None of Ferrari’s model would have ever show more potential for a four door four seater than the 365 GT/4 2+2 and its successors, the 400 i, 400 GT and 412. The production of the cars, being designed by Pininfarina, was only slightly modified over the production period from 1972 to 1989.
The 365’s 4.4 litres front mounted engine provided 325 hp, a performance that emerged to 4,8 litres on the 400 GT, offering 340 hp, followed by the 400 i with 310 hp and the final evolution, the 412, that returned to 340 hp produced by a 4.942 litres engine.
The first car ever produced was the prototipo with S/N 15897 and the 365 GT/4 2+2 was shown to the public first at the Paris Salon in October of 1972 where it was displayed by Pozzi. After 525 cars produced –final S/N is 18895-, the 365 was succeeded by the 400 GT, shown in Paris for the first time as well, now in 1976. Showcar and first production car is S/N 19353. The exterior design did not change too much, apart from the change of the tail lights from the typical three tail lights to the even typical two tail lights that were already common on the 308. The most significant change was hidden under the bonnet where –for the first time ever on a Ferrari production car- an automatic transmission was to be found, provided by GM that was available beside the manual transmission from ZF. The 400 i was available from 1979 to 1984, biggest difference was the K-Jetronic on the first injected engine in a production Ferrari.
Final evolution was the 412 that was presented at the Geneva Salon in March 1985 and was succeeded by the Mondial. All four seaters since the introduction of the 400 have been available with automatic transmission, including the rarity of the Valeo-transmission on the Mondial. The FF is the first four seater that does not offer the option of a manual transmission.
All production figures can be reviewed from our section “About the Cars”.
Special cars? However, the Pinin is not one of those. Built as a rolling chassis it was sold to the USA in 2008 and fitted with a Boxer-engine and road driven in March of 2011 for the first time ever!
There are tons of 365/400/412 that have been butchered, cut to Cabriolets with more or less success. The “Meera” (S/N 41421) has been a study Michelotti. Some chassis have strangely been used to build GTO or GTE replicas out of it and if you are not in for originality, #37647 might be the most interesting car by design.
A small Slide Show is available.