This summer, I mark my tenth year in Southern California, after spending the previous thirty years in the Denver area. While Denver’s dry western climate somewhat mirrors California’s, Colorado’s winter snow combined with the use of road salt tends to eat up the local curbside classics after a mere fifteen or twenty years. In addition, the Denver model mix trends more towards light trucks and domestic sedans. In contrast, Southern California’s climate coddles even the thinnest sheet metal, and the locals far prefer imported sedans over the domestic product. When I first arrived here, the view on the street made it clear Angelinos embraced imported sedans many years ago, and only visited domestic dealers for their SUV and full size pickup needs.
Compared to Denver (or just about anywhere), the streets of LA are littered with exotic cars. Just last week, I phoned a buddy back in Denver, and let him hear the exhaust note of a McLaren MP4-12C rolling alongside me on Crenshaw Boulevard. I try not to become jaded about all the exotic hardware, but it’s a challenge when you see a Bugatti Veyron cruise by your house at 3 o’clock on a sunny Sunday afternoon, or the local Saturday morning hot rod gathering includes a Gullwing Mercedes and a 1970 Boss 302.
Nowadays, the little boy inside me still drools when he spots a red Italian exotic with mid engine power, but the big boy on the outside hopes that red Italian is a bit more exotic than a Ferrari Mondial. Really, around here this car is a non exotic. If you want proof, the owner parked it on the curb with a For Sale sign on the windshield. There’s no need to post your Ferrari in Autotrader when a red and black window sign in the neighborhood provides plenty of potential buyers. As the sign states, it’s just another family car available for purchase.
Wait a minute- A Ferrari family car? If you’re not familiar with Ferrari models, this chart from Wikipedia helps explain where the Mondial fit into the Ferrari lineup. Providing the lineup with a 2 + 2 model, the Mondial replaced the Ferrari (Dino) 308 GT4 in 1980 (We all knew that, right?). Powered by a 3.0 liter v-8, it offered a mid engine platform with four place seating. Unique? Sure. Exciting? Not so much…
While our Curbside Classsic is a coupe, the Mondial was also available as a cabriolet (shown here). Some say this makes the Mondial Cabriolet the only four-place mid engine convertible ever offered in regular production. Here in the states, the convertible out sold the coupe by a fair margin. Perhaps a removable roof would have helped move the excitement meter on this rather hum-drum used car.
I should apologize for the shady side photos. I spotted the car as I drove home from work, and the sun was low in the Western sky. It provided nice lighting for the sidewalk shots, but shots from across the street put the body panels in shadow. While it looks like I shot the car on two different occasions, the photos came from a single session.
I also neglected to take any interior shots, but that’s easily rectified using internet resources. In this borrowed shot, the label on the passenger’s side of the dashboard reads “Quattrovalvole” (four valve) which should match our 1985 Mondial. Ferrari upgraded to the 4 valve per cylinder head in 1983, and then sometime in ’85 they increased the displacement to 3.2 liters. The For Sale sign on our car says “308” (3.0 liter 8 cylinder), so I’ll assume this is still a 3 liter car.
I had to chuckle when I shot the Pininfarina emblem on the Mondial’s flanks. I had recently spotted a very different Pininfarina machine at my local burger joint (see below).
That’s right; the new computer controlled Coke machine has the same label, and even comes in a similar color. We can’t all drive a Pininfarina design built at the Maranello factory, but for the price of a Coke, you can drive this exotic Pininfarina machine to your heart’s content.
It’s kind of odd to think of this Ferrari as a curbside classic, but it meets the criteria. When it’s all said and done, this is someone’s used car moving on to the next phase of its life. If I was so inclined, I could have rung up the owner, met him at the car, and talked him into a test drive. But the thought never crossed my mind. I’m not really a Ferrari kind of guy, and push comes to shove it’s just a Mondial. I guess perhaps I have become a little jaded, after all.
I did some research for this post, and learned something rather interesting. In 1989, Ferrari released the car shown here, called the Mondial T. While it looks very similar to previous Mondials, the car saw significant changes. They mounted the engine transversely in early Modials, but mounted the engine longitudinally in the Mondial T. The transaxle itself remained in the transverse position, creating a driveline with a “T” shape, leading Ferrari to add a T to the model name.
