Introduced at the Paris and London motor shows in 1975, this berlinetta marked a major step for Ferrari as the first mid-engined V8 model to carry the marque’s badge. Styled by Pininfarina and built by Scaglietti, it was conceived as a compact, rear-mid-engined two-seater that brought Ferrari’s V8 road-car program into full view. Early cars were notable for their fiberglass bodywork, while later production shifted to steel construction.
Over its life, the model evolved in response to changing emissions rules and market expectations. In 1980, fuel injection replaced carburetors in the GTBi version, and in 1982 the Quattrovalvole update brought a four-valve cylinder head design that kept the nameplate current into the mid-1980s. The car’s production ended in 1985, by which point it had become one of Ferrari’s most commercially successful models and a defining classic of the brand’s modern V8 era. It is remembered both for establishing the formula that would guide many later Ferrari road cars and for becoming one of the most recognizable Ferraris of the 1970s and 1980s.