Distinguished by its long, wedge-shaped design, the 400 was one of Ferrari’s most commercially successful models from the 1970s and 1980s era.

No less than three of the Rolling Stones owned these cars.

Let’s take a closer look at one thing that made this classic GT so special: the tuneful howl of the 12-cylinder engine.

Ferrari V12 engines always seemed musical, and there was a reason for this.

I had a 1977 Ferrari V12 400 GT and I was working on the engine when I noticed an extra exhaust tube exiting after the confluence of the individual exhaust pipes from the exhaust ports.

It re-joined the system in the silencer. It was the same on the other side. Curious, I blanked it off and discovered that the engine had lost its tuneful howl.

Further research suggested that Ferrari had added this extra pipe on each side of the engine to enhance the odd harmonics in the exhaust sound.

As any classical musician knows, a clarinet is a cylindrical bore instrument closed at one end by the vibrating mouthpiece (and in the car, the exhaust valve provides the source of vibration).

The normal resonant modes have a pressure maximum at the closed end (the mouthpiece) and a pressure minimum near the first open key or the bell. These conditions result in the presence of odd harmonics in the clarinet’s sound.

A saxophone with its conical tube provides even harmonics, which is why the saxophone has a bright sound, and a clarinet produces sounds that are warm and dark.

This is maybe one reason why a good piston engine can arouse musical feelings.

How Many Ferrari 400s Were Made?

In total, Ferrari produced around 1,300 examples of the 400 over its 8-year production run. This was a relatively high number for a Ferrari model at the time, as most of their cars were produced in very limited quantities.

The higher production numbers of the 400 allowed more enthusiasts to own and experience Ferrari’s Grand Touring pedigree.

What Makes the Ferrari 400 Special?

The 400 was significant in Ferrari’s history for being the company’s first true Grand Tourer. It represented a shift in focus from pure sports racing cars to more comfortable and practical road cars.

As a front-engine V12 coupe, the 400 provided an optimal balance between power and usability.

The Pininfarina-designed body gave the 400 a distinctive look that set it apart from Ferrari’s sportier Berlinettas like the 246 GT and 365 GTB/4 Daytona. Its design was optimized for aerodynamics and stability at high-speed cruising.

Overall, the 400’s blend of performance, comfort, and stylistic elegance made it a landmark Ferrari Grand Tourer.

Who Designed the Ferrari 400?

The body of the 400 was designed by legendary Italian design house Pininfarina, who had a long history of collaborating with Ferrari.

The effort was led by Leonardo Fioravanti, one of the most acclaimed automotive designers of the 20th century. He helped create an elegant and timeless body that was both aerodynamic and unmistakably Ferrari.

The Ferrari 400’s Specifications

The 400 was powered by a 4.8 litre (4,823 cc) V12 engine mounted up front, an evolution of Daytona’s engine. Initially, it produced 340 horsepower in the 400 Automatic model.

The 400i model introduced in 1979 boasted more power, producing 340 HP in the American market and 360 HP in the Euro market.

My Ferrari 400 GT had no less than six twin-choke Weber carburettors, and the likelihood of all twelve cylinders receiving the correct fuel/air mixture at all times was vanishingly small.

The 400 had an advanced suspension system, with independent front suspension by double wishbones and coil springs.

At the rear was an independent suspension setup by single coils over Koni shock absorbers. Disc brakes provided excellent stopping power, with ventilated discs at the front and rear.

Inside the Ferrari 400

The interior of the 400 was elegantly trimmed in leather and featured power-adjustable seats. The usable cabin space made it suitable for longer trips compared to a traditional sports car.

It could seat up to four people comfortably, though the rear backseat was quite cramped. The luxurious cockpit was yet another element that made the 400 such a refined grand touring machine.

Survival Rates: How Many Ferrari 400s Are Left Today?

It’s estimated that around 600 examples of the Ferrari 400 still exist today. That means nearly half of the original production run has been lost over the decades, which is typical of most older Ferrari models.

