RE: Ferrari F512M: Showpiece of the Week

RE: Ferrari F512M: Showpiece of the Week

Monday 17th September 2018

Ferrari F512M: Showpiece of the Week

More than 20 years after it was replaced, is now the 512M's time to shine?



In the exalted history of Ferrari supercars, the F512M tends to be overlooked. Which, judged purely objectively, seems rather bizarre. After all, this was the last version of the iconic - and they really were iconic - Testarossa cars, the last flat-12 Ferrari (they certainly aren't returning) and the last mid-engined, production Ferrari with 12 cylinders. The only other Maranello products with 12 cylinders behind the driver since the 512M's introduction have been the F50, Enzo and LaFerrari.

Furthermore, only 501 of these cars were ever made, with just 75 in right-hand drive and 41 UK cars. Bear in mind the entire Enzo production run was 400 cars and you get some idea of how rare a 512M is. This car represents the 80s Testarossa excess taken to its zenith and - as a final and tricky to substantiate point - now should be the time for the 512M to be appreciated. Think about it; those born in the mid-80s would have been impressionable kids when this car emerged, and now in their early 30s. If life has gone well for them - really, really well, granted - then it's the supercar pin ups of their childhood that'll surely be in demand.


And yet despite all that, and despite this car's asking price being comfortably in excess of £200,000, how many people are rendered giddy with excitement at the prospect of a 512M? At a guess, we'd wager not that many. Why is that?

The 512M was of course replaced by the 550 Maranello, a fine car and a resurrection of the front-engined Ferrari lineage that now culminates in the outrageous 812 Superfast. There's an argument to say that the 550 is perhaps more significant and more memorable in the Ferrari history than the last TR. Speaking of which, perhaps the very fact it isn't a Testarossa might make the 512 less desirable to some eyes, despite being the newer, faster, more capable car. Amazing what a starring role in Miami Vice and those early Monospecchio cars can do for a reputation.


Maybe it's simply that, by the time of the 512M's introduction in 1994, the slats and split rims thing of the 80s had passed. The F355 was introduced the same year, the F50 was imminent, and the 512M was maybe seen as a supercar from a bygone age. Has time helped its cause? The 90s are back in fashion, after all...

More to the point, those who covet a F512M won't find many better than this. It's in perhaps the best mid-engined Ferrari colour scheme of Rosso Corsa with Crema hide and carpets, the mileage is sensible enough - 38,000 - that a few more could be added without feeling too guilty, and the cambelt has just been done with the most recent service.

For £230,000, one is of course not short of classic Ferrari choices. Nobody needs reminding that a 512M would have been markedly more affordable not long ago. Still, for a Testarossa collection that needs completion, or those with a particular penchant for 90s' supercars, it's as fine an example of the breed you're like to find. Is there a space in your fantasy garage for it?

See the original advert here.



 

 

Author
Discussion

M35A2

Original Poster:

3 posts

105 months

Monday 17th September 2018
quotequote all
I want to know how the fella got out of that car to take the photo... other than going for a swim!!

Griffgrog

705 posts

245 months

Monday 17th September 2018
quotequote all
Just like what happened to it's rival of the time; the Lamborghini Countach, the Testarossa just got progressively worse over time the more the original design was altered.


Gameface

16,565 posts

76 months

Monday 17th September 2018
quotequote all
I'll be the first to say it...

The preceding 512TR was far better looking. Much more resolved design.

This one is a mess. Hideous wheels. Round rear lights don't gel. Fronts aren't much better.

A real backwards step IMO.

Edited by Gameface on Monday 17th September 12:25

TooMany2cvs

29,008 posts

125 months

Monday 17th September 2018
quotequote all
M35A2 said:
I want to know how the fella got out of that car to take the photo... other than going for a swim!!
Ah, the joys of Hartley's height-adjustable bridge...

The Testosterona was the 80s-writ-large.
Shoulderpads, poodle hair, pastel colours, yuppies, the big bang, Dallas, Dynasty, Wham!, Bananarama etc. Tasteless, but that was the times...
The 512M is just the same thing in middle age warmed-over with a terrible facelift.

E65Ross

34,945 posts

211 months

Monday 17th September 2018
quotequote all
Looks pretty ugly, IMO! Sure it's a nice ol' thing though.

suffolk009

5,344 posts

164 months

Monday 17th September 2018
quotequote all
I know it's irrational, but I really do detest Hartley's pond photos.

