400i question

It has a presence YOU immediately notice, hard to decribe, stately perhaps, understated for sure. Fast? More like swift and capable in a quiet confident way.
A quintessential grand tourer.

 

Seriously?

Read a few of the thousands and thousands of posts here, if you don't mind.

 

A 400 series car is not a small car.

 

Driving our 400i is a eye opening and ear pleasing expierence under throttle.. Throaty and powerful, sure footed and excellent braking. The fit and finish is second to none. Our Cabriolet has a bit more road noise than an enclosed 400 but we soo enjoy the exhaust as we accellerate through the countyside.

We have offered a number of folks the oppertunity to expierence the excitment and thrill of driving a true high end driving machine, they are always surprised at the ride and drive of a 1980's vintage vehicle. Keep in mind this particular Ferrari platform was designed mid 70's. Yes it does not have rack and pinon steering, oversized disc brakes, neck breaking accelleration, but once you slide in and snuggle down in to the deep very plush seats, turn the key and hear the incredible V-12 come to life you realize this is something very special.

Slipping the gear lever into drive and effortlesly accellerating up to speed the roadability is firm the ride is soft yet very stable. Its not the most nimble in tight traffic but we own this Ferrari for the open road.

Once we have hit the back roads of the countryside, you notice how this machine huggs the road and glides tightly through the corners. The faster you drive the better it is, especially the tuned exhaust. It really does not come to life until you reach 3-4000 rpm, then the exhaust is music to your ears.

We have personally driven our 400 in excess of 125mph on numerious occations in great little traveled country roads with extreme confidence and comfort. We feel it is best suited for 75-100mph of continuious driving. We do have a favorite part of our state that offers us this oppertunity which we take advantge of frequently, sorry we will not devulge where.

We offer anyone in our area the chance to enjoy our 400i Cabriolet, it is our pleasure to let others know what a fine example of automotive engineering these vintage Ferrari's are. That's our story and we are sticking to it. We just let our newer Maserati Spider go, yes it was faster, quicker paddle shifting, BUT, no where near the ride of the 400. Both Candy and I would rather drive the 400 over any of our other collector cars.

Howard and Candy Musolf
1981 308gtsi
1982 400i Cabriolet
1988 Lotus Esprit Turbo
Too many brass era cars.

 

Rich,

It is all relative. The 400 is not a sportscar but a GT and it is a heavy car. Also, a car that is not in top mechanical condition will handle poorly. Old Ferraris should be bought based on what you can afford (to buy AND maintain) and how they feel to you.

My advice is to drive several examples as each will be in different condition before you decide if you like the 400. A 400 with a worn out front end or weak brakes is an unpleasant driving experience.

Regards,

Art S.

 

You know Art...

I looked for one of these cars for quite some time- I drove every single car that was available in the States at the time. The problem is that of the 11-12 cars that come up for sale every year in America, 10 or 11 have sat... failed accumulators, dried, worn out bushings, hard, dry TRX tires, weird and uneven fuel metering and thus poor performance and hestitation. A well sorted 400i or 412 is an amazing drive, in a classic sense.

I think realistically you need to have a good budget to "freshen up" ANY one of these cars, unless you can find one that is in current rotation by an enthusiast. Honestly, when someone decides to sell one it goes off the road and sits for months at the minimum- but every single car that I know of on the market right now has sat for years.

I bought the cleanest 412 on earth with a THICK service history, and still spent quite a bit of money getting it perfect. My 400i had just been through a fairly complete ground-up restoration, and even with that fresh restoration I've got $10K in work into it this Summer, not including the dozen or so things I fixed myself.

Lots of people wind up here because these cars and Mondials are cheap. But you know what they say about cheap Ferraris.

 

that really is all you need to know Rich !

 

Rich, check the videos at www.youtube.com/zwedenhuizen I have put a lot of vids up there of my 400GT Automatic.

I am a big fan of the Ferrari GT cars. I prefer it over any V8 screamer. You can drive the 400 series fast, but also take it to any business meeting. And if you find a well maintained one it'll never break down on you.

And remember, the 400 can be considered as the relaxed, and improved version of the legendary Daytona/

 

It has been my experience that you get out of a 400i, after 9 1/2 hours and 600 miles, fresher and more relaxed than when you got into it.
I will do it again tomorrow to get home and am looking forward to the ride, rain or shine.
Greg

 

People like me buy them for the 12 cylinder Colombo because we can't or won't triple the price for the next level with the same motor.They are beasts to maintain and terrible investments and only go in a straight line. As silly as it is to say this, the motor about makes it worthwhile if you're willing to blow a lot of money.

 

Very true, the ones for sale is not properly sorted/maintained. Owner either does not know the potential in the car or have given it up due to lack of funding.

Any owner who have experienced a sound and fit 365/400/400i/412 in its right element -loves it and will certainly not part with the car unless forced to.
So do like Jay, find the 11th or 12th !

Harald