Ferrari 512 BBi Is A Piece of Art

The Ferrari 512 BBi traded raw carbureted power for fuel injection and gained something arguably more valuable: real drivability, without giving up a 174 mph top speed. As the final and most refined chapter of the Berlinetta Boxer story, only 1,007 were built before the Testarossa took over in 1984. We look at what changed under that flat-12 and why this ocean-view example represents the end of an era for Ferrari’s mid-engine supercars.

A very Classy video!! He shares the details of his car and of his enviable space, which includes a 16-foot driveway bridge, a ramp to roll the car outside to start, and some of the best views a car can take in of the Pacific Ocean…

While Detroit spent the late ’70s and early ’80s choking its big-blocks down to meet emissions rules, Maranello was busy solving a completely different problem: how to keep a mid-engine flat-12 supercar legal in the same smog-conscious world. The answer became the 512 BBi, the final and most refined version of Ferrari’s Berlinetta Boxer line, and this particular example lives the good life — tucked behind a 16-foot driveway bridge with a private ramp and a view of the Pacific Ocean that most owners only dream about. It’s easy to get distracted by the setting, but the car itself represents the end of an entire engineering chapter for Ferrari. What actually changed under that Pininfarina bodywork to earn it the “i” in its name?

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The ‘i’ Stands for the End of Carburetors

The 512 BBi arrived in 1981 as the final evolution of a line that started with the 365 GT4 BB in 1973 and grew into the 512 BB in 1976. That “i” marked the switch from carburetors to Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection, a change forced by tightening emissions regulations in key global markets, especially the United States. Under the rear deck sat a 4,943cc all-aluminum flat-12, mid-mounted with a 180-degree V-angle, dual overhead cams per bank, and four valves per cylinder squeezing out a 9.2:1 compression ratio.

Slower on Paper, Better in Every Other Way

Fuel injection brought output down slightly to 340 horsepower, a small step back from the carbureted 512 BB, but the delivery came out smoother and far more consistent. That was enough for a 5.4-second sprint to 60 mph and a genuine 174 mph top speed. Pininfarina built just 1,007 examples before the Testarossa took over the entire lineup in 1984, making the BBi both the rarest and the most drivable version of the Berlinetta Boxer story.

A View Most Owners Only Get in Magazines

A 16-foot driveway bridge, a private ramp built specifically to roll the car out, and an unobstructed Pacific Ocean view aren’t just bragging rights — that kind of dedicated, climate-considerate storage is exactly what keeps a 40-plus-year-old exotic looking and running like this one does. Most BBi owners only get to see setups like this in magazine spreads, not in their own driveway.

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