The original Ferrari Mondial was a two-litre sports racing car. Only 39 were produced between 1954 and 1956, and the Scaglietti-bodied cars were fitted with the Scuderia’s Formula Two engine. The name was resurrected in the final incarnation of Ferrari’s massively successful 308 range. The Mondial 8 was introduced in 1980, replacing the 308 GT/4. The Mondial was another 2+2, and it initially utilised the two-valve, fuel-injected version of Ferrari’s three-litre V-8 engine. In 1982, the car was fitted with the four-valve engine and became the Mondial QV (quattrovalvole). Inevitably, a cabriolet version followed in 1983.

Performance figures for the Mondial QV were impressive enough for a car of nearly 1.5 tons. The top speed was 146 mph, with it achieving 0–60 mph in 6.4 seconds and 0–100 in 16.2 seconds. But it was the practicality of the car that made it popular. The Mondial was spacious inside, and the four seats were genuinely useable, unlike those of some of the car’s contemporaries. Other additions, which had not been seen in a Ferrari before, were the ventilation and climate control and the adjustable steering column.

The Mondial was constructed using more advanced techniques than previous Ferraris. New welding methods were used, a new aluminium alloy was used for the bonnet and boot lid, and the pre-treated zincrometal sheet, Zincrox, which was developed by Ferrari, was extensively incorporated.

The Ferrari Mondial QV presented here, chassis number 50997, is finished in Nero Carbonio with a tan leather interior, just as it was delivered when new to Belgium. The odometer shows 65,605 kilometres, and the QV’s condition is commensurate for a car of its age and mileage. It is also the more desirable four-valves-per-cylinder car, which was touted at the time of its launch as being a genuine family car.

The Ferrari Mondial is a luxurious, high performance sports car, but it is also an eminently practical and spacious 2+2.