58
W
henit waslaunchedbackin 1980 the
Ferrari Mondial 3.0QV Cabriolet was
criticised for being too slow and too
compromised,butit doesn’ttake much
timebehindthewheelformetostart
thinkingthoseperiod reviewsmissed
thepoint. To befair,this 1984 car is
aQV– forquattrovalvole, fourvalve–
andtheadditionofa 16-valveheadon
eachbankoftheV8in 1982 boostedthe
Mondial’s performance by raising its
poweroutputfrom211bhpto240bhp,
thesameasa contemporary308GTBi.
I’mkeento findanopportunityto verifytheMondial’spotency
butforthemoment we’reboxedinbehinda tourbusasit windsits
waylaboriouslyuphilltowardsBlakeyRidge,thehighestpoint on
theMoors.Ferrarienginesofold are wontto splutterandthreaten
tostallifyousnapopenthethrottlesat verylowrevsina high
gear, butI’mstruckbyhowflexiblethisengineis,thankstothe
BoschK-Jetronicfuelinjection