b'Vintage Car MarketFERRARI 512 BB - 1976-1984T he Ferrari 512 BB followed the 365 GTB/4 Berlinetta Boxer to market in 1976 after the original BBs short production run. The 512 was largely the same, using the same mid-mounted flat-12 engine as its successor, only with a displacement bumped from 4.4L to 5.0L. It also carried the same wedge-shapedPininfarinabodythattookmanycues taken from the carrozzeria\'s striking P6 show car of1968,onlythe512alsogainedafrontspoiler and NACA ducts just ahead of the rear wheels.Body proportions were slightly larger, and the rear track was widened to aid handling. A dry sump was also a new addition, which helped lower the cars centre of gravity. Other than that, the 512 retained the cars 5-speed transaxle and most all other components. It continuedtobebuiltuponasemimonocoquewith fore and aft subframes. The car\'s low profile and the longitudinally mounted, horizontallyopposedenginesuitedoneanother quitewell.TheBerlinettaBoxerlovedtorevand screamed all the way. And it was quick, too, with a claimed top end of 188 mph, though a 40/60 weight distributioncouldmakehandlingtrickyathigh speeds. Despite slightly less power, the 512 had a longer stroke and produced more torque, which allowed for better drivabilityandacceleration.Coupledwiththeaddedgirth,theroadmannersofthe512wereamarked improvement. The final iteration of the Berlinetta Boxer family arrived at the 1981 Frankfurt Auto Show with the 512 BBi, as in "i" for "injection." The Bosch fuel-injected 512 was the culmination of all Ferrari had learned from its boxer cars, and the cars were optimized for emissionsas optimized as early \'80s Ferraris could be. When BB production ended in 1984, with it went the last links to the old-school Italian way of building Ferrarisentirely by hand. For all their ferocity on the street, Ferrari Boxers never enjoyed much success on the race tracks of the world. Privateers had littleluckwiththe365,whilefactory-prepared512BB/LMselongated caricatures of the street carsraced at Daytona, Le Mans, and elsewhere, to forgettable results. Inall,1,926Boxers(bothBBsandBBis)werebuiltoveran eight-year run, none of which were officially imported to the U.S. Thanks to the miracles of creative modifications, they are here now. And they serve as reminders of a thrilling period in Ferrari historywhenEnzoloosenedthereinsjustenoughtoproduce something even more radical than a front-engined V12.'