Ferrari Mondial

Fast Facts

• Best model: Mondial QV
• Worst model: Iffy left hand drive cars
• Budget buy: Early pre–’83 cars
• OK for unleaded?: Yes
• Will it fit in the garage? (mm): L4534 x W1808 mm
• Spares situation: Seems okay, if dear
• Club support: Typical Ferrari
• Appreciating asset?: We reckon so in time
• Good buy or good-bye?: Yes, much underrated

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You may be perfectly content with your TR6… but hasn’t everybody at some point wished they could own a supercar classic for practically the same money – something like a supercar classic Ferrari perhaps?

Well, according to Ferrari specialist Mike Wheeler of Rardley Motors, it’s a question that he is being asked more often, as enthusiasts cotton on to the fact that, for the price of a typical British classic, they can have an exotic Italian on their driveway.

However, the way people talk about Mondials, you’d think that Ferrari had made a Reliant Robin. Underpowered, wooden… you’d never guess that the chassis served Ferrari right up to today’s 360! As the fi rst step into Ferrari ownership, this oddball mid-engined 2+2 makes great sense, as well as being one of the few exotics that’s genuinely family friendly.

In Ferrari terms they are cheap to buy, and with sensible use and budgeting aren’t ruinously expensive to keep, either. And, of course, no matter what anybody says, it’s a Ferrari – your Ferrari – on the driveway!

History

Four-seat Ferraris aren’t new and the Mondial (a famous name given to a Ferrari racing engine of the 1950s, if you didn’t know) was the successor to the 2+2 308 GT4 of the early 1970s, and used a lot of its make up. The chief differences concerned a tubular spaceframe chassis, and not monocoque build, utilising separate subframes for the running gear (said to – ahem, ease servicing!) and a wheelbase extended by 100mm. Pininfarina gave the car its fl owing style, in stark contrast to the sharp-styled GT4 that was penned by Bertone.

Launched in 1980, reactions to the Mondial were decidedly mixed. The influential Car magazine was full of positives citing “Porsche-like build quality” and “Dynamic ability” but over the pond Motor Trend bemoaned a serious lack of pace (0-60 in eight seconds and 130+mph). “The Mondial 8 will barely get out of its own way”, the magazine moaned, and certainly the 3-litre V8 (carried over from the 308), with its 214bhp, was barely adequate for such supercar status.

Two years later calls for more prancing horses were answered by the Quattrovalvole engine. The 32 valves raised the game to a far more respectable 240bhp and 191lbft of torque (previously it was 176lbft) at a heady 5000rpm. Car called the ‘QV’ as it became known a “fully fledged Ferrari” while the late lamented Motor hailed the new engine, which sliced two seconds of the hallowed 0-60 time to six seconds, as “a miracle cure” to the middling Mondial.

For 1984 an attractive cabriolet joined the range and was the company’s fi rst new rag top since the Daytona. Sales of the Mondial were, by Ferrari standards, strong, and so it upped the ante in ’85 with a 3.2-litre V8, as seen in the 328 GTB/GTS, for a rousing 270bhp. A facelift incorporating body coloured bumpers and the welcome fi tment of anti-lock brakes occurred in 1987 – but the best was yet to come.

It was called the Mondial T and was almost a new car. The 300bhp 3.4-litre V8 (taken from the 348 range with dry sump lubrication, Bosch fuel injection and twin computer management) was now mounted longitudinally, although the transmission remained transverse (a design fi rst seen in the Ferrari 312T F1 car back in 1975).

Suspension was now electronically controlled and there was also the option of Valeo semi-automatic transmission. The interior became plusher, with a new dash and better trim, but as a result this 160mph family Ferrari moved further upmarket, and quite a long way from its entry level status.

The Mondial survived until the mid-1990s, after nearly 7000 were built, and the basic underpinnings served Ferrari well – right up to the exalted 360 as we mentioned earlier.

Driving

Whether or not the Mondial is the Ferrari for you depends upon what you believe about its reputation. To many it’s a Maranello mis-fi t, but if you read the road tests of that time, then it was one of the best Ferraris yet. As ever, the truth lies somewhere in between. True, performance on the 8v cars was nothing special when new and, today, a good V6 Mondeo will beat a Mondial, especially if age has taken its toll on the engine – as it has on many. But the pleasure comes as much not from what the car does but the way that it does it, and the noise and the passion of this V8 will be enough for many of us. The 32-valver is notably quicker and has more torque, while the 3.2 and 3.4 can wear the famous badge with distinction. It really depends upon what you want from the car, but on any don’t expect much more than 20mpg – and a lot less if wear and skipped maintenance has taken its inevitable toll.

If the Ferrari’s performance is open to question, then the handling is more universally commended. Even on relatively skinny tyres, compared to today’s gumballs, the Mondial was praised for its sensitivity and user friendliness – and far less twitchiness than the shorter-wheelbased GT4 – although the earlier 2+2 is usually regarded as a more purist cross-country car.

A good Mondial makes a far better fi st as a cruiser; for a mid-ship supercar wind and road noise is remarkably contained and the wail of the V8 is hardly a hardship even at 7000rpm. The ride is uncommonly decent, too. Small wonder that “stirring but civilised” was Car’s conclusion of the Mondial 25 years ago.

Like all supercars, the Mondial takes time and effort to get to know, and to learn how to drive effectively, although the snatchy overassisted brakes will probably keep catching you out after a spell at the wheel of a modern! Remember this is a Ferrari for families and the rear seats are easily bearable for most offspring, if not fully-grown adults. It’s appreciably roomier than the GT4, although storage space is minimal and the boot little more than adequate for four. But – like everything else about the Mondial – it suffices!

Prices

When the QV was launched a quarter of a century ago it carried a £25,581 price tag. A considerable sum back then (in 2008 it will get you a brand new top level Ford Mondeo of similar pace!) but today you can pick one up for under ten grand. Whether you want to, or should do, is another matter. It’s far better to spend as much as you can on a top one; around £13,000 seems a good datum for a QV, although top T models can go for over £20k. But considering the badge and brio that’s still indecent value, we reckon. 

Three Of A Kind

Porsche 928

Designed to replace the 911, the V8 928 was too fat and lazy to take its place but as a 2+2 GT it’s one of the very best. Beautifully built and everlasting, there are plenty of good ones around at attractive prices while scrappy ones sell for pounds. Just don’t get caught in between or it will cost you. Best model is the rare-spotted GTS with manual ‘box. Most 928s are autos and no cabrios were offi cially made.

Jaguar XK8

Another high class bargain has to be the Jaguar XK8. Like the Mondial, it’s a civilised V8 supercar that rarely disappoints and is currently really well priced. The lack of a manual transmission may irk some, but the J-gate auto is a good substitute and, like all Jags, the car is well appointed, swift (XKRs are heroically fast) and smooth. Lots around so prices will remain keen for ages so avoid cheap, tatty ones.

Aston Martin Virage

Like the Mondial, the Aston Martin Virage is hardly the stuff dreams are made of, and its image as well as its values has suffered as a result. It was developed in just two years and it showed, both in quality and dynamics. But a good one – and they are around – makes a cracking mile-eater and that trusty V8 has go to spare. Again, low values mean penny-pinching ownership and there are lots to go wrong! Is DB7 better bet?