1981 Ferrari 512 Berlinetta Boxer in Scotts Valley, California

Vehicle Description

1981 Ferrari 512 BB - Berlinetta Boxer
VIN: F102BB 33971
Engine: F102B00000748
Chassis: 33971

First sold in Europe this Boxer was brought into the United States in early 1981. No Berlinetta Boxer was ever sold new in North America, as Enzo Ferrari did not believe it to be worth the cost of federalizing. Ferrari Compliance of Santa Ana, CA imported the car and had it modified to US specification for around $16,000. With an original list price of around $40k for the 512BB, and an additional $16k for federalizing it looks like Enzo may have been right.

33971 was first offered for sale by Ron Tonkin Ferrari in Portland, OR in April of 1981. Frank Kawalkowski, a San Francisco commercial real estate broker and Ferrari collector, would be the first owner of the silver Boxer. After over a decade of ownership, in 1994 he would put the car up for sale with 48,000 kilometers (29,826 miles) on the clock. The next owner, another Californian, would keep the car until 1997 when it would move on to its third owner, Ray Hartman of Santa Barbara, CA.

In 1998 the Boxer would be sent to Sal Garcia's Waterfront Automobili in San Francisco for paint and leather. In 2001 the car would go to Symbolic Motors in San Diego, CA for major service including updating the Boxer mechanicals, gearbox and suspension to 512 BBLM specs. During this period of restoration the kilometer odometer was replaced with one showing miles, and was reset to zero. Canepa would acquire the car from Hartman in late 2004 and put it into inventory.

Canepa sold this car to its last owner in 2005. He purchased the car showing 1238 miles on the odometer. Over the past 9 years he put on just about 11,000 miles, and during that time the car was maintained by both Ferrari of Seattle and Canepa. Some of the work included having the carburetors rebuilt, all the shocks rebuilt, a new radiator, cooling system service, and regular timing belt services. The transmission was rebuilt by Bob Wallace, famous Lamborghini test driver and owner of Bob Wallace Cars in Phoenix, AZ.

Right after coming through our doors the Boxer was partially disassembled so that the chassis, frame, engine, transmission, belly pans, suspension, and wheel wells could be inspected, hand cleaned, and detailed. Over 350 hours of mechanical service and concours detail work were performed over the past few months until the car finally met our standards. Mechanical highlights include a complete timing belt service, valve adjustment, water pump rebuild, and all the gauges were cleaned and restored.

Now this rare Berlinetta Boxer presents as new; a flawless example of what Road and Track called the best all-around sports and GT they had ever tested.

About the Ferrari Berlinetta Boxer:

The Ferrari Berlinetta Boxer was introduced in 1973 to replace the 365 GTB/4. Designed by Leonardo Fioravanti, it was a radical departure from the front-engined Daytona in design and purpose. Enzo Ferrari felt that a mid-engined road car would be too difficult for his buyers to handle, and it took many years for his engineers to convince him to adopt the layout. This attitude began to change as the marque lost its racing dominance in the late 1950s to mid-engined competitors. In the late 60s Ferrari finally allowed the production of the mid-engined Dino road cars, but only if they used the less powerful 6-cylinder engine, and not carry the Ferrari badge. Real Ferraris had 12 cylinders.

The 365 GT4 Berlinetta Boxer was the first mid-engine Ferrari badged street car. In 1976 the 365 GT4/BB was updated as the 512 BB, resurrecting the name of the earlier Ferrari 512 racer. The engine was larger at 4942cc, had an increased compression ratio of 9.2:1. Only 929 512BB models were ever produced. In popular culture the 512BB is forever connected to the video of Sammy Hagar's automotive anthem "I Can't Drive 55."

Specifications:

Mid-mounted 4.9 liter flat 12 cylinder engine
360 horsepower
333 lb-ft of torque
Top speed: 188mph
0-62: 5.4 seconds