Today's car market offers plenty of options when it comes to luxurious and comfortable means of transportation. Brands like Rolls-Royce and Bentley cover this niche quite nicely, but you also have access to a wide variety of full-size vehicles from German and American carmakers. Then we have limousine conversions, which sometimes include unlikely vehicles. This 1981 Ferrari 400i is one of them.
The 400 is part of a series of grand tourers that Ferrari built from 1972 to 1989. The lineup includes the 365 GT4, 400, 400i, and 412. This conversion is based on the 400i, which saw Ferrari replace carburetors with fuel injection in 1979. Powered by a 4.8-liter V12 engine, the 400i remained in production until 1985, when it was replaced by the 412.
This Ferrari was converted sometime in the 1980s and spent its recent years in a "predominant Orange County Ferrari collection." Still a numbers-matching car, the 400i has had its wheelbase lengthened and gained an additional pair of doors.
The front and rear fascia are still true to the original car, but the roof has been covered in black canvas, a common design feature on the 1970s and 1980s limousines. The exterior is rounded off by a set of custom wheels that match the five-spoke design usually seen on Ferraris from the era.
Of course, this Ferrari 400i is no longer a grand tourer of the 2+2 seating variety. With a wheelbase that's twice as long, this classic can seat up to six people. But while the driver and front passenger ride like in a regular 400i, the rear passengers travel in style and benefit from comfortable seats and plenty of legroom.
Everything is wrapped in two-tone leather now, while each seat boasts stitched Prancing Horse emblems on the headrests. It looks like quite a fancy place to be in, especially for a 1980s conversion with upgrades added along the way.
Angry that someone ruined a perfectly good Ferrari grand tourer? Well, at least this conversion still has the original V12 engine under the hood. It's a 4.8-liter unit that Ferrari carried over from the 400 while replacing carburetors with fuel injection. Since this conversion is based on a 1981 model, the V12 was good 306 horsepower when it left the factory, but the seller claims that, actually, the powerplant offers 340 hp.
Advertised as a one-of-one conversion, this limousine was recently auctioned off by Garage Dream Auctions. The stretched Ferrari changes hands for $20,000, a bargain compared to unaltered 400i examples, which usually cost in excess of $35,000 in excellent condition.
Is this a cool build or just another ruined Ferrari like this 360 Modena conversion? Let me know in the comments section below.
Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer. Full profile
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