1993 Ferrari 512 TR ***Rare Modern Classic Ferrari***

Details

Oldtimer Australia is delighted to offer for sale a model year 1993 Ferrari 512 TR.

The service book confirms this particular example was delivered new on the 6^th August 1994 to its first owner through Ferrari importer Al-Baraha Company W.L.L in Kuwait. It also states the VIN and engine number, which confirms this is a ‘matching numbers’ example. The paint code in the service book is Fer 300/12, which is ‘rosso corsa’.

The service book has entries for the car’s first three scheduled services, all from Al-Baraha Company W.L.L. The first service was executed on the 21^st August 1994, the 10,000 km service on the 26^th October 1994 at 11,105 km and the 20,000 km service on the 8^th April 1995 at 24,560 km.

The car was subsequently acquired by an Australian expat working in the middle east and then when he came back to live in Australia he brought the car with him.

The car was imported into Australia as a personal import late 2004 or early 2005. There is an import approval on file for the car dated 24^th August 2004.  At that time the odometer read circa 54,000 km. Upon arrival in Australia this car and the car was converted from left hand drive to right hand drive by Corvette Queensland in Gympie. There is a Queensland compliance plate fitted to the car dated 28^th November 2005 and a personally imported vehicle plate dated December 2005.

The car was then sparingly used before being sold into Canberra. There are four subsequent entries in the service book as well as a number of receipts from Ferrari Maserati Sydney for various maintenance works. The car was serviced by Autotech in Canberra on the 8^th November 2011 at 54,665 km. The next service was carried out by Ferrari Maserati Sydney on the 6^th December 2013 at 58,001 km. The car was stored until its next service on the 28^th August 2014 at 58,001 km. This service included a timing belt change. The last entry in the service book is from the 4^th April 2017 at 61,835 km.

The car was acquired by a well-known Ferrari collector in August 2017 and at that time the odometer read circa. 62,000 km. In his ownership the car has been sparingly used and today the odometer reads 64,484 km.

The overall presentation of this Ferrari 512 TR is exceptional for a car that is almost 30 years old. The ‘rosso corso’ paint which is most likely original presents beautifully with no major blemishes or defects evident.  You have to look hard to find any stone chips or marks in the paint and even the front spoiler is in good condition. All four wheels and wheel centres are in very good condition and they are shod with Michelin Pilot Sport tyres all around. The front tyres are 255/45ZR18’s date stamped 3509 (week 35 2009) and the rear tyres are 295/35ZR18’s date stamped 2412 (week 24 2012). All of the glass looks to be original and along with all the external trim is in very good condition.

The interior of this car is as well presented as the exterior. The upholstery shows the slightest amount of patina, befitting of perhaps a five year old car that has travelled 100,000 km. There are no rips or tears to the upholstery, just some light wear to the driver seat bolster. The door cards, centre console, rear bulkhead and hood lining are all in excellent condition. Even the dashboard, which is prone to distortion, cracks and peeling leather is in excellent condition. The carpets are also beautifully preserved. All of the instruments are crisp, clean and in good working order. There is little to fault inside the cabin of this car . . . it is stunning!

The engine bay and front compartment are both very original, clean and well presented. Under the front clip you will find the original Glasurit paint sticker confirming the ‘colore’ as ‘ROSSO CORSA FER 300/12’. There is also the tool kit in its original case which looks to be unused and Ferrari car cover.

Given how well this car presents it is not surprising that it drives superbly. On our recent test drive the engine started instantly at the first turn of the key and it immediately settled into a smooth idle. Like the Testarossa, the visibility in the 512 TR is very good and you quickly lose the size of the car once you have spent some time behind the wheel. This car is surprisingly civilised and easy to drive. These points are perhaps emphasised by the fact that this particular example does everything with such aplomb. It is easy to forget that the Tipo F113D040 engine is quoted as developing a staggering 315 kw or 428 hp @  6,750 rpm (in Euro spec) to propel the car from 0 – 100 km/hr in 4.8 seconds, a standing 400 meter sprint in 12.8 seconds and a top speed of 313 km/hr! This car drives as you would expect and the only thing we could fault was that the air conditioning was not fully effective.

The Ferrari 512 TR is a rare car, with only 2,261 cars built. This compares to circa 7,200 Testarossas making it a truly collectible ‘modern classic’.

The car is due for a cam belt service and it would benefit from a new set of tyres. And yes, we acknowledge the car has been converted from left to right hand drive, hence, the very attractive asking price. As you will see from the photographs the conversion has been exceptionally well done.

This car represents great value compared to a factory right hand drive example.

Any inspection welcome.

Highlights:

• A stunning example of the iconic 512 TR.
• Perfect, original colour scheme.
• Matching numbers chassis and engine numbers (as confirmed by the service book).
• A beautifully presented car that is just fabulous to drive.
• Books & tools.

Price $399,950.

 

Background

Apple, Coca-Cola, McDonalds and Nike are brands recognisable the world over. So is Ferrari and interestingly the iconic Italian luxury sports car manufacturer was named ‘The World’s Strongest Brand’ in the 2019 Brand Finance Global 500 Report.

Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1939 out of Alfa Romeo’s race division as Auto Avio Costruzioni the company built its first car in 1940.

The Cavallino Rampate or ‘prancing horse’ was the symbol chosen by Ferrari and like the ‘golden arches’ it is recognised by just about every man, woman and child on the planet!

Twelve cylinder engines are synonymous with Ferrari. In fact, Enzo Ferrari’s very first car, the 1947 125S was powered by a 1.5 Litre V12 engine. Throughout the 1950’s and 1960’s the majority of Enzo’s masterpieces were powered by V12 engines of varying capacity. Interestingly all of these cars had the engine located in the front. Cross town rivals Lamborghini introduced their stunning Miura in 1966, which was powered by a transversely mounted V12 engine located behind the driver. This spectacular car took the motoring world by storm and sent shock waves throughout Ferrari HQ in Maranello. Ferraris answer, the 365 GTB/4 Daytona, was a fabulous motor car in its own right, but there was always something about the mid-engined sports car that gave it an edge.

It took until 1971 for Ferrari to unveil its first mid-engined sports car, the 365 GT/4 Berlinetta Boxer. The Boxer was very well received and it ultimately went into production and replaced the Daytona in 1973. Interestingly Ferrari opted for a ‘flat 12’ rather than a V12 engine configuration. The engine was mounted longitudinally rather than transversely as Lamborghini did with the Miura.

The Boxer was a great success for Ferrari and along with the Lamborghini Countach was one of the very real ‘supercars of the seventies’. The 365 GT/4 Berlinetta Boxer (387 cars built) was replaced by the 512 Berlinetta Boxer (929 cars built) in 1976, which was then replaced by the 512 BBi (1007 cars built) in 1981.

In 1984 at the Paris Auto Show Ferrari introduced the Ferrari Testarossa (Tipo F110) as a successor to the 512BBi.

The name was chosen to pay homage to the famed World Sportscar Championship winning 1957 250 Testa Rossa sports racing car. Testa Rossa, which literally means ‘red head’ in Italian, refers to the red painted cam covers sported by both cars’ 12 cylinder engines.

The car was a huge success for Ferrari with its then flagship selling in massive number the world over. Incredibly, 7,177 Testarossas were built over eight years of production. Its successor, the 512 TR was introduced in 1991 and just over 2,200 cars were built through until 1994. The final iteration of the Testarossa was the 512M, produced from 1994 to 1996 with just over 500 cars built.

 

 

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