Help me decide,...pre 89 countach or 512bbi

I wanted a Countach in the worst way until I rode in one for half a day. Drove it a bit.

Then I bought a Boxer.
PS buy a carbed car if you can.
The very last of the "analog" Ferraris.

 

What he said ^^^. Countach is an incredible looking exotic but it sucks to drive it.

 

As said above depends on your goals. For appreciation = Countach. For beauty = subjective. For driving fun = 512BB.

 

I think every Countach should have a sledge hammer inside the cockpit. If those doors get stuck, the only way out is smashing the glass. Pretty car but it's like being inside a razor blade

 

My friend in high school had a Countach ( his parents were drug dealers in Miami) so id be in it quite often, though never drove it. Incredibly uncomfortable in every way imaginable.

When we cruised we would just keep the doors open. Was the only way to tolerate being in it for long.

 

Easy. Countach unless you intend to drive it a lot.

 

I don't know what your plan is but when I was a little kid in the early 90s my dad had a countach and it was AWFUL, it was literally always in the shop, it was an occasion when he had it and it worked. With that said when he'd pick me up at school in it the 2 or 3 times a year it was working and he brought it, everyone went nuts, it was a spaceship then and it still is today. All I remember was in the early 90s there weren't lambo dealers everywhere like today and he was constantly having to ship it out somewhere to get something fixed. He had it 4 or 5 years and never again got another lambo again.

Then again most of the older sports cars he had when i was a kid were terrible till he got his 355, he put like 80,000 miles on his 355 over like 10 years, he said it was the best sports car he ever had.

 

All I had to do was sit in a Countach once to cross it off my list, so it would be no decision at all for me. And I'd prefer one of the later fuelies, actually, to a carbed version.

Had a poster of the BB when I was in high school. One of my all time favorite Ferraris.

 

The only thing I would complain about in the Countach is the AC - drives like a big go-kart, no more difficult than any other 70's supercar

 

ha oddly enough the AC works pretty good in my Anny!

 

Was uprated in the QV onwards I believe

 

I’ve owned neither, but driven both.

512 by far. It’s a really special car. It’s like a larger 308 with lots of power.
I’d have one if the maintenance wasn’t what it is.

Countach, one drive cured me of that fantasy.

 

512, countach is for looking at, the ferrari looks awesome AND you can enjoy driving it

 

Buy a 512 & get a Countach poster.

 

Best answer of the thread! I love the looks of the countach, it’s special, but one design that’s better on paper than the road itself.

 

Hard decision. Both great cars. Do bear in mind the Boxers have cam belts and some cars have thrown their belts causing damaged pistons and bent valves. Don't ask me how I know.

 

Get a 328.

And the posters.

Matt

 

This is actually a great point. 328 is 75% of a BB at a fraction of the price and maintenance.

 

Except they are 2 entirely different cars

 

They are, but my impression was that the BB drove like a heavy 328 with a lot more power.

 

Lots of belt cars have had failures. Are you suggesting that the BB’s are more prone to this? If so, please share.

 

I agree that lots of cars with belts have had failures and I do NOT know that Boxers are more prone to failure than any other car. All I know is that a low mileage, well maintained 365 Boxer that we had in our care threw a belt and needed new pistons and valves on one bank of 6 cylinders. A friend with a Testarossa had the same thing happen. Engines with cams driven by chains can also have problems, but not as often as belt driven cams afaik.

Perhaps a thread should be started to find out how common the problem is or was with Boxers.

 

I would not fear a belt driven car. It's really an over blowen fear. Sure..there are failures. However, chains also can break, streach etc. At the end of the day, buy what you like and want. Deal with the rest as it comes. Nothing is perfect or trouble free.

As a drivers car..the BB wins. As a car to look at and occasionally drive, coutach all the way.