The 400’s survival rate is slightly better than the Daytona, of which only about 40% are still around. The remaining examples of the 400 are coveted by collectors and enthusiasts.

What’s a Ferrari 400 Worth Today?

The original price was £32,000. Because of its pedigree as a classic V12 Ferrari GT, the 400 maintains strong value on the collector car market. Low-mileage, pristine condition examples can fetch over $600,000 at auction in some cases.

Average sale prices tend to range from $150,000 to $350,000 for driver-quality cars. Even though over 1,000 were built, the survival rate means the 400 remains somewhat rare.

The combination of scarcity, status, and driving enjoyment gives the Ferrari 400 enduring value today.

The Ferrari 400: Summary

The 400 played an integral role in Ferrari’s evolution from a sports car company to a premier luxury automaker.

Its grand touring credentials, stylish Pininfarina design, and smooth V12 performance make it a cherished classic to this day, overcoming a slightly lacklustre reputation when new.

For Ferrari enthusiasts, the 400 represents the ideal blend of speed, comfort, and Italian flair that defines the brand. Its reputation as Ferrari’s pioneering Grand Tourer model solidifies its place in automotive history.

The 400 showcased Maranello’s ability to build not just great sports racing machines but also refined road cars capable of long-distance journeys in great style.

Originally intended to replace the company’s flagship 911 model, the 928 combined the power, poise, and handling of a sports car with the refinement, comfort, and equipment of a luxury sedan. Here’s a deeper look at this wonderful GT car.

The 1977 Porsche 928 was an all-new design. Instead of placing the engine in front of the rear wheels as on the Ferrari, or behind them as on the 911, Porsche decided to put the big V8 at the front of the 928 and the heavy transaxle containing clutch, gearbox, and differential at the other end, weighing down the driven rear wheels.

The two masses were connected by a long steel tube containing the engine driveshaft, rather like a weightlifter’s dumbbell.

The result was one of the best-balanced sports coupes you could drive. I had two of these, a manual, then an automatic, and the latter gearbox suited the 928 much better.

Unlike the Ferrari 308 the concentration of masses at either end of the car made the polar inertia high, so it felt less likely to suddenly swap ends.

This gave the 928 good directional stability, as I was about to find out. The big V8 performed even better than an American muscle car’s V8 as it was properly made out of aluminium alloy and had (eventually) four camshafts and 32 valves.

The 928 also had a cunning rear axle which steered the rear wheels inwards under heavy braking in a corner. This avoided the heart-in-mouth feeling you had in the Porsche 911 if you braked hard on a downhill corner in the rain.  

The whole car was clothed in a curvy body with a useful hatchback and minimal rear seats. It was voted 1978 European Car of the Year.

Coming out of an Alpine tunnel in the 928 at speed one winter’s night I hit a long stretch of ice. The car began gliding along with no steering, no brakes and no grip.

The high polar inertia kept it going straight though, and I looked for friction at the other end. The car kept tracking straight and when we hit the dry tarmac I was lucky enough to regain control.

I am reasonably sure I would not have survived the incident in either of the other two cars: we would have been spinning like an ice skater.

Sadly the 928 was never appreciated by the market, possibly because it looked a bit like a Dover sole. Intended to replace the ageing Porsche 911, it was pensioned off in 1992 and the older rear-engined car outlives it still.

How Many Were Made?

Over the course of its 17-year production run, Porsche built approximately 61,000 928s. This pales in comparison to the 911, of which over 1 million have been produced. But the 928 enjoyed a respectable run given its higher price.

Most were built between 1978 and 1986, with production winding down sharply after the late ’80s. The figure of 61,000 units sold makes the 928 one of the lower-volume Porsche models, but it still carved out its niche during the ’70s and ’80s.

What Makes It Special?

