior to being sold to a Dr Scott on 8th February 2018. Hardly used, it subsequently visited H.R. Owen for servicing and additional works in 2022.

Purchased in March this year after a long search for 'the right one', our vendor became the car’s next owner and immediately commissioned Iain Tyrrell and his team to use their expertise in getting the car 'properly sorted'. The work involved and the final road test can be viewed online via the Iain Tyrrell Classic Workshop YouTube page and the bill amounted to some £7,000 in September 2024. Acknowledging that he’d probably use the Ferrari less frequently than his other classics, it was decided that the car should be offered to auction 'on its toes' complete with detailed history file, MOT until March 2025 and some 31,200 miles on the odometer.

SPECIFICATION

Lot Number
196
Make
FERRARI
Model
412
Registration Number
E930 MUC
MOT Expiry
27/03/2025
Chassis Number
ZFFYD24C000075348
Engine Number
405
Transmission
Automatic
Body Colour
Blue

Friday 11 October 2024

Magazine Superauto illustrated 1987 - Ferrari 412

I was fearing already I would not get a response on this request:

https://erwin400.blogspot.com/2024/09/usa-magazine-superauto-illustrated.html

Meanwhile I receive quite a lot of  requests to get access to my archive with the manuals. About 2 years ago Google made a change to this specific link because of security reasons. Apparently many people had this link bookmarked in the past which since the change no longer worked. On average I get a request for access every 2 weeks over the past 2 years. Most of these people are not even bothered to say thank you once I provide them the renewed link. On the right sidebar of the blog there is the correct link to the download folder which contains freely available all content regarding the 400, including the magazine articles and manuals. Perhaps I should consider a small fee to gain access so I can cover at least some of the expenses. I noticed I'm also start to run out of storage space on the Google Drive (nearly 80% used up), meaning in the future I might need to pay for storage. In any case, for now all is free. But if you appreciate all the content then the right side bar of the blog does also have a button at the top to make a Paypal donation.

So yes, this article is now available in the download folder. Unfortunately it's not a great article, more a brief sum up of the new specs. The Lancia Thema 8.32 article in this magazine is however excellent! But that is outside of the scope of this blog ...

Wednesday 9 October 2024

Ferrari 400i Automatic in Mexico

This car showed up for sale: 

https://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/details.html?id=392200659


And it did include the following letter:


So apparently it was newly ordered via Symbol cars in Houston / Ferrari of Houston. I suspect this must have been a grey import into the USA and then sold to a customer in Mexico. The VIN book by Raab mentions for this serial nr only the remark: "EU".  I suspect around 1981 there was no Ferrari dealer in Mexico, so potentially this was the best and most affordable route for someone in Mexico to obtain one? I'm only guessing here.

Furthermore, judging by the reflectors and positioning of the rear bumper, it must have been federalized for the US market at some stage, either when newly registered or later on. Again, I'm only guessing here as I'm not familiair with the process or what happened in the past. Adding this blog just for the records. 

Thursday 3 October 2024

For sale - Ferrari 400i rear bumper

A friend of mine has this spare bumper for sale. It's original and in a decent condition (without the lights). It's located in France and offered for € 1.250,-

If you are interested then contact me and I will get you in touch with the seller.



Sunday 29 September 2024

Factory photo's

Some old factory photo's with 400s. I don't know from which years these are. 



Thursday 26 September 2024

Autogespot.com updated - hurray!

My radar noticed very recently quite a few Ferrari 400/412 postings on autogespot.com. Previously these were always removed and somehow the 365GT4 2+2 was allowed. Occasionly in the past I have e posted a few of these spots on my blog. But mostly posted these in the Facebook group if I was capable to reveal the removed photo's from Google cache. 

Personally I always liked these spots in the wild when people are actually use and drive them. But now these 400/412 photo's are meeting their acceptance criteria. Cool!

So now you can look up them up yourself easily. The options are:

400 Automatic
400 Convertible
400i 
400i Automatic
412

Meaning the 400 manual is missing, perhaps they are not aware of this since the 400 is always associated being an automatic. Oh well. 

This example is posted today but is actually a photo from two years ago:


As the spotter mentioned:

Well I just heard that the Ferrari 400i/412 is now "back on the menu" of cars that are acceptable to post on Autogespot. In celebration, here is a Ferrari 400i Automatic that I spotted while getting gas at Cumberland Farms along US-7 on 9/3/2022. The owner was really nice and was telling me everything about the car. Love the color too! To the mods on AG: I really hope you guys take other makes/models that are currently not allowed on AG and reconsider whether or not they should remain that way. As someone who has been on the website and consistently posting for the past 11 years, I would love to see more cars be added and for restrictions on what is and what isn't allowed to be loosened. These cars got banned 10+ years ago, the car scene is much different, more diverse and more welcoming than it was back in those days. I'm not saying allow Toyota Priuses or normal traffic but I mean special cars that have communities surrounding them, like older muscle cars, older M cars, older AMGs and 600 Mercedes, R32/R33 Skylines, the list goes on. I have a whole list of cars that I would love to see added as spotworthy to the site, some of which even I haven't spotted. Either way, I'm glad this car is allowed now and I hope to see more of this kind of thing happening with the website in the future.


