Engine No.
00158
| Monte Carlo, Monaco
380 bhp, 4,390 cc DOHC horizontally opposed 12-cylinder engine with four Weber triple-choke carburettors, five-speed manual transmission, front and rear independent suspension with unequal-length A-arms, coil springs, and anti-roll bars, twin coil springs at the rear, and four-wheel hydraulic disc brakes. Wheelbase: 2,400 mm
Ferrari’s stunning 365 GT4 BB debuted at Turin in 1971. It was the company’s first road-going model with a mid-mounted, flat 12-cylinder engine, which was subsequently nicknamed the “Boxer”. The exotic design was derived from the company’s 3.0-litre Formula One car, while the 365 GT4 BB also took some inspiration from the unique P6 Berlinetta Speciale, a one-off shown on Pininfarina’s stand at the 1968 Turin Salon.
In all, it took two years to bring the 365 GT4 BB into production, and the spectacular new model was finally launched in late 1973, as a 1974 model. Only 387 were built in the following three years. Road & Track hit 175 mph during a road test in 1975, dubbing the original Boxer “the fastest road car we’ve ever tested”.
This 365 GT4 BB, chassis number 18001, was clothed in body number 162 and is recorded as having Ferrari Assembly Sequence number 172. Originally finished in Giallo Fly with black leather upholstery, the car was completed at the factory on 14 June 1974. It is documented by Ferrari historian Marcel Massini as an original left-hand-drive car, supplied new by Ferrari dealer Charles Pozzi S.A. in Levallois-Perret, Paris, just one month after its completion.
Owned early in its life by Alain De Boisboissel of Belgium, the car was exported in August 1981 to the United States, where it arrived at Bob Norwood Autocraft of Dallas, Texas, to be federalised. Richard Rider, a resident of Mill Valley, California, purchased this car in 1984 and subsequently painted it black. He would go on to retain 18001 for nearly 30 years, only using it on rare occasions. It is fitted with a period-correct triple-pipe exhaust and has recently been subject to an exterior cosmetic update, with period-correct matte-black around all bumpers and below the door line.
The most astute collectors often focus on the earliest examples of a given model, ensuring they retain the purity of the original vision. The 365 GT4 BB is considerably rarer than the 512 BB models that followed and represents the earliest iteration of the boxer-engined Ferrari. They have always been—and are likely to remain—highly sought after, both for their incredible looks and impressive driving characteristics.