FRG0

453 posts

157 months

Monday 17th September 2018
quotequote all
suffolk009 said:
I know it's irrational, but I really do detest Hartley's pond photos.
+1

Mr-B

3,766 posts

193 months

Monday 17th September 2018
quotequote all
Is it the last car to be rescued from that flooded car park? Water and Ferrari electrics not a good mix, probably a write off. Avoid.

J4CKO

41,286 posts

199 months

Monday 17th September 2018
quotequote all
suffolk009 said:
I know it's irrational, but I really do detest Hartley's pond photos.
Better than those ones of late they did where the cars are all mangled in the middle of a road, not a great sales pitch that.


FWDRacer

3,564 posts

223 months

Monday 17th September 2018
quotequote all
Ferrari ahead of the market for pioneering the "knock off Chinese rear lights" look about 10 years ahead of Dean from down the estate in his Scoobaru.

Rear end is absolutely grim. Would look completey rubbish on Outrun <checkpoint>...ping... time extended.

Rawwr

22,722 posts

233 months

Monday 17th September 2018
quotequote all
It was just poor timing for the 512M. A mid-generation mongrel. It was released when the other cars available from Ferrari were the F355 and 456GT, which is some pretty stiff competition in the sex-appeal department. They took a 512TR, got it to comply with the 'no more pop-up headlights' legislation and then waited a couple of years before they introduced the 550. It was always doomed to look like an outdated hog.

HardtopManual

2,404 posts

165 months

Monday 17th September 2018
quotequote all
I don't mind the front, but if I owned a 512M, I'd be looking at fitting TR wheels and rear lights.

Gecko1978

9,603 posts

156 months

Monday 17th September 2018
quotequote all
FRG0 said:
suffolk009 said:
I know it's irrational, but I really do detest Hartley's pond photos.
+1
funny soon as I saw the pic I knew who had it for sale. Also did not Hartley junior famously get a 512 as a birthday gift when he was 12 and then sell it (part of the child in adult world thing that seemed popular in the 80s and 90s see also the child a antiques dealer who's name I forget).


anonymous-user

53 months

Monday 17th September 2018
quotequote all
Gameface said:
I'll be the first to say it...

The preceding 512TR was far better looking. Much more resolved design.

This one is a mess. Hideous wheels. Round rear lights don't gel. Fronts aren't much better.
This in spades. It looks like a pastiche. When my cryptocoins pay off I'll be hunting down the best example of the earlier 512TR I can find whilst giving these a wide berth. It ranks alongside the Ferrari 365 GTC/4 as an example of making a good-looking thing a great deal worse.

will_

6,027 posts

202 months

Monday 17th September 2018
quotequote all
Always had a soft spot for these (yes, including the wheels) but a quick ride in a 512TR proved the mantra of not meeting your heroes. It just felt really underwhelming, not particularly fast and the interior was a horrid place to be.

Macboy

732 posts

204 months

Monday 17th September 2018
quotequote all
will_ said:
Always had a soft spot for these (yes, including the wheels) but a quick ride in a 512TR proved the mantra of not meeting your heroes. It just felt really underwhelming, not particularly fast and the interior was a horrid place to be.
This. 100% this. I wonder if you were the driver or passenger. As a first time 512TR driver, driving one for several hundred twisty miles over a weekend, it was not a pleasure at all.

fernando the frog

298 posts

67 months

Monday 17th September 2018
quotequote all


I shopped some better wheels on it (ignore the reflection lol)

will_

6,027 posts

202 months

Monday 17th September 2018
quotequote all
Macboy said:
will_ said:
Always had a soft spot for these (yes, including the wheels) but a quick ride in a 512TR proved the mantra of not meeting your heroes. It just felt really underwhelming, not particularly fast and the interior was a horrid place to be.
This. 100% this. I wonder if you were the driver or passenger. As a first time 512TR driver, driving one for several hundred twisty miles over a weekend, it was not a pleasure at all.
Passenger - but it was enough for me.



Mackofthejungle

1,069 posts

194 months

Monday 17th September 2018
quotequote all
fernando the frog said:


I shopped some better wheels on it (ignore the reflection lol)
Getting on for MR2 levels of class now

JohnGoodridge

529 posts

194 months

Monday 17th September 2018
quotequote all
FRG0 said:
suffolk009 said:
I know it's irrational, but I really do detest Hartley's pond photos.
+1
+ another 1. Why pay that much to a dealer whose idea of care is to drag a car into (if I'm being kind) a very large puddle?

Much prefer Rardley's setup, where ones Ferrari is parked in front of ones manor house. Far more appropriate.