Monday 23 September 2024

Tuesday 17 September 2024

Czech Magazine Dolce Vita - photo shoot Ferrari 400i automatic

Via Linkedin I spotted these photo's made for the Czech Magazine Dolcevita https://www.dolcevita.cz/
Would be nice to obtain the full article, not sure if and when it will be published.

update 18-9-2024: I found this page but it's blocked and requires an account to access it: https://www.tydenikeuro.cz/estet-z-maranella/







Sunday 15 September 2024

Auction Sotheby : 1973 Ferrari 365 GT4 2+2 A timeless family grand tourer

https://rmsothebys.com/auctions/hf24/lots/r0086-1973-ferrari-365-gt4-22/


The allure of a four-seat grand tourer fitted with a V-12 engine proved irresistible to a certain niche of enthusiasts. For those seeking Italian panache and sports car characteristics, combined with the functionality of a practical interior layout, the Ferrari 365 GT4 2+2 was chief among those family-friendly and slightly more practical V-12 GTs.

Approximately 525 of these cars are believed to have been made before the Maranello marque replaced it with the 400-series models. Unlike its successors, which were notably the first Ferraris to offer an automatic transmission, the 365 GT4 2+2 was offered only with a five-speed manual gearbox paired with its 4.4-liter V-12—an engaging feature especially desired by today’s collectors. Factory data rated the Ferrari with a top speed of over 150 mph, a fair return for a four-seater, and one which positioned the model as a premium grand tourer of its era for any long-distance road trip that should be traversed in comfort and style.

According to Ferrari historian Jarrett Rothmeier, chassis number 17235 was originally delivered to the well-known official Ferrari dealer M. Gastone Crepaldi Automobili S.a.s. in Milan, and sold by them to the original owner, a Mr. Beghetto of Italy. By the late 1970s, it had relocated to the United States, and in late 1979 to early 1980 was offered for sale by an unknown seller in the Anaheim, California area.

Quietly owned by the late Terence E. Adderley for some years, the car has recorded 63,031 kilometers (39,176 miles) at the time of cataloguing and appears to remain in very original condition, including its charmingly worn, very comfortable tan leather interior. It is the final Ferrari remaining in what was once a superb collection of the company’s roadgoing V-12 models, assembled by a great enthusiast of the breed. Shown in the collection in recent memory, it would benefit from mechanical freshening prior to use, after which it would be a very comfortable and pleasurable transportation for “2+2,” as it was when new.




In the same auction a matching toolkit, not sure if it was taken from the same car :-) 

https://rmsothebys.com/auctions/hf24/lots/n0018-ferrari-365-gt4-22-toolkit/


Saturday 14 September 2024

Hemmings Hosts its Final Cruise-In of 2024 Season - Ferrari 412

 https://www.hemmings.com/stories/hemmings-hosts-its-final-cruise-in-of-2024-season/

1986 Ferrari 412

Although it’s one of the lowest-profile Ferraris of the modern era, this 1986 412 belonging to Bruce Kafenbaum of Great Neck, New York, had no shortage of admirers as it was parked on a side street with its 4.9-liter, 340-hp fuel-injected V-12 on display. This Pininfarina-styled beauty was equipped the rare and highly sought 5-speed manual transmission.




Friday 13 September 2024

Ferrari Testarossa Prototype

I stumbled upon this photo via  https://italiaautosport.com/history/

1983 - Ferrari Testarossa.

John was lucky enough to be one of the first people to lay eyes on the Ferrari Testarossa, by accidentally coming across the development prototype at the Ferrari factory headquarters in Maranello.

Adding it here just for the records because it's a cool photo and it has 2 x 400s on it as well. 

Thursday 12 September 2024

Ferrari 400 Dyno test

This superb restored 400 was put on a Dyno test a few weeks back. Find hereby the results as posted on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/QpfoW69KfddEtc5a/

In one of the comments the owner also published a small video (which I can't add here):


 must admit it's a mixture of excitement, horror and anticipation when standing next to a V12 with fully open throttles🥶
After a few rounds in the Dyno, and some picking with jets, we landed in a really nice engine response.
I'll post a graph and table when I sit down at the computer, now I just got a quick post from the phone.
Some numbers:
Top Hp at 4440rpm:
Wheels: 293Hp
Engine (est.):368Hp
Top torque at 3760rpm
505 Nm
According to the documentation it should have been 340Hp and 470Nm, so I’m quite pleased. 

