On Jalopnik Interesting. I looked at the comments section and was happy to see as I suspected, the sentiment on the Mondial keeps on improving. I would say about 75% of the folks commented gave positive comments. That's quite an achievement if you take into account this is Jalopnik, not an easy crowd to please. Any long time Mondial owner knows this is a new thing. If this was posted 10 years ago, the comment section would be full of folks trying to outdo each other on the snark.
Interestingly, this is one that I would personally call "Crack Pipe" on at the current price.... 2cam
Yet surprisingly most are voting 'nice price.' Really interesting to see how sentiments change so drastically over time.
I own a 355 but love Mondials. I can’t seem to convince anyone else though. The design is beautiful. Consider how difficult it is to create a 4 seat mid engine convertible. If it wasn’t a Ferrari it would get a lot more respect. I think it will get better someday but it might be many years. This one however I am not a fan of. A Mondial 8 could use some performance enhancement but not like this. The wheels are not good and the paint in the engine bay is all wrong.
I think this car garners positive comments because the car pictured is exceptionally clean, and although not exactly OEM correct, makes a positive presentation to folks who do not know a lot about Ferraris and accept it like it is.
While the Mondial isn't Ferrari's most attractive car, it is an excellent snapshot in time of what the designers did to meet the platform requirements (keeping in mind that only a handful of mid-engine, 4 seat cars exist). It is what it is and definitely looks better in person than it does in pictures. What the Mondial DOES offer is a great, period classic from one of the premier marquees at a very reasonable price point. And I agree, if the Mondial wasn't a Ferrari (perhaps a Lancia or an Alfa instead?), it would garner MUCH more respect and admiration than it currently does. They would probably bring double the amount that they currently do (or at least carry a 50% premium) for the same car under another badge. I'm not a fan of this particular car on Jalopnik either. It has a few too many mods that seem to cheapen the Mondial's basic gestalt. The Mondial is a great package in stock form. However, I am a fan of intelligent mods that increase HP (like Aaron's cars), handling, and braking capabilities but keep the stock appearance as much as possible. So, CP for me on this one. It is kind of interesting that so many on Jalopnick have given this a NP designation instead. 2cam
I think the tide is turning on these cars as well. That car on BAT is a little on the tacky side with some of the mods (perhaps tacky is too strong of a word to use), although the supercharger is a interesting idea and was professionally-installed. I'll bet it doesn't look as bright red in person, due to the filters which are used in those images. Looks like the "vivid" filter on the iPhone. I took my '85 QV Cab out for a drive last weekend, and the car stalled a few times when I stopped kind of quickly at lights. I knew it was soon time to fill up, and rather than risk it any further I went to a mini-mart chain not too far away for some 93 unleaded. I wasn't even looking at anyone else and basically had my mind turned off for a minute or two, and a guy on the other side of the pump in his Land Rover Discovery is asking me if the car is a Ferrari Mondial. I heard "Mondial" twice before it registered. We had a ten minute conversation regarding the Mondial and then cars in general. I am in rural eastern PA and people don't normally speak with strangers at gas pumps here. Then when I went around the pumps I had to turn in front of the place. Two guys roughly in their early 20's dropped their jaws as I turned around right in front of them. I didn't think anyone that age would look up from their cell phones. I was thinking "is my car on fire", but no, they were watching as if I was in a Testarossa or Countach. I thought ok that's nice, and I blipped the throttle a few times for them before I pulled out onto the main road.
