Yahoo News David Letterman Owned This 1983 Ferrari 512 BBi, Now's Your Chance
The Ferrari 512 BBi was the forerunner to the Testarossa, with stunning looks and 12-cylinder performance.
This one was formerly owned by David Letterman.
In largely original condition and with fresh service, it's ready to go. Band leader sidekick not included.
Drum-roll, please: What's on your personal Top Ten list of best road-going Ferraris ever made? Obviously, a 250 GTO would be a solid pick, and maybe and F40—or for the connoisseur, a 288GTO instead. But for long-time Late Show host David Letterman, a car collector of surprisingly varied taste, the one to have was a flat-12–powered 512 BBi.
That very car is now up for sale on Bring a Trailer (which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos). The 1983 512 BBi was owned by Letterman from the late 1990s until a couple of years ago. Even without the celebrity connection, it's a stunning machine, the final evolution of Ferrari's Berlinetta Boxer. Only 1007 were built, making it rarer than the aforementioned F40, and this example is in wonderfully original condition.
The original 365 Berlinetta Boxer, launched in 1973, was both a departure for Ferrari, and a new beginning. The company had made mid-engine racing machines before, notably the 250 LM like that which won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1965. However, Enzo personally thought a mid-engine road car would be too much of a handful for his customers. The mid-engine Dino models came along earlier, but the BB was the first mid-engine full-fledged Ferrari.
Said engine was a flat-twelve displacing first 3.0 liters and later 4.9 liters. Despite the name, the engine is not properly a boxer configuration, as the opposing pistons move together in the same direction, rather than going back and forth like the fists of two pugilists. If you like, it's basically a V-12 butterflied into a flat configuration. In the fuel-injected form found in a BBi, it produces 340 horsepower, with a redline of 6600 rpm.
Ferrari never officially sold the 512 BBi in the U.S., but several examples were brought stateside thanks to grey-market federalization. This example is said to have begun its life at a dealership in La Jolla, California, before being shipped to Pittsburgh.
As mentioned, Letterman acquired the car in the 1990s, and kept it in his collection in Connecticut. According to old interviews with him, it was serviced by a well-known Ferrari specialist by the name of Francois Sicard, a French-born mechanic who had worked on Luigi Chinetti's racing Ferraris at Le Mans.
Today, the odometer shows just over 10K miles, and the car has had a recent engine-out service. It's had a few cosmetic touchups, but most of the paintwork is original. It's in great condition, and just aching to be driven.
Compared to one of Jay Leno's steam-powered cars or Conan O'Brien's Taurus SHO, there's not much of a contest here. Be like Dave and head over to Bring A Trailer for your chance to bid on a special Ferrari with a fun bit of late night history.
The auction ends on August 23.
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