Monday 9 September 2024

Youtube : The move: a Ferrari 400i convertible

This video was uploaded on Youtube yesterday with the following comment:

Moving my project Ferrari 400i convertible. I got the car from the US back in 2018. Really the car needs a total restoration. It belonged to a lawyer named "Loftus C. Carson II" but I think he died and the car was vandalized somehow. If you think it looks a bit rough now it is nothing compared to when it arrived. Allegedly - according to the seller before I purchased it - "it had bullet holes in it"..but in reality it is probably pellets from an air gun or something less drastic like that. It did however have a lot of strange insect cocoons everywhere. The car is complete so it just needs some work and a lot of money and then it will be fantastic again. I had it in the garage at my home - but now moved it to the industrial estate that I own as I need the space at home for my latest acquisition that will arrive late in October - a Monteverdi Safari.

https://youtu.be/b3iRdUMn7Lo?si=YfRCgZ7g6NyToy8i


And of course the yellow color did rang a bell immediately. It's this one per blog:




Somehow the car is already on a German license plate. Curious regarding the progress but also regarding the owner's other verhicles. There is another 400 in his garage. So I have subscribed ...


Friday 6 September 2024

Catawiki : Ferrari - 400i Automatic - 1982 - Ferrari Museum - Game Changers

This is a car that has had a single owner since new and is completely preserved.
In 2023 the car was exhibited in the Ferrari Museum in Modena.

Curious to know who this single owner is, anyone?

 https://www.catawiki.com/nl/l/87817641-ferrari-400i-automatic-1982






Update: Sold



Wednesday 4 September 2024

Ferrari 400i GTA RHD sold

Yesterday my radar caught a Dutch Marketplace advert. When clicking on it the advert was already no longer existing, according to Google cache it was posted only 7 hours ago. So that was a quick sell.

When writing this blog I'm doing a quick search again just to make the capture (it's now 9h ago when the advert was placed):

So I still could see the photo and noticed it has the name of the company printed on it in the right bottom corner, therefore it was very easy to look it up at their website:

https://autobedrijfpostma.nl/occasions/3813113-ferrari-400i-gta


On their website it's listed as sold as well. And it was a RHD 400i. So upon checking I was informed it was already in the Netherlands in 2019. It has been in this condition since before 2014. The black leather console is original.

Furthermore I was provided this great photo of it from the early 1980s. How cool is that?


Curious to know where it pops up next.


Update 9-9-2024: Well, that was quick, the car was spotted when being transported in Leeuward. By the looks of it the trailer got a flat tyre. This was posted Facebook: 


Spotted in Leeuwarden today. Talked briefly to the gentlemen, most likely intentions to be parted out. Serial #36249, RHD 400i automatic.



And in the Facebook comments the previous owner in the UK replied:

Nick Record
Wondered where she ended up , owned it 10 years ago !

Monday 2 September 2024

USA Magazine : SUPERAUTO ILLUSTRATED Magazine (May 1987) Ferrari 412 - WANTED

I just spotted this magazine on Ebay. And it's not in my archive. I'm hoping one of my overseas readers does have it and can make a digital copy for me (and the other readers of this blog). 

And it does contain an article about another personal favorite of mine: Lancia Thema 8.32
So I'm quite interested to obtain a digital copy of that as well. 

The purchase and shipping of this magazine will cost me about 50 US Dollar which I consider a bit too much. This hobby is getting out of hand.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/395639835848

PS I never obtained a copy of this USA Magazine either:

https://erwin400.blogspot.com/2024/04/usa-magazine-autoweek-october-5-1981.html

Thursday 29 August 2024

Bridge Classic Cars - Project car - 1979 Ferrari 400

I just bumped into this one:

https://bridgeclassiccars.co.uk/category/projects/1979-ferrari-400/

Haven't read everything yet but it is worthwile content for this blog. Bookmark it yourself to keep track of the work being done. I will add it to the sidebar of this blog at projects:

Monday 26 August 2024

The gadget of Ferrarissima 6

Due to some research I was doing I hit this edition of Ferrarissima. I do happen to have edition 3 and 5.
Nr 3 does have a great article about the 412 which includes the line up from the start. And Nr. 5 has a great article about the Lancia Thema 8.32, another personal favorite. 

Another personal favorite listed in this book is the Fiat Dino, Yes another linkage with Ferrari, but that was not the trigger. When flicking through the index I noticed it was covering the Ferrari V12 engine history and of course the 365/400/412 was quite well covered. In fact quite a bit of supporting photo's and details are included of the 412 engine. Even with the mention of the mechanics who worked on these engines. This is only something I found out once I had the book.

But the hidden gem was the included cross-sectional drawing of the 412's engine. It's folded up in the back sleeve pocket. How cool is that?

It measures about 115 x  48 cm

So as soon as I found out I tried to get ahold of this book. The first edition was published in a batch of 5000 pieces. These are sold out and if you are able to find one they are priced a bit higher then the other available copies of these series. They also created a new special limited reprint of 1000 pieces. If you buy a used one check beforehand if this does include the 412 engine drawing. The new edition have them included as well. So that's the one I bought. In my case I bought it at www.autolit.eu  One of the best automotive literature sellers in Europe if not worldwide. I believe I bought the last one in his stock but you can doublecheck with him or else find a different source.

Next thing to do is to have it framed and put it up the wall.