BB512 or Countach

[Pontoneer]

It is circa 1980 , and you have the choice of either of these cars - which camp are you in - are there any other contenders ?

I believe the 512 and the Countach each claimed a top speed of around 186 mph at the time .

 

[markjay]

The Countach, without doubt, on looks alone. There was quite nothing like it before or since.

 

[Pontoneer]

A couple of pictures of each for reference

 

[Pontoneer]

This discussion is for schoolboys of a certain age !

 

[markjay]

A couple of pictures of each for reference View attachment 172507

View attachment 172508

View attachment 172505

View attachment 172504

No no no, not the bloated one... the original one!

 

[ChipChop]

Can i have a Monteverdi Hai instead please?

 

[markjay]

 

[Pontoneer]

No no no, not the bloated one... the original one!

My son agrees with you !

 

[abecketts]

A 512BB brings back memories, my father back in 1979 was just about to choose his next company vehicle then sadly he died suddenly and I discovered the catalogue as I cleared up his study, it would have been quite an upgrade from his XJC.

 

[Jobsworth]

Neither is a comfortable car to drive, but the Ferrari is slightly less agony for anyone over six foot like me. Sad isn’t it that that’s the first thing that comes to my mind? That’s age for you

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Neither is a comfortable car to drive, but the Ferrari is slightly less agony for anyone over six foot like me. Sad isn’t it that that’s the first thing that comes to my mind? That’s age for you

I was about to post that both are really awful too drive, but the Ferrari is marginally less awful.

A slightly later Testarossa however…

 

[BIGDOG]

Shitters.

 

[Pontoneer]

Neither is a comfortable car to drive, but the Ferrari is slightly less agony for anyone over six foot like me. Sad isn’t it that that’s the first thing that comes to my mind? That’s age for you

I've only driven a 308 , which my pal owns and lets me drive if he's had too much to drink = great car .

But once he told me to keep it for the weekend if he could take my SL home .

R129 , second most comfortable car I've been in - after my Ponton !

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Shitters.

Golden.

 

[Pontoneer]

Neither is a comfortable car to drive, but the Ferrari is slightly less agony for anyone over six foot like me. Sad isn’t it that that’s the first thing that comes to my mind? That’s age for you

Glad I'm only 5'10"

 

[Pontoneer]

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[Jobsworth]

I was about to post that both are really awful too drive, but the Ferrari is marginally less awful.

A slightly later Testarossa however…

For an “Italian exotic” of this era my pick is the Pantera. I look after this one for a pal. I have shown it on the forum before, but it’s a lovely thing. It must have been a big thing in the day to walk past the Ferrari and Lamborghini dealers to buy one of these. And I can drive this one in relative comfort
Ford V8, as I’m sure you know. Far from standard in this one though. 450bhp. Absolutely mental!

 

[HappytalkAgain]

Defo the lambo for its perfect handling.

 

[SpikyMikey]

Neither.
70's/80's Italian cars.
You just know that at the first sign of rain the bodywork will start fizzing and the electrickery is going to throw a hissy fit.
Plus I'm too old to open the door and sit on the sill just to reverse the Lambo into a stupidly small space in Tesco's carpark.

 

[Pontoneer]

Neither.
70's/80's Italian cars.
You just know that at the first sign of rain the bodywork will start fizzing and the electrickery is going to throw a hissy fit.
Plus I'm too old to open the door and sit on the sill just to reverse the Lambo into a stupidly small space in Tesco's carpark.

Nowadays , the poor rear visibility could be sympathetically addressed by the addition of a couple of rear view ( reversing ) cameras and a small monitor somewhere inside the car - there are plenty of such cameras that are now built into number plate lights and give a wide field of view . Should be easy enough to add something without drilling holes or doing any irreversible damage . Even for normal driving , a wide angle camera mounted inside the rear window , would probably see much more than you can in the interior mirror . If you have the rear wing , one or more cameras could be mounted to the underside of it , giving good all round visibility and clear vision of where the extremities are in relation to other objects .

Even with classic cars , I've always been sympathetic to certain modifications that make the vehicle easier or safer to live with ; and I'd include rear view cameras for certain sportscars like this as a desirable modification ; as long as they could always be removed later without leaving any holes or damage .