1984 Ferrari Mondial QV – Classified of the Week

Some cars just jump out at you don’t they? It doesn’t necessarily need to be a particularly sporty number or anything that’s exclusive to the point of being a one off but sometimes, when you’re four pages deep on Car & Classic, certain cars just draw your eye. They pique your interest. They press certain buttons in the old grey matter that make us sit up and take notice. Most of the time we can’t even explain what it is, that specific je ne sais quoi. That synergistic group of characteristics that stop our scrolling in its tracks. Well, this happened to us this week with this 1984 Ferrari Mondial QV.

Historically languishing at the bottom end of the ever growing pile of classic Ferraris despite being a commercial success in period, the Mondial, as far as prancing horses go, is neither a show pony nor thoroughbred steeplechase specimen. What the Mondial is, however, is an affordable, practical and usable classic Ferrari that’s easier to live with than most of its brethren and prices are destined to only go one way. Spoiler alert: it’s up.

Replacing the 308 GT4 in 1980 the Ferrari Mondial still ticks a lot of boxes. Mid-engined V8: check. Five-speed manual gearbox: check. Sharp Pininfarina design: check. Four seater, grand tourer layout: check. As fas as sports cars go it’s pretty damn good when you really sit down and think about it. With just over 6,000 ever made over the course of its 13 year production run it’s a bit of a rarity too.

No doubt influenced by the slew of well put together German offerings that were being produced at the time the Ferrari Mondial addressed many concerns relating to build quality and usability and the cars were extensively rust-proofed as a result as well as being equipped with enough tech and gadgets on the inside to sate any BMW lover’s desires.

Despite having a power output at launch that was perceived as a little sluggish for a Maranello motor, Ferrari would push performance of the Mondial with the release of the QV, or Quattrovalvole, which utilised four valves per cylinder as oppose to the original engine’s two. This boosted the car’s power output to 240bhp which at the time was the highest of any n/a engine in production. If nothing else it certainly sounds the part when at full chat.

And that’s exactly what we have here with this 1984 Ferrari Mondial Quattrovalvole. Maybe it’s the fact that it’s Bianco White over blue Connolly leather as oppose to the classic Rosso Red, or maybe it’s the 308 wheels (the originals are included in the sale FYI) but there’s just something about this Mondial that grabbed our attention. A 50,000 miler this particular Mondial is claimed to be in “mint condition” and a “time warp example” and if we were going solely on the pictures supplied with the listing it would be hard to argue that statement.

Money has apparently been spent on the car including an overhaul of the mechanicals and upgraded electrics. The list of work includes new fuel distributor, filter, pump and tank sender (with the tank having been removed and cleaned), a new ignition system, exhaust manifolds and gear linkage adjustment. The belts have also all been replaced last year.

Complete with a huge history folder featuring the original book pack and service stamps it’s ready to rock and roll. With the later, revised cylinder head and all of the mechanical fettling, combined with that praised, well-balanced handling thanks to its mid/rear engine layout and sharp chassis this is a bit of a peach really. Forget what the naysayers think and make an offer, then chuck your kids in the back (or the dogs as would be our preference) and hit the road. Easy peasy Limoncello.