The Ferrari 365 GT4 2+2, Ferrari 400 and Ferrari 412 (''Tipo F101'') are
front-engined V12 V12 or V-12 may refer to:
Aircraft
* Mil V-12, a Soviet heavy lift helicopter
* Pilatus OV-12, a planned American military utility aircraft
* Rockwell XFV-12, an American experimental aircraft project
* Škoda-Kauba V12, a Czechoslovak experim ...
2+2 grand tourer
A grand tourer (GT) is a type of car that is designed for high speed and long-distance driving, due to a combination of performance and luxury attributes. The most common format is a Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, front-engine, rear-wh ...
s made by
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
manufacturer
Ferrari between 1972 and 1989. The three cars are closely related, using the same body, chassis and engine evolved over time.
Following Ferrari practice, their numeric designations refer to their engines' single-cylinder displacement expressed in
cubic centimetre
A cubic centimetre (or cubic centimeter in US English) (SI unit symbol: cm3; non-SI abbreviations: cc and ccm) is a commonly used unit of volume that corresponds to the volume of a cube that measures 1 cm × 1 cm × 1 cm. One cub ...
s. The 365 GT4 2+2 was introduced in 1972 to replace the
365 GTC/4. It then evolved into the 400, the first Ferrari available with an
automatic transmission
An automatic transmission (sometimes abbreviated to auto or AT) is a multi-speed transmission used in internal combustion engine-based motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gears under normal driving ...
. In 1979 the 400 was replaced by the
fuel injected
Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of an injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines.
All comp ...
400 i. The improved 412 ran from 1985 to 1989, bringing to an end Ferrari's longest-ever production series.
Although the option of an automatic transmission might imply it may have been designed for the American market, no version of these grand tourers was ever officially imported there as
Enzo Ferrari
Enzo Anselmo Giuseppe Maria Ferrari (; 20 February 1898 – 14 August 1988) was an Italian motor racing driver and entrepreneur, the founder of the Scuderia Ferrari Grand Prix motor racing team, and subsequently of the Ferrari automobil ...
believed that emerging environmental and safety regulations and a 55 MPH national speed limit suggested the company's 8 cylinder cars would suffice in the US market.
Many, however, entered as
grey import
A parallel import is a non-counterfeit product imported from another country without the permission of the intellectual property owner. Parallel imports are often referred to as grey product and are implicated in issues of international trade, a ...
s.
Design
Ferrari turned to frequent styling partner
Leonardo Fioravanti at
Pininfarina
Pininfarina S.p.A. (short for Carrozzeria Pininfarina) is an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder, with headquarters in Cambiano, Turin, Italy. The company was founded by Battista "Pinin" Farina in 1930.
On 14 December 2015, the Indian ...
, whose
three-box design for the 365 GT4 2+2 was a clear departure from its
fastback predecessor, the 365 GTC/4. It followed Fioravanti's
Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona as the second Ferrari to feature the characteristic ''swage line'' dividing the body into upper and lower halves.
Various coachbuilders, such as
Carrozzeria Pavesi
A coachbuilder or body-maker is someone who manufactures bodies for passenger-carrying vehicles.Construction has always been a skilled trade requiring a relatively lightweight product with sufficient strength. The manufacture of necessarily ...
and
Straman, offered
convertible
A convertible or cabriolet () is a passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary among eras and manufacturers.
A convertible car's design allows an open-air driving expe ...
conversions of the 400 series. Switzerland's Felber also showed a
shooting brake
Shooting brake (sometimes mis-identified as "shooting break") is a car body style which originated in the 1890s as a horse-drawn wagon used to transport shooting parties with their equipment and game.
The first automotive shooting brakes were ...
version on 400 GT basis called the Felber Croisette at the 1981
Geneva Salon de l'Auto.