When it debuted for the 1978 model year, the Porsche 928 was radically different to anything the company had built before. It featured a front-mounted, water-cooled V8 engine in place of the rear-mounted, air-cooled flat-six that powered the 911.

The body was aerodynamic and contemporary, with a low, sloping hood and pop-up headlights. At the time, it represented Porsche’s attempt to move upmarket into the luxury grand touring segment.

In addition to the revolutionary design, the 928 also boasted robust performance from its 4.5L or 5.0L V8 engines.

It was praised for its near 50/50 balanced weight distribution and low centre of gravity, which gave it sports car-like handling despite the larger proportions.

The combination of power, polished handling, luxury, and innovative technology is what made the 928 stand out from its contemporaries in the late ’70s through the ’80s.

It stretched Porsche’s capabilities beyond purist sports cars and previewed the company’s evolution into a broader performance brand.

Who Designed the Porsche 928?

The Porsche 928 traces its origins to work initiated in the early 1970s by Ferdinand Piëch, Porsche’s head engineer at the time and grandson of founder Ferdinand Porsche.

He spearheaded the company’s efforts to produce a new flagship model to supersede the 911.

Porsche designers Wolfgang Möbius and Anatole Lapine are credited with creating the 928’s distinctive shape and style, while Robert Fachler is acknowledged as the engineer responsible for the chassis and suspension design.

The result was a responsive grand tourer that balanced sporting reflexes with luxurious comfort, affording Porsche greater freedom to craft a more holistic driving experience.

The 928’s design has stood the test of time, maintaining a sleek, contemporary look even by today’s standards. It also influenced Porsche’s later Panamera four-door saloon.

The Specifications

The original Porsche 928 featured a 4.5L aluminum V8 engine producing 219 horsepower, allowing 0-60 mph acceleration in 7.3 seconds and a top speed of 143 mph.

For the 1980 model year, displacement increased to 4.7L and then 5.0L by 1985, boosting power to over 300 hp. Transmission choices included a three-speed automatic or five-speed manual gearbox.

The front-engine, rear-wheel drive 928 had a kerb weight of 3,216 pounds. It utilized aluminum for the doors, hood, and front fenders in order to save weight. Other specifications included:

• Wheelbase: 98.4 inches
• Length: 176.8 inches
• Width: 70.7 inches
• Height: 50.7 inches
• Drag coefficient: 0.36 Cd

By today’s standards, these specs don’t seem extraordinary. But considering when it debuted, the Porsche 928’s combination of potent V8 performance, refined grand touring comfort, and nimble handling made it a unique proposition.

The Engine

As noted, the Porsche 928 was powered by an all-aluminum, 4.5L (4474 cc) V8 engine for its initial model years. This engine used a single overhead cam design with two valves per cylinder.

Horsepower output was 219 h.p at 5,250 rpm with 288 lb-ft of torque. This was a reasonable performance for the late 1970s, enabling 0-60 mph sprints in around 7 seconds.

For 1980, displacement was bumped up to 4.7L (4664 cc). The 928S model arrived in 1986 in the US boasting 5.0L (4974 cc) and 32-valve DOHC cylinder heads, generating 320 hp. The 928 GTS followed after with an even higher 348 h.p output from the 5.0L V8.

Variable intake runners, forged pistons, and a dual-resonance intake system helped optimize the V8’s power delivery across the rev range. These capabilities earned the 928 respect as both a rapid grand tourer and a capable sports coupe.

The Interior

As a true Gran Turismo, the Porsche 928 came generously equipped and trimmed in leather and other upscale materials. The wide hatchback body style afforded easy rear seat access while retaining a coupe-like profile.

Early cars had fairly sparse dashboards, but appointments grew more luxurious as the years went on.

Some distinctive interior features included its traditional Porsche instrument cluster with five round gauges, extensive leather upholstery, and later on, a premium Blaupunkt stereo system.

