1974 Ferrari 365 GT4 Berlinetta Boxer

Launched at the Turin Auto Show in 1971, the 365 GT4 BB was aimed squarely at the customers of Lamborghini's Miura and Maserati's Bora. Infamously against anything other than front-engined cars for both the road and track, Enzo Ferrari had finally awoken to the mid-engined revolution and was keen to make up for lost time.The 365 BB was pitched squarely at the Miura at its Turin debut, however the Ferrari would spend its career battling the Miura's unexpected sequel, the Countach. Although striking, Bertone's Countach design ignored necessary practicalities making the more forgiving and mature BB the easier choice.The Pininfarina-penned and Scaglietti-built 365 BB however managed to combine the now classic 1970s wedge-shaped exotica yet still be a usable supercar. Equally impressive was the Formula One inspired flat-12 boxer engine, which was shallow enough to house the gearbox underneath the block, while maintaining a low centre of gravity. This orientation allowed for a short wheelbase and overall a smaller, more nimble car.Contemporary road tests praised the 365 BB as being the fastest Ferrari yet, high praise indeed for a car the boss was initially reluctant to engineer. Despite the great press, Enzo was also reluctant to officially export the car to North America, thinking the market would fail to understand it and that regulations would dampen the 365 BB's spritely nature. Therefore, just 387 of these now-reverred models were built over a three-year period between 1973 and 1976. Succeeded by the heavier, less powerful and more abundant 512 BB, the 365 BB remains the connoisseur's choice of Ferrari Boxer with recent price expectation in the retail arena seemingly confirming this fact.This particular righthand drive Ferrari 365 is one of approximately just 58 supplied to the UK and presented in the quintessential Rosso Corsa and black two-tone paint with black upholstery. Since it left the Maranello factory in 1974 it has covered just 25,077 miles. Perhaps what's most extraordinary about this is simply how few it has travelled given how remarkable each mile would have been behind the wheel of Ferrari's first 12 cylinder mid-engined production car.A large history file fully documents the ownership history and contains a vast amount of expert maintenance invoices. Having been in the ownership of the "Stradale' Collection for a number of years, this Boxer has formed part of one of Britain's greatest private collections alongside many other rare competition and road cars.In exemplary condition throughout, with a fantastically preserved original interior, this truly is a rare opportunity to acquire a low-mileage Ferrari 365 BB which cannot be missed before everyone wakes up to the future potential of such low-production and original righthand drive examples.