Ferrari still uses this driveline on their mid engine models, so the driveline itself is not all that remarkable. However, the fact that they managed to fit this new package into an existing body amazes me. The clearances in most engine bays are mere inches, and to convert an engine from transverse mounting to longitudinal mounting require changes to the accessory drive, water outlets, intake configuration, starter drive, engine mounts, and exhaust systems. Given the huge changes necessary, any other manufacturer would have designed a new car around the new driveline. I’ve heard the Italians approach auto design a bit differently than the rest of the world, and this crazy upgrade provides evidence to support that statement.
Well, that wraps up my California Curbside Classic. Not the most exotic option on the local roads, but it will do until something better comes along. We’ll see how the folks here at CC relate to the Mondial. I doubt very many of us grew up lusting after this particular mid engine exotic. While Ferraris always strike a chord among enthusiasts, I doubt many garage walls include a picture of this four-seat family car.
Ferrari’s #1 deadly sin…
Exactly. A dog when it came out.
0-60mph in 8.8 seconds.
I can still recall being stunned reading that figure in a car mag when it launched.
Thats wasn’t that terrible in 1981, the early 80’s injected Ferraris were slower than that carburated ones from the late 70’s, a first run Magnum 308 will do 0-60 in about 6-7 seconds, putting it in the “high perfomance” segment for the late 70’s
and a top speed below 140mph…the Dino 308gt4 sure was unloved and not so good looking but at least wasn’t wearing a Ferrari badge…
Nice article….I live in the Houston area, and regularly see Lambos, Ferraris, etc. but have yet to see an 80s era Ferrari with a for sale sign stuck on it.,,
My kids are more excited by those funky chemistry-set Coke machines than I am by this mezzo-mezzo-mobili.
Now I’m playing the “If I had $24k to blow on a fun car, I’d get a _______” game. Hmmm.
I know this car is going to get a lot of bashing, but I’ve always liked it. I know it’s one of Ferrari’s “weaker” offerings in both engine output and design. Some see it as too tame for a Ferrari, perhaps a bit too stretched looking to accommodate 4 seats and a mid-engine. But I always thought it looked really good, and even better after its mid-life facelift, with the cleaner bumpers and better interior. The convertible looked good too, and probably served the cruiser nature of the car better. The more I look at the picture of the Mondial T, the more I think how well its design has held up – it’s 34 years!
Not a big Ferrari fan but…
… everyone likes to bash the Mondial, but honestly I don’t see a single bad line on the car, even the coupe. For the vast majority unlikely to drive such a car past 7/10ths, probably a great car for touring the wine country, etc.
probably like the 250GTE, a neglected model that will only be missed when they are all chopped up to make something else – at which point it will be too late.
I nearly bought one of these in 1985, test drove it but couldn’t decide between the red one and the black one. OK, kidding. I have never been within 300 yards of one of these, but I just wanted to see how it felt bragging about it. Pretty good, actually.
It is fun to see what passes for an interesting but unpopular used car in California. Here in the midwest, It would be something more like a Renault Fuego, I think.
Count me in on those that thought the Mondial was a huge improvement over the Bertone-designed 308GT4, which truly was awkward. Why Ferrari gave that car to Bertone, when Pininfarina was doing all their other cars, was a mystery.
I saw a Modial Convertible in Eugene a couple of months ago, but it was late at night and I couldn’t get decent shots.
I kinda like the 308 GT4, I almost bought a dangerously cheap 81 Mondial coupe back at a wholesale auction back around 1999 or so, it was ratty, but it ran…somewhat, it was dark gray with burgandy colored dry jerky which used to be leather. It went for $6900 or so, I was so tempted.
I like the 308 GT4, more than the Mondial that is. Too much black plastic everywhere and those side scoops are just nasty.
Talk about temptation! I’m glad I live near the other coast. There is the little matter of, “Budget $5000.00 a year for maintenance, more if the previous owner has deferred maintenance.” that I read in a book on collecting exotics.
