Lot 213: 1984 Ferrari Mondial

The Mondial 8, a replacement for the 308 GT4, made its debut at Geneva in the the spring of 1980. Ferrari had used the name "Mondial" before, in the early fifties, then for a 2-litre, in-line 4-cylinder engined sports racing car. The 308 GT4 had been more in the nature of an occasional 2+2 with its back seats more suited to the carrying of children or luggage rather than adults over any long distance.Under the skin the Mondial was very close in specification to the fuel-injected 308's but with an innovation in the chassis which had a separate subframe at the rear carrying the engine and transmission. The idea was that it could be unbolted and the whole power transmission pack could be removed for easier servicing. The styling, with its subtle rounding of all the outer surfaces, had taken away some of the sharpness which characterised the 308 GT4. It suggested the importance of comfort as well as out-and-out performance.This left hand drive car offered here is finished in red with red leather interior and has the desirable Quattrovalvole specification. The car was originally delivered to Germany and then exported to California in 1984 where the car is believed to of been owned by the Shah of Persia. For the first four years the car only covered 1,000 miles. The dry Californian climate has maintained the car in its rust free state that it is in today. The car was brought to the UK in 1998 and has since amassed a total of approximately 42,000 miles. Included with the car is a large history file detailing servicing and work carried out. It comes complete with original service books, owners manual, V5 and current MoT valid until December of this year.