Specifications
The tubular steel
chassis was based on that of the GTC/4, but the wheelbase was lengthened to . The bodies were
steel, with a
fiberglass
Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass ( Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...
floor; they were manufactured by Pininfarina at its
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...
plant, then shipped fully finished to Modena where Ferrari assembled the cars.
Suspension consisted of
double wishbone
A double wishbone suspension is an independent suspension design for automobiles using two (occasionally parallel) wishbone-shaped arms to locate the wheel. Each wishbone or arm has two mounting points to the chassis and one joint at the knuckl ...
s,
coil spring
A selection of conical coil springs
The most common type of spring is the coil spring, which is made out of a long piece of metal that is wound around itself.
Coil springs were in use in Roman times, evidence of this can be found in bronze Fib ...
s coaxial with the
shock absorbers, and
anti-roll bar
An anti-roll bar (roll bar, anti-sway bar, sway bar, stabilizer bar) is a part of many automobile suspensions that helps reduce the body roll of a vehicle during fast cornering or over road irregularities. It connects opposite (left/right) whee ...
s all around; the rear axle featured a
hydraulic
Hydraulics (from Greek: Υδραυλική) is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counte ...
self-levelling system.
Under the bonnet there was a ''Tipo F 101''
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...
V12 that underwent many changes through the years. It was an
alloy
An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which at least one is a metal. Unlike chemical compounds with metallic bases, an alloy will retain all the properties of a metal in the resulting material, such as electrical conductivity, ductilit ...
head and
block
Block or blocked may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting
* Block programming, the result of a programming strategy in broadcasting
* W242BX, a radio station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, United States known as ''96.3 ...
,
four overhead cams, 24-valve unit using
wet sump
Within piston engines, a wet sump is part of a lubrication system whereby the crankcase sump is used as an integral oil reservoir. An alternative system is the dry sump, whereby oil is pumped from a shallow sump into an external reservoir.Wet sum ...
lubrication.
The
transmission was conventionally coupled directly to the engine, as on the GTC/4, with a
driveshaft
A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power and torque and rotation, usually used to connec ...
connecting it to the rear
limited slip differential
A limited-slip differential (LSD) is a type of differential that allows its two output shafts to rotate at different speeds but limits the maximum difference between the two shafts. Limited-slip differentials are often known by the generic tr ...
. The
steering
Steering is a system of components, linkages, and other parts that allows a driver to control the direction of the vehicle.
Introduction
The most conventional steering arrangement allows a driver to turn the front wheels of a vehicle using ...
was
servo-assisted. Brakes were
discs on all four wheels.
365 GT4 2+2
In 1972, just a year after the launch of the GTC/4, a new 2+2 debuted at the
Paris Motor Show
The Paris Motor Show (french: Mondial de l'Automobile) is a biennial auto show in Paris. Held during October, it is one of the most important auto shows, often with many new production automobile and concept car debuts. The show presently take ...
: the 365 GT4 2+2. The name refers to the single cylinder displacement (365 cc), four overhead camshafts (GT4) and seat configuration (2+2). Most of the mechanicals, including the engine, were carried over from its predecessor. The
V12 V12 or V-12 may refer to:
Aircraft
* Mil V-12, a Soviet heavy lift helicopter
* Pilatus OV-12, a planned American military utility aircraft
* Rockwell XFV-12, an American experimental aircraft project
* Škoda-Kauba V12, a Czechoslovak experim ...
used six side-draft
Weber 38 DCOE 59/60
carburetors and produced at 6200 rpm.
The gearbox was a five-speed, all-synchromesh manual with a single-plate
clutch.
Five-spoke
alloy wheel
In the automotive industry, alloy wheels are wheels that are made from an alloy of aluminium or magnesium. Alloys are mixtures of a metal and other elements. They generally provide greater strength over pure metals, which are usually much soft ...
s were mounted on Rudge
knock-off hubs;
Borrani Ruote Borrani S.p.A. (established 1922 in Milan) is an Italian manufacturer of automobile and motorcycle wheels. They are known for supplying Rudge-Whitworth design centerlocking wire wheels to many Italian racing cars, sports cars and luxury car ...
wire wheel
Wire wheels, wire-spoked wheels, tension-spoked wheels, or "suspension" wheels are wheels whose rims connect to their hubs by wire spokes. Although these wires are generally stiffer than a typical wire rope, they function mechanically the sa ...
s were still offered at extra cost.