From a driver’s perspective, the 928 has been praised for providing excellent visibility thanks in part to its low dashboard, thin pillars, and expansive glass area. The front seats are widely regarded as comfortable thanks to their firm, well-bolstered design.

Altogether, the 928’s interior expertly blends luxury with driver-oriented ergonomics.

How Many Are Left?

Given that more than 61,000 Porsche 928s were built over a 17-year period, it’s reasonable to assume a fair number have survived into the modern day.

However, as a relatively complex grand touring coupe, wear and tear have likely claimed quite a few cars. Porsche 928s also suffered from some electrical issues as they aged, making some less attractive for long-term ownership.

According to one registry, it’s estimated that approximately 10,000 to 12,000 Porsche 928s are still on the road today, suggesting roughly 80% have been scrapped, totaled, or are otherwise no longer on the road.

Other estimates suggest maybe 15,000 units remain globally. So while still not an ultra-rare car, they are less common to spot today versus when 928 production ended in the mid-1990s.

Survivors tend to be lovingly maintained by enthusiasts given the car’s inherent appeal.

How Much is a Porsche 928 Worth Today?

For a well-kept Porsche 928 in good drivable condition, pricing averages $15,000-$30,000 depending on factors such as mileage, maintenance history, factory options, and whether it’s one of the more coveted S or GTS models.

The most pristine, low-mileage examples can still fetch upward of $50,000 or more, but that represents the high end.

In general, 928 prices are still reasonably affordable relative to other vintage Porsches like the 911 or Boxster. However, values are trending upward after having been fairly stagnant for a number of years.

As 1980s and 90s-era Porsches grow in collector status, the 928 seems poised for greater appreciation – especially in mint condition and rare variants. For both Porsche enthusiasts and collectors, the 928 represents an attainable slice of the brand’s history.

The Citroën SM was a 1970 three-door hatchback coupe version of the Citroën DS, the revolutionary 4-door Citroën which was released in 1955. It featured a V6 Maserati engine which provided enough power to take the DS ideas even further.

And it looked like a spaceship.

How many Citroën SMs were made?

There were only 12,960 Citroën SMs made. This is a small run for such an expensive car to develop.

What does the SM stand for in the name Citroën SM?

There is much debate about what the SM stands for in the name Citroën SM. The name of the divine 1955 Citroën DS is actually a pun on the French for goddess: déesse. So you might assume the SM might stand for Sa Majestie (her majesty).

However, it was Citroën’s acquisition of the Italian car maker Maserati that made the SM possible as Citroën was really buying the company for Maserati’s V6 engine. The factory referred to the new project in 1961 as “Project S”.

So it is more likely that the S stood for a Sports version of the DS, and the M stood for Maserati. Another theory is that it stands for “Systeme Maserati”.

Who designed the Citroën SM?

Robert Opron designed the Citroën SM. He also designed the DS’s successor, the CX, the Simca 1100, and the Alpine A310.

The Specification, engine and interior.

Just like its sister the Citroën DS, the Citroën SM had powered high-pressure hydraulics that served the steering, the brakes, the gearchange and the self-levelling all-independent suspension.

It had disc brakes, Michelin X radial tyres, front-wheel drive and self-levelling headlamps that actually swivelled to follow around corners.

However, the USA version had to make do with ugly round headlights due to federal legislation. The SM also fell foul of the 5 mph bumper regulations introduced in 1974, so after just two years on the market, the car was banned from America.

Furthermore, it had all-round disc brakes, and even carbon-reinforced glass fibre wheels were offered as an option. Yes, plastic wheels!

The engine was a Maserati V6 of 2.7 litres. This small capacity was due to the French luxury tax, the puissance fiscal. Later SMs had 3-litre engines. The aluminium Maserati engine was notably lightweight at 140 kg (309 lbs) and mounted behind the front axle.

This resulted in good weight distribution. Because it was made on the same tooling as the Maserati V8, the V6 had the same angle between the cylinder banks: 90 degrees. This is not ideal.

