1989 Ferrari 412 Ventorosso

It’s common knowledge that Ferraris have been among the best-selling and most expensive classic cars for quite a few decades now. But, while the 250 GTO and other 1960s models can fetch in excess of $10 million and most other Maranello-built sports cars tend to capture the most attention at auction events, some Ferraris aren’t that popular among collectors. Like any other automaker, Ferrari developed and sold a number of models that had very little in common with its heritage except for the Prancing Horse on the nose. One such vehicle was the 400/412 series built between 1976 and 1989.

Ugly as it may be, the Ferrari 412 has been further uglified by a lesser-known coachbuilder known as Carrozzeria Pavesi. Ever since the ’60s, the company converted Ferrari, Maserati, and De Tomaso models into targa tops and convertibles for eccentric customers. What Pavesi did to the 412, on the other hand, was more than just hacking the roof off and installing a manually folding canvas roof.

It looks like someone stretched a Fiero and slapped on a Renault face with a mustache to mimic the Testarossa’s streaks, but beneath all that you’ll find the hardware of the Ferrari 412. It was the last evolution of Maranello’s V12-powered 2+2 coupe series that began as the 365 GT4 in 1972, before being updated to the 400 in 1976, the 400i in 1979 and finally the 412 from 1985 until 1989.

Besides chopping off the roof from the elegant Pininfarina-designed coupe, Pavesi also changed all the exterior panels during the transformation of the 412 into a soft-top convertible. The coach-builder did keep the rear lights as well as the interior, while the front bumper looks eerily similar to the one used on the 348.

This car is an auto, too, and has spent the last 14 years in a Milan telecommunications museum. The first car was based on a write-off, the frame was reinforced, the bonnet and boot made of aluminium and the bumpers glassfibre, but the rest remained steel.