The Berlinetta Boxer debuted at the 1971 Turin Motor Show and charted an entirely new course for Ferrari design that still influences the company’s products today. The company’s first-ever mid-engine 12-cylinder road car introduced radically different proportions and angular styling by Pininfarina’s Leonardo Fioravanti. Its final incarnation, the 1981 Ferrari 512 BBi, featured Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection for cleaner emissions and a better balance of performance and drivability. Production ran from 1981 to 1984 with a total of 1,007 examples.

Though never officially sold in the United States, some Berlinetta Boxers were imported and federalized via the gray market. The importer for this 1984 Ferrari 512 BBi is listed as Ferrari North America Inc. in the online registry of Ferrari Beverly Hills, which also notes factory exterior colors of Nero over Beige leather. The car is believed to have remained in California until the early nineties. Its first CARFAX entry is a September 1991 emissions inspection in San Francisco. Ferrari of Los Gatos would offer it for sale in 1992, simply described as black with tan interior.

Service invoices on file from December 2006 place the car in Houston, Texas, where Vintage Motor Cars performed a timing belt service and refurbished parts of the air conditioning system, brakes, valvetrain, fuel system, exhaust, and electrical wiring. Mileage is listed as 50,139 miles on the invoice.

The 512 BBi next passed to an owner in Alabama, according to 2007 services invoices on file. He would retain the car for about six years and have Ferrari of Atlanta correct issues with the electrical and fueling systems in 2010 and perform another timing belt service in 2012. A Ferrari of Atlanta invoice from August 2012 logged mileage of 52,098 miles.

An owner in New York acquired the Ferrari in 2013 and would have the suspension system and steering rack overhauled the following year. In 2016, Wehrmann Engineering of Hauppauge, New York, removed the engine and replaced the timing belts, tensioner bearings, and gaskets, rebuilt the distributor, cleaned the fuel injectors, zinc-plated various hardware, and refurbished the differential, installing an aftermarket billet carrier. In 2017, the owner installed a set of 17-inch aftermarket wheels patterned after the 512 BBi’s factory five-spoke 16-inch Campangolo wheels and shod with Continental ExtremeContact tires. An aftermarket exhaust system is said to have been installed in 2019. The removed exhaust and factory-style metric wheels mounted with correct Michellin TRX tires are included in the sale, along with a tool kit, a factory-style Momo steering wheel date-coded June 1984, and a Ferrari-branded Pioneer graphic equalizer.

After enjoying the 512 BBi for nearly 10 years, the New York owner would part with it in June 2022, at which time the consignor acquired it with 66,037 miles showing on the odometer. Scarcely driven under current ownership, the odometer read 66,588 miles at cataloguing time. The consignor’s mechanic noted that there is an intermittent issue with the key switch start position, so an auxiliary starter button has been added to occasionally aid in starting.

Presented today in its factory-correct color scheme and with distinctive hallmarks for the model—including its gated shifter, Daytona-style seats, and a Ferrari-branded Pioneer stereo cassette player—this 512 BBi would be an excellent candidate to drive and enjoy as is or further recommission to factory specifications by reinstalling the included original-style wheels, exhaust, steering wheel, and graphic equalizer.