The Ferrari 512 BBi, which came before the Testarossa, was a beautiful car with 12-cylinder power. This one used to belong to David Letterman. It looks almost brand new, is in almost perfect shape, and is ready to use. However, the helper for the band boss is not included. As the drum rolls, which of the ten best Ferraris ever made for the road is your personal favorite? Sure, a 250 GTO, an F40, or, for the really die-hard fans, a 288 GTO would all be great choices. However, for David Letterman, the longtime host of The Late Show and a car collector with unusually broad tastes, a flat-12-powered 512 BBi was the must-have car. The car in question can be bought on Bring a Trailer, a Hearst Autos site that also has Invoice Pricing. Letterman had the 1983 512 BBi from the late 1990s until a few years ago. The newest form of Ferrari’s Berlinetta Boxer is a beautiful car, even without a famous person endorsing it. It is less common than the F40 we just talked about—only 1007 were made—and this one is in great original shape. When Ferrari revealed the first 365 Berlinetta Boxer in 1973, it was both a change and a fresh start. The company had previously made mid-engine racing cars, including the 250 LM that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1965. It seems to Enzo that his customers would have a hard time driving a mid-engine road car. Mid-engine Dinos had been around for a while, but the BB was the first mid-engine Ferrari that was completely finished. The engine in question was a flat-twelve that put out 3.0 liters of gas at first and then 4.9 liters later. Despite its name, the engine is not set up like a boxer. The opposing pistons work together instead of against each other, like two fighters’ hands. It’s basically a V-12 that has been “butterflied” into a flat shape. The fuel-injected version in a BBi makes 340 horsepower and has a redline of 6600 rpm. While Ferrari did not officially sell the 512 BBi in the US, many other cars could be brought into the country through the illegal market. It is said that this car started at a shop in La Jolla, California, and was then sent to Pittsburgh. As previously reported, Letterman purchased the automobile in the 1990s and kept it in his collection in Connecticut. According to old interviews, it was maintained by Francois Sicard, a well-known Ferrari specialist who had previously worked on Luigi Chinetti’s racing Ferraris at Le Mans. The engine was recently serviced, and the odometer now shows slightly more than 10,000 miles. Although there have been a few small touch-ups, the majority of the paint remains original. It’s in terrific condition and begs to be driven. When you compare this to Jay Leno’s steam-powered car or Conan O’Brien’s Taurus SHO, it’s not really a race. Go to Bring A Trailer like Dave did to bid on a unique Ferrari that has been to a lot of fun late-night events. The auction ends on August 23.