With three Weber carburettors, the 2.7 made 168 hp (170 PS, 125 kW), and the 3.0 litre developed 178 hp (180 PS (132 kW).

Some of these engines tended to self-destruct at around 60,000 miles due to timing chains stretching and valves hitting pistons. This reputation inhibited sales.

The interior was also dramatically styled, with bucket seats made of rolls of upholstery.

How was the Citroën SM developed?

Some background is necessary. It is hard to explain today what an impact the Citroën DS had on the motoring public in 1955. At a time when appalling “sit up and beg” monstrosities such as the cart-sprung Ford Prefect were being foisted on the unwitting public, Citroën unveiled a car that looked like nothing else.

Its technology was breathtaking, and far exceeded that of the contemporary Mercedes Formula 1 racing cars. It featured powered high-pressure hydraulics that served the steering, the brakes, the gearchange and the self-levelling all-independent suspension. It had disc brakes, Michelin X radial tyres, and front-wheel drive: all years before they were generally accepted.

The drag coefficient of the sleek body was the same as a Porsche sports car. Some of the features such as the swivelling headlights that follow corners are only just now being offered by rival car makers 66 years later.

The Citroën DS was perhaps a car too far. Instead of inspiring rival designers to take on the challenge, the DS was misunderstood, derided and ignored by an industry that would prefer to produce tin boxes for the masses.

However, Citroën sold 1,455,746 examples to its believers.

If the Citroën DS had been a car too far, then Citroën went even further with the 1970 Citroën SM, the three-door hatchback coupe version of the DS that is the subject of this article.

It featured a Maserati V6 engine with 178 bhp transmitted through the front wheels. For most front-wheel drive cars full application of this kind of power would result in torque steer: you feel a writhing and juddering, with the steering wheel tugging from side to side.

 Citroën dealt with this in their usual analytic way by having zero kingpin inclination, zero camber and zero caster. These various tilts are incorporated into ordinary cars’ front wheels, partly to provide steering feedback.

But in the SM there was no steering feedback: the driver just steered and the car went the way it was pointed. The DIRAVI adaptive, speed-sensitive and self-centring steering saw to everything (“Direction à rappel asservi” means “steering with controlled return”).

Even hitting a pothole at high speed would not be felt. And if a rear wheel was destroyed in a pothole, the SM could continue on three wheels.

And there were plenty of potholes in Uganda, the nation that had the great misfortune to be ruled by Idi Amin, the Citroën SM’s most infamous owner. Amin joined the British Army as a cook, rose through the ranks to general and then took power in a coup.

Up to half a million people were killed under his regime, he had his ministers thrown to the crocodiles of Lake Victoria, and he was accused of eating his political enemies: yes, cannibalism.

The New York Times reported this:

“Idi Amin did what he did in a transparent way: the mayhem and the horror, but also the famous photograph of white businessmen forced to carry him on his chair; his satirical wedding ceremony in front of a huge portrait of Queen Elizabeth II of England; his repeated claims to the throne of Scotland. When asked about allegations of cannibalism, instead of denying it he answered: “I don’t like human flesh. It’s too salty for me.”

New York Times August 21, 2003

Amin’s most inexplicable passion was for his Citroën SM, which he drove every day. And here is a disturbing fact for admirers of this rational car: this most irrational of men, a cannibal dictator in a country without many roads owned not just one SM, but seven of them.

Other notable owners were the USSR’s petrol-head president Leonid Brezhnev, author Graham Greene, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts of the Rolling Stones, and Emperor Haille Selassie. Oh, and Jay Leno.

How much is a Citroën SM worth today?

A Citroën SM is worth today between $17,000 and $62,000. And they are worth an average of $42,130 (source: classic.com)

How many Citroen SMs are left?

There are 29 Citroën SMs left in the UK. It’s unknown how many Citroen SMs are left on the road in the USA or other countries.