Ferrari’s elegant, sharp-edged 365 GT4 2+2 and its 400 and 412 successors went unloved for years once their new-car glow dimmed, but they have recently gained newfound respectability in collectors’ eyes. It’ll be sweater weather in hell, though, before Ferrari connoisseurs welcome this mutant 412 onto the lawn at Pebble Beach.
Rewind to 1989, and one lucky individual was taking the keys to a stylish black, and box-fresh, example of Maranello’s 412 two-plus-two from his Ferrari dealer, firing up its 335 hp (340 PS) 4.9-liter V12, and proudly driving off down the road. But if that same owner saw, or heard, his Ferrari today, he’d have trouble believing it was the same car.
A color change to red is the least shocking part of this car’s transformation, which has resulted in it being turned into a Chevy-powered pickup. And if, for some twisted reason, the idea of a V8 Ferrari flatbed gets you excited, you could buy this one through auctioneers Bonhams for around £15-20,000 ($20-26,000) when the virtual hammer drops on April 14.
The V8 conversion predates the pickup metamorphosis and was apparently carried out years earlier by an owner frustrated at the reliability of the original Colombo V12. The shorter small-block Chevy that took its place certainly has plenty of legroom in the engine bay thanks to the absence of those four extra cylinders, but headroom is a different story, and the shotgun scoop carb intake now pokes through the top of the hood.
Related: Someone Paid $53,000 For This Bizarre Ferrari 400i Limousine
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Ordinarily that wouldn’t be a great look, but it’s the least of this car’s worries as far as purists are concerned. That’s because around a decade ago this 412 was butchered by X Elo and Will of UK television show Ultimate Wheels, who moved the C-pillars forward and chopped out the rear deck-lid to create a pickup bed, which was then lined with teak.
There’s no tailgate to drop down, so anything you want to add to the cargo area has to be hurled over the sides, and obviously there are now no back seats. There’s no British MOT roadworthiness certificate either, because the 412 has been languishing in a museum for a few years, but it should be easy to get back on the road, and with the original Ferrari’s three-speed GM automatic ’box hooked up to a simple Chevy V8, it ought to be reliable. Bonhams doesn’t give any indication on the tune of the V8, but a switchable exhaust system ensures it will at least sound Ferrari-fast.
Are you mad about this mutated Ferrari, or almost mad enough to buy it? And what other relatively cheap and less-loved exotics are crying out for a truck conversion? Leave a comment and let us know.
H/T to Silodrome
