The 1971 Turin Auto Show heralded a new era. Taking pride of place was a new Ferrari, the 365 GT4 BB, or “Berlinetta Boxer.” Boxer, of course, referred to its horizontally opposed engine, which was located amidships. The targeted competition was Lamborghini’s Miura and the upcoming Countach, which it countered admirably. Design was by Leonardo Fioravanti at Carrozzeria Pininfarina.

In 1976, the 365 GT4 BB was updated and up-rated as the 512 BB, with a five-liter flat-12, for the first time deviating from the company tradition of naming cars for the displacement of a single cylinder. In the manner of the 512 S race cars, 512 meant five liters, 12 cylinders; the actual displacement was 4,943-cubic centimeters, and 929 were built from 1976 to 1981.

Ferrari never qualified the Berlinetta Boxer for U.S. sale, but a number of privateers undertook to make conversions on their own, enabling a moderate number of “grey market” imports. For 1982, Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection was substituted for the four Weber carburetors of earlier cars. This made U.S. compliance much easier, and eventually Ferrari capitulated and sanctioned the assistance of Ferrari dealerships in arranging overseas delivery and the U.S. conversion process. Production of 512 BBi cars totaled 1,007 in four years.

A New York car in its past, this 512 BBi has been in the current owner’s West Coast collection for approximately a decade. Finished in traditional Rosso Corsa, it has a striking black-and-white interior. While the dashboard and carpets are the usual black hue, the seats, console, and door panels are set out in eggshell-white leather. It has U.S.-style instruments in English units, the odometer showing barely 7,750 miles. There is a Pioneer tri-band stereo radio with cassette and dashboard-fitted graphic equalizer. Passengers ride in air-conditioned comfort.

The car is detailed throughout, including the engine compartment. Road & Track was ecstatic about the 512 BB, calling it “ . . . the best all-around sports & GT car we have ever tested.” The last word, perhaps, comes from Sergio Scaglietti, designer of Ferrari’s racing cars, about the end of Boxer production in 1984: “It was something special . . . . It was the last car where we made everything by hand.”