Twelve-cylinder Ferrari

The Ferrari 400 (from 1985: Ferrari 412) is a 2+2-seater coupe from the Italian sports car manufacturer Ferrari. The 400 and 412 models were equipped with a front-mounted twelve-cylinder engine and rear-wheel drive, and came with a choice of five-speed manual or three-speed automatic transmission. The design of the car was largely the same as its predecessor, the Ferrari 365 GT4 2+2.

The Ferrari 400 (from 1985: Ferrari 412) is a 2+2-seater coupe from the Italian sports car manufacturer Ferrari. The 400 and 412 models were equipped with a front-mounted twelve-cylinder engine and rear-wheel drive, and came with a choice of five-speed manual or three-speed automatic transmission. The design of the car was largely the same as its predecessor, the Ferrari 365 GT4 2+2.

The 400 GT (called 400i from 1979) was presented at the Paris Motor Show in the fall of 1976. The 412 series, which was subtly modified externally compared with the Ferrari 400, made its debut at the 1985 Geneva Motor Show, with production ending in 1989.

The technical basis of the Ferrari 400 GT was essentially the same as that of the Ferrari 365 GT4 2+2, but the 400 had a 4.8-liter engine (4823 cc) instead of the 4.4-liter engine of its predecessor 365 GT4/2+2 (bore × stroke = 81 × 71 mm, displacement 4390 cc).

The 400GT appeared at the Paris Motor Show in October 1976. Externally, it differed from the 365 GT4 2+2 only by a few features: The taillights now consisted of two units per side instead of the three taillights each of the predecessor. Under the front bumper of the 400 was a small spoiler lip. The wheels were fastened with five wheel studs each instead of central locking.

The most significant innovation concerned the transmission: the 400 GT was the first Ferrari to be officially available in an automatic version. The three-speed Turbo Hydramatic came from General Motors and was appropriately named GM 400. In the literature there are some references according to which the 400 was built exclusively as an automatic. However, this is not true. It was available with both a five-speed manual transmission and a three-speed automatic. Most of them were built with automatic transmission. Of a total of just over 500 examples of the 400 GT (left- and right-hand drive combined), 147 had the five-speed manual transmission supplied from Germany by ZF; the remaining 355 examples were automatic versions.

The 400 GT was the last front-engine twelve-cylinder Ferrari to be fitted with carburetors. Six flat-flow twin carburetors from the manufacturer Weber were used to breathe air into the engine. In the fall of 1979, the 400 GT became the 400i with Bosch K-Jetronic instead of the six Weber twin carburetors and 228 kW (310 hp).

In the fall of 1982, the 400i underwent a slight refresh, primarily anticipating the somewhat more modern cockpit design of the 412, which was launched in 1985. Furthermore, the camshaft profile was changed and the exhaust manifold modified, increasing power to 232 kW (315 hp). In addition, the level control system on the rear axle was revised.

883 examples of the 400i were produced with automatic transmission and 422 with five-speed transmission.

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