Hi, This link confirms what we all know about our fantastic cars. www.classicandsportscar.com/features/ferrari-mondial-zero-hero Classic & Sportscar is a highly regarded magazine in my country.
I couldn’t care less of the people who **** on Mondials for 40 years caught up or not. The fact is most of these people were ignorant, parroted the same lame talking points, and now that they realize gated shifter v8 Ferraris aren’t being made anymore and values are going up……uh they are actually okay? Who needs validation from people like that? They’ve always been great cars.
That’s what I said I tell people which ever way you break the Mondial down it’s still a Ferrari. It was still made the same way every other Ferrari came out of the factory. Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat
What amazes me is the quality and depth of that UK publication, which I have subsrcibed to for many years. Great photos and journalism, as well as a best in class print production quality (with on line as well). I don't know if they do well financially, or if we are near the end of the golden age of print magazines. But based on the quality and content, they must be doing ok. The Mondial article is well written, and gives a proper balanced assessment of how these cars drive. Would be fun if they road tested a well restored 8, QV, 3.2 and T all at the same time!
Much as I was pleased by the Classic & Sportscar review, I wish commentators in motoring magazines, YouTube etc would finally stop always going on about the 'zero' bit. It's now old, out-of-date news. I notice very flattering articles/videos about the Dino today don't mention how poorly received this car was by many 'experts' when it was launched and how low secondhand prices were in the 70s/80s. Hopefully, our car will be judged similarly on its current status as a very desirable car.
I've always enjoyed Classic and Sportscar and subscribed to them for a number of years about 20 years ago. It is nice to see an article about the Mondial. However, there were a few inaccuracies such as the aluminum doors mentioned above and that it's the only 2+2 mid-engined Coupe ever made (the writer must have forgotten about the Evora...). Also, the article struck me as almost a back-handed compliment to the Mondial. It didn't seem overly positive. 2cam
Great article. 1980 was a dark time for all sports cars; see no further than the 1980 "Cali Vette" There are several reasons why Mondial got a bad rap. 1) Fuel injection caused the US spec Mondial 8 to have extra low power; the 'big 3' major publications reviewed that version and rightfully judged it was underpowered. Only about 140 of these were made, yet the rest of the 6,000 was always under this stigma. 2) Traditional 2+2 Ferrari Stigma 3) Iconic success of 308/Testarossa/288/F40 (those hard family members to compete with) 4) Lower demand made it the 'hated' gatekeeper car in the brand 5) Reviewers looking for easy headlines kept regurgitating the falsehoods 6) The first car to show up when you shop for Ferrari at the low end of valuation (something must be wrong with these) ... and 7) Many are in terrible condition since they had a lower cost, so folks that bought them at bargain prices don't have the resources to keep them up Couldn't agree with you more. Really, the only legitimate criticism, in my humble opinion, of the car is the look. I understand it's not everyone's cup of tea. I think they are beautiful, and as time goes on, they only look better and better. YES!!! Well said. The truth though is many folks believe all 6,000 Mondials do 0-60 in 10 seconds, and will spontaneously blow up, handle poorly, were originally 'entry level' offering (ala Dino), made outside Maranello, are all automatic, designed by a generic style house, and use parts that are from a different company. Correct, the accurate statement is it's the only 4-seat mid-engine convertible.
I think there is an alternate reason for the lagging price increases over the years in the US which traces back to the point-of-sale: ridiculous rarity of the coupe in the US. A coupe unequivocally drives values and sales, but hardly any were brought into the US. Magazines articles can have their say but buyers are sold on test drives. Imagine walking into a Ferrari dealer in 1984 and wanting to test drive a Monial coupe. Well...zero were imported that year so tough luck pal. Ok, let's wait for 1985....only 19 made it to the US that year, so good luck finding one. 1983 had 50, so that wasn't exactly a bonanza either. The Mondial 8 was the least powerful (though still similar performance to a 308) but set the tone with a nominal 147 imported to the US, so the Mondial reputation never had a chance to recover after that. There was hardly anything to build momentum on after the Mondial 8. Over the years, now that many Mondials have traded multiple owners, broadcasted real-world stories that debunk myth and fiction have turned things around but it took decades, which makes sense. What will populate faster at inception? 1 pair of bunnies or 10 pairs of bunnies. Check on the progress after a couple of years and see how important that initial number contributes to contagion. A quote describing a T but I suspect would apply to all Mondials: Maranello Concessionaires candidly admits that it is not easy to persuade customers to try the charms of the Mondial, "but once we got them into one, they swear by them and are quite likely to buy another." Motorsport 1992 Just a pet theory anyway.
I agree I have an 83 coupe here in the US that was built in Oct 83 and have all the original paperwork from the dealership. The original owner didn’t pick up the car till April 84. Has anyone ever did a tally of how many coupes and cabs are around still? Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat
Man, I wish the doors were aluminum on a Mondial. That's the worst part of the car, those stupid heavy doors.
lol.....when I opened the door to my Mondial for the first time, I thought to myself "did I just buy a Pontiac Trans-am?" Doors definitely have some heft to them.
Haha, I know also what you mean...have 2 original doors waiting for repair on the lower side (rust...). Did put some 3.2 doors on in the mean while with better window system.
Exactly! They are so rare, most folks have only a few points of reference. I think your theory is spot on!
Our Oct83 Cab also arrived circa April, via Gaston Andrey outside Boston.... some paperwork says 84 , some 83.... what are we??? Heavy doors for side impact protection? Added rigidity topless??
This got me looking through my paperwork (2 ring binders worth), multiple owners. My Euro 83 QV came in to LAX on 09/21/83. The importer was Foust Associates (any information on them)? A side note is the vehicle safety officer changed the B in the VIN # to an 8 and it wasn’t caught until I registered it a few years ago. Raised a few eyebrows at the DMV until I produce the paperwork showing where the mistake had been made. Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat
