Satan's barge - 1983 Ferrari 400i

Satan's barge - 1983 Ferrari 400i

Author
Discussion

Rumdoodle

Original Poster:

945 posts

27 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

4,468 posts

167 months

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

nebpor

3,753 posts

242 months

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

v8ben

45 posts

83 months

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

swanseaboydan

1,770 posts

170 months

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

JJJ.

1,498 posts

22 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

363 posts

142 months

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

Tin Hat

1,397 posts

216 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

244 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

5,760 posts

144 months

Saturday 25th March 2023
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Watching with interest!

stevemiller

549 posts

172 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:

945 posts

27 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

31 months

Saturday 25th March 2023
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Joined for the ride. Chapeau

ClaphamGT3

11,527 posts

250 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

5,297 posts

98 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

2,548 posts

224 months

Saturday 25th March 2023
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Always loved these.

sidewinder500

1,405 posts

101 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

229 posts

131 months

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

Doofus

28,462 posts

180 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

1,228 posts

177 months

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