Satan's barge - 1983 Ferrari 400i

Satan's barge - 1983 Ferrari 400i

Author
Discussion

Rumdoodle

Original Poster:

634 posts

19 months

Saturday 25th March 2023
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Having drifted in and out of PH for a few years, and particularly enjoyed perusing Readers' Cars threads - 1275GT's Rover SD1, theadman's Facel Vega, and AndrewCrown's Silver Shadow being particular highlights - I thought I'd pop this in as a bit of a curio.




I had seen this at an auction a couple of years ago but only got round to buying it last summer. It is, perhaps slightly eccentrically, my only car. I did have other cars, although I've never had anything made after 1995, but I don't need a daily driver and I found running even a small "fleet" too much of a faff to be enjoyable. So, I have jettisoned the others and am now a one-car household. The reason for starting a thread, and why it may be of interest, is that I do actually use it to the mileage limit of my insurance policy and, being a classic, there are always things to attend to and adventures to be had. Big, classic GT cars are my thing, so I was always going to end up with a 928, a V12 XJS, an Interceptor or (stretching the notion of GT somewhat) a Camargue. But this was always top of the list.

Anyway, I'll start in chronological order with my everyday tale of running a forty year old Italian V12.

More to follow...

BrettMRC

4,037 posts

159 months

Saturday 25th March 2023
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Absolutely fantastic - looking forward to following this OP smile

nebpor

3,753 posts

234 months

Saturday 25th March 2023
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Love it - always been a really cool car

v8ben

37 posts

75 months

Saturday 25th March 2023
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Epic, looking forward to this...

swanseaboydan

1,722 posts

162 months

Saturday 25th March 2023
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Fantastic - keep us all updated please

JJJ.

1,060 posts

14 months

Saturday 25th March 2023
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Cool as an iceberg.

Great design even if it's not everybody's cup of expresso. Considering it was penned in the very late sixties/early seventies, it really is an impressive looking car. Looking forward to updates.

six wheels

347 posts

134 months

Saturday 25th March 2023
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Yes! Thank you, OP.

Tin Hat

1,370 posts

208 months

Saturday 25th March 2023
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Splendid, my seatbelt is secured, fire it up and let’s get ready for some real entertainment

85Carrera

3,503 posts

236 months

Saturday 25th March 2023
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One of my favourite Ferraris. I know they are/were unfashionable but have have always hankered after one. Will be interesting to see how you get on with it.

LunarOne

5,093 posts

136 months

Saturday 25th March 2023
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Watching with interest!

stevemiller

533 posts

164 months

Saturday 25th March 2023
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I may be one of the few who think this one of the best looking/balanced Ferrari's ever. Would love a manual but could never run one as I would wish.

Rumdoodle

Original Poster:

634 posts

19 months

Saturday 25th March 2023
quotequote all
stevemiller said:
I may be one of the few who think this one of the best looking/balanced Ferrari's ever. Would love a manual but could never run one as I would wish.
Those who think any Ferrari that's not a red two-seater is somehow heretical now have a new target for their outrage in the Purosangue. For me, this is a simply wonderful looking car. It had a production run of about sixteen years and was phenomenally expensive, so they must have been on to something.

I will go into running costs later. It's commonly held that parts prices are as expensive as a Daytona, which is not strictly true - for some items, if you can find them, it's more yikes


What The Deuces

2,780 posts

23 months

Saturday 25th March 2023
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Joined for the ride. Chapeau

ClaphamGT3

11,269 posts

242 months

Saturday 25th March 2023
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I love these and my Gamma was bought at least in part because it's a pov kid's Ferrari 400.

I've always believed that Ferrari make better GTs than sports cars.

I also love the fact that Prins Bernhard of the Netherlands, one of the most fascinating men if the 20th century, had no fewer than four of these over the years.

Castrol for a knave

4,637 posts

90 months

Saturday 25th March 2023
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I recall going to JCT 600 as a.kid and seeing a blue with tan 400..

Looked amazing. Always liked these.

Looked at a Mondial QV today at the NEC show. Actually a very pretty car and a great bit of packaging.

I like the less loved stuff.

Dinoboy

2,494 posts

216 months

Saturday 25th March 2023
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Always loved these.

sidewinder500

1,094 posts

93 months

Sunday 26th March 2023
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Great car, great colour combination.
The only Ferrari which is still of interest for me, bookmarked.


Edited by sidewinder500 on Sunday 26th March 08:50

Ken986

190 posts

123 months

Sunday 26th March 2023
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Fantastic , watching with much envy (in a good way ).
Look forward to seeing more

Doofus

25,732 posts

172 months

Sunday 26th March 2023
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These are widely derided, but to me, it's one of the most elegant shapes ever devised.

to3m

1,226 posts

169 months

Sunday 26th March 2023
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Very nice. This (or 365, or 412) and the 456 are my favourite Ferraris.