1974-1985 Ferrari 365 GT4 BB & 512 BB/BBi

Ferrari's first horizontally opposed engine was built in 1964, a 12-cylinder, 1.5-litre Formula 1 unit with 11.1 compression, Lucas fuel injection, and 210 horsepower at 11,000 rpm. Flat-opposed engines are often called "boxers" because their pistons move toward and away from each other, like fighters sparring. The term originated in Germany and was first used in reference to early Volkswagen and Porsche engines. Ferrari built other boxer engines for both GP and sports-racing cars, but didn't get around to a roadgoing model until the 1971 Turin show.

That's when a new mid-engine flat-12 prototype appeared, a sort of very grownup Dino GT. It took two years to reach production, in late 1973 as a'74 model to succeed the front-engine Daytona, but it was well worth the wait. From the start it was labelled 365 GT4 BB: 365 cc per cylinder, grand touring, four-cam berlinetta boxer. As in the Dino, the new 4.4-litre engine sat behind the cockpit and ahead of the rear axle centreline. Of course, the Dino wasn't called a Ferrari, so the BB technically ranks as the first mid-engine production Ferrari. Like its forebears, the BB's main structure used steel panels and aluminium hood, doors, and "trunklid" (here, an engine access cover). A new wrinkle was fiberglass lower panels, which were always matte black regardless of body colon As on various racing Ferraris and certain production cars like the original Austin-Healey Sprite, the entire front end was hinged to kilt forward as a unit, matched by a similar rear-hinged aft section. Once more, Pininfarina contributed the body design, functional and brutish, with construction by Scaglietti as usual.

Predictably, the BB employed Ferrari's all-independent suspension system, but the chassis broke new ground. It was stiill a multi-tube affair, but the Turin show car's round- and oval-section members gave way in production to square and rectangular sections that were easier to fabricate. Radiator, spare, and a modicum of luggage space were provided in the nose. Even so, front/rear weight distribution worked out to 43/57 percent. Understeer was designed into the suspension to counteract this, and combined with a low polar moment of inertia (from putting the heaviest components in the middle of the car) to make the Boxer very agile and maneuverable. Each bank of the Boxer flat-12 employed two overhead camshafts driven by toothed belt, a first for Ferrari. Intake ports were on top, exhaust ports on the lower sides. Two triple-throat Weber carburetors fed each set of intake ports. Connecting rods and valvegear were interchangeable with the 365 GTC/4 V-12. A rated 344 DIN horsepower at 7000 rpm was sent through a single dry-plate clutch to a 5-speed manual transaxle with a choice of 3.90, 3.75, or 3.46:1 final-drive ratios. Inside was Ferrari's typical slim chrome shifter in a metal gate, which took some practice to work smoothly, what with the long linkage behind. So did the stiff clutch. The unassisted steering was heavy at low speed, though effort lightened up appreciably with speed and was just right for the Boxer's high terminal velocities.

And we mean high: 175 mph flat out, according to Road & Track magazine's 1975 report, "the fastest road car we've ever tested." Standing-start acceleration was equally vivid: 7.2 seconds 0-60 mph and 15.5 seconds in the quarter-mile at 102.5 mph. Still, RAT observed that the "Boxer is surprisingly heavy" (3420 pounds), "1st gear is very tall and the clutch in our test car slipped badly," so these fumes "aren't as impressive as they should be." By this account, the Boxer was a little faster off the line than the Daytona. But then, RAT described the Boxer as a "dying breed," a semi-prophesy as yet unfulfilled, thank goodness. Indeed, the Boxer quickly went from strength to strength, beginning in late 1976 with the successor 512 BB (Ferrari had again reverted to liters/cylinders numbering). Oddly, it was being built two months before its public debut at the Paris show in October, which we think is another first for Ferrari. Though the 512 seemed little different from the 365, closer inspection revealed a small chin spoiler in front, NACA ducts on the lower bodysides ahead of the rear wheels, four taillights instead of six, and 1.5 extra inches in tail length. A one millimeter increase in a bore and seven in stroke brought the flat-12 to 4942 cc and horsepower to 360 DIN. Peak revs dropped though, from 7000 to 6200 rpm, making the 512 more tractable.

And faster. In 1978, Road & Track recorded 5.5 seconds 0-60 mph, clocked the quarter in 14.2 seconds at 103.5 mph, and estimated top speed at a missile-like 188 mph. Theirs was a privately Federalized example (high certification costs had forced Ferrari to abandon all 12-cylinder cars for U.S. roads) and not as quick as Lamborghini's Countach, "but that was unimportant," said RAT. "The Boxer wins a more important award as the best all-round sports and GT car we've tested... The Countach is a fascinating design [but] the Boxer has it all: the speed, the handling, the lovely shape, the well done cockpit and, most improtant of all, a reputation for reliability." All it took to own one, then, was a mere $85,000. The Boxer's last hurrah came in late 1981 with an adoption of Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection for the 512 BBi. Tuning was eased somewhat for new European emission limits, so DIN horsepower fell to 340. The BB continued in this form for another 2 years, then moved over for the grandest roadgoing Ferrari yet: the reborn Testarossa.