I always liked it too. They sound really good and the styling has aged well. Just powder coat those rims black. This was the poor man’s Ferrari.
Somehow, the 308GT4 looks better to me now than it did back then. I always thought it was really awkward, compared to the gorgeousness of the 308GTB/S at the time.
It’s a shame the maintenance costs on cars like the Mondial are so high, as it would make a great, reasonably priced classic.
Agreed. It was obviously a difficult assignment, for both Bertone and Pininfarina, to make a 2+2 mid engined Ferrari.
A friend of mine has a Mondial and I like it very much. Here is a shot of it on a fun run we did back in January up on Mulholland. You can see the cheese graters (missing on the subject car) and TRX tires pretty good.
I saw the family Ferrari in real life, back in the late 80s while walking down a street in Lower Manhattan I saw a Mondial Cabriolet with a child seat in the back parked at the curb (legally).
Yep, count me as a Mondial lover as well. The “T” was a no B.S. sports car. Scent of a Woman made them look and sound pretty cool as well…
Whoo-ah!!!
Of course, I forgot, how can you mention the Mondial with mentioning Scent of a Woman!
That movie is why I love the Mondial, especially the later T. I even have a 1/18-scale Mondial 8 I picked up back in 2011 when my favorite hobby shop was closing its doors. Got it for ten bucks!
It’s true what they say, you’ll see cars in southern Cal that you don’t see anywhere else. Headed north on I-5 out of Downey one sunny March morning about five years ago I saw a Jowett Jupiter like the one shown parked beside the freeway, top down, and no pedestrian anywhere in sight.
Yep-
I see a Facel-Vega on Western Avenue once in a while during my drive home. Even though the powertrain is conventional Chrysler, so it’s somewhat servicable, I can’t imagine driving one to work or the store on a random weekday. I hope I can catch it one day for a CC.
D/S
Saw a Lancia Aurelia roadster in Pasadena one weekend afternoon, in traffic, and then saw a Facel-Vega in Sierra Madre not too long ago. (This one was dark blue; what color was your sighting?)
Once saw a Citroen DS on Alvarado St. in Echo Park, during afternoon rush hour; the oddest combination of car, place and time I can remember.
(This one was dark blue; what color was your sighting?)
LOL- I had to strain to remember “Facel-Vega,” much less the color. I do remember the tall grille with two smaller side grilles, so I’m sure of the brand, but there’s far too much clutter upstairs to sort out the actual color.
D/S
The 1st-gen MR2 looks a lot like the hardtop version of this car from the windshield back! Regardless of how it compares to other Ferraris and the MR2, I find it to be a very attractive car.
I owned a 1979 308gt4 for about seven years and I loved it. To me it had character. Lots of leather and metal and hardly any plastic to be found. Cornered like a dream. Cheap to own. Built like a tank. Drove it as a daily driver for four of those years (summers only, in michigan) and other than water pumps every few years I never had a problem. The biggest expense was all of the tires it went thru. It was a great car and I miss it. It smelled like a Ferrari should. Vastly underrated in my opinion. Gated shifter. Four Weber two barrels on a V8. Nothing else like it.
Just the sight of that picture is making my wallet hemorrhage
I’d buy that for a dollar.
I like checking out Auto Trader for the cheapest examples of certain makes and models. The cheapest Ferrari I’ve found was that boxy Volvo-looking 80’s job I’ve already forgotten the name of. They wanted $9,500 for it with a bashed-in nose. The next-cheapest was about a thousand dollars more.
Porsche 912s seem to have the same price floor. I was seriously considering flying out to California to buy one and drive it back to Tennessee. I’m kind of glad I didn’t.
I owned a 1987 3.2 QV, the one based on the 328 internals, for a decade. And it *was* a good family car! I carried my two sons with me whenever we had a trip, and they loved it. So did I – I appreciated the toned down but nicely balanced styling, and the performance of the 3.2 QV was just fine. The only problem with the car was that it rather spoiled me for anything else. Who knows, perhaps I’ll find another one someday!