Fittingly for a large grand tourer, standard equipment included leather upholstery, electric windows and
air conditioning
Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...
. 524 units were produced, including 3 prototypes.
The GT4 was replaced in 1976 by the nearly identical looking Ferrari 400.
400
At the 1976
Paris Motor Show
The Paris Motor Show (french: Mondial de l'Automobile) is a biennial auto show in Paris. Held during October, it is one of the most important auto shows, often with many new production automobile and concept car debuts. The show presently take ...
Ferrari unveiled the replacement for the 365 GT4 2+2. The new 400 was offered in two models: 400 Automatic, using a GM
THM400 3-speed
automatic transmission
An automatic transmission (sometimes abbreviated to auto or AT) is a multi-speed transmission used in internal combustion engine-based motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gears under normal driving ...
,
and 400 GT, using a five-speed transmission. The 400 Automatic was the first Ferrari to have an automatic transmission.
The 365's V12 engine had been stroked to a displacement of and given six 38 DCOE 110-111 Webers, and now produced .
0–60 mph took 7.1 seconds.
Other changes compared to the 365 GT4 2+2 included five-stud wheels to replace the knock-off hubs (
Borrani Ruote Borrani S.p.A. (established 1922 in Milan) is an Italian manufacturer of automobile and motorcycle wheels. They are known for supplying Rudge-Whitworth design centerlocking wire wheels to many Italian racing cars, sports cars and luxury car ...
wheels weren't offered anymore), a revised interior, the addition of a lip to the front spoiler, and double circular tail light assemblies instead of triple. A total of 502 examples were produced, 355 of which were Automatics and 147 GTs.
In 2021 a model was stolen in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, Australia but recovered soon after posting notification of the theft on social media.
400 i
The carburetors on the 400 were replaced with
Bosch K-Jetronic Jetronic is a trade name of a manifold injection technology for automotive petrol engines, developed and marketed by Robert Bosch GmbH from the 1960s onwards. Bosch licensed the concept to many automobile manufacturers. There are several variations ...
fuel injection in 1979.
[ ''Auto Katalog 1982'', p. 101] As in the smaller
308GTBi and 308GTSi, power was down to , but emissions were much improved, complying with U.S. standards.
Top speed was .
Initially differences between the 400 and 400 i were limited to the fuel injected engine and an "i" badge on the tail.
Towards the end of 1982, the 400i was updated. New
camshaft profiles and
exhaust header
In automotive engineering, an exhaust manifold collects the exhaust gases from multiple cylinders into one pipe. The word '' manifold'' comes from the Old English word ''manigfeald'' (from the Anglo-Saxon ''manig'' anyand ''feald'' old and re ...
s raised engine power to .
The interior was significantly revised, gaining different upholstery, door panels, centre console and new electronic switchgear.
On the exterior a narrower grille left the rectangular foglights exposed; the venting on the engine bonnet was changed from silver to body-colour. New, more elegant
wing mirror
A side-view mirror (or side mirror), also known as a wing mirror, is a mirror placed on the exterior of motor vehicles for the purposes of helping the driver see areas behind and to the sides of the vehicle, outside the driver's peripheral v ...
s were fitted, bearing a small Ferrari shield. Around the back the tail panel was body-coloured instead of matte black, and foglamps were fitted in the bumper. Lower profile
Michelin TRX The Michelin TRX, (and the related TDX), is a radial tire introduced by the Michelin Group in 1975. It is one of the first volume-produced low-profile tires. Although technologically advanced, and reasonably successful, the tire's requirement for a ...
tyres were adopted, on metric sized wheels.
