Chassis no. 17927 Faced with having to pitch its top-of-the-range Daytona front-engined model against the mid-engined Lamborghini Miura and Maserati Bora coupés, Ferrari responded boldly with the 365GT4 Berlinetta Boxer. One of Ferrari’s landmark cars, the Boxer debuted at the 1971 Turin Show in prototype form and commenced production in 1973 almost unaltered. "It's an exceptional case when a prototype becomes production reality without considerable compromise and revision occurring in the final design," pronounced the authoritative American magazine Road & Track. "This says a lot not only for Ferrari's initial concept but also for Pininfarina's masterful job of styling the exterior and cockpit." An entirely new model and the first road-going Ferrari not to have a vee-configuration engine, the 365GT4/ BB reflected Ferrari's motor racing heritage: its 4.4-litre, four-cam 'boxer' engine drew on experience gained from the Maranello firm's World Championship-winning, flat-12 Formula One and sports-racing units and developed no less than 360bhp at 7,700rpm. Rumours abounded that the prototype Boxer had run at over 180mph, and even though the production version managed 'only' around 175mph, there can have been few disappointed customers. The mid-located engine gave near-perfect balance and ensured that the Boxer's handling matched its stupendous straight-line speed. "Handling is an enthusiast's delight," reported Road & Track. "There's plenty of road feel, which is reassuring when you're exploring the upper limits of the Boxer's capabilities. As an ultimate roadgoing high performance machine the Boxer has few equals." Only 367 Ferrari 365GT4/ BBs were constructed before the model was superseded by the 512BB in 1976.