A total of 1305 examples were produced, 883 Automatics and 422 GTs.
412
In 1985 further improvements were made to the series, with the launch of the Ferrari 412 (chassis ''Tipo F 101 EL'') in April that year. The engine was bored 1 mm, for an increase in displacement to — hence the name change to 412, representing the single cylinder displacement in cubic centimetres. Both the manual and automatic transmissions were retained, but exterior badging no longer denoted the transmission type fitted.
Bosch ABS was offered, a first for Ferrari.
The body was altered, with a raised rear deck granting more luggage space. Pininfarina made many subtle tweaks to modernize the exterior. The bumpers were body-coloured; at the front there was a deeper spoiler, at the rear a black valance incorporated the foglamps and exhaust pipes. Side window trim was changed from chrome to black. The flat-faced wheels were new and fitted with
TRX tires.
A total of 576 examples were made. Production ended in 1989 without a direct successor being immediately launched; the
mid-engined
In automotive engineering, a mid-engine layout describes the placement of an automobile engine in front of the rear-wheel axles, but behind the front axle.
History
The mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive format can be considered the original layout of ...
Mondial remained the only Ferrari offering 2+2 seating.
In 1992, after a three-year hiatus, the classic front-engine V12 2+2 grand tourer returned with the
456
__NOTOC__
Year 456 ( CDLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Avitus without colleague (or, less frequently, year 1209 '' ...
.
A black 1987 model of the 412 was used in the 2006 independent film ''
Daft Punk's Electroma
''Daft Punk's Electroma'' (also known as ''Electroma'') is a 2006 avant-garde science fiction film directed by the French electronic music duo Daft Punk. The story revolves around the quest of two robots (the band members, played by Peter Hurteau ...
''. The car used in filming was later auctioned for charity, with the 'HUMAN' license plates (in reference to the duo's album 'Human After All', released a year before) signed by
Thomas Bangalter
Thomas Bangalter (; born 3 January 1975) is a French musician, record producer, singer, songwriter, DJ and composer. Son of French music composer and artist Daniel Vangarde. He is best known as one half of the former French house music duo Daft ...
and
Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo
Guillaume Emmanuel "Guy-Manuel" de Homem-Christo (; born 8 February 1974) is a French musician, record producer, singer, songwriter, DJ and composer. He is known as one half of the former French house music duo Daft Punk, along with Thomas Ba ...
, the directors of the film.
Legacy
Today, its sleek,
Pininfarina
Pininfarina S.p.A. (short for Carrozzeria Pininfarina) is an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder, with headquarters in Cambiano, Turin, Italy. The company was founded by Battista "Pinin" Farina in 1930.
On 14 December 2015, the Indian ...
-designed lines and relatively limited production numbers have made many enthusiasts consider it a classic. It has not been universally admired however, and is listed at #18 in the BBC's book o
"Crap Cars"and
Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English broadcaster, journalist, game show host and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for the motoring programmes '' Top Gear'' and '' The Grand Tour'' alongside R ...
on
Top Gear
Top Gear may refer to:
* "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission
Television
* ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme
* ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the or ...
described it as "''awful in every way''".
[BBC Top Gear]
Season 15 Episode 6
/ref> However, there have been many other favorable articles about the 400 series in the motoring press, including an outlying view expressed by UK motoring journalist L. J. K. Setright in CAR magazine
''Car'' is a British automotive enthusiast magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. International editions are published by Bauer Automotive in Republic of Korea (since March 2016), Brazil, China, Greece, India, Italy (through 201 ...
in August 1984, who described it as "one of the few most beautiful, and one of the two most elegant, bodies ever to leave the lead of Pininfarina's pencilling vision".
References
Bibliography
*
*
{{Ferrari
365 GT4 2+2
Grand tourers
1980s cars
Ferrari 365 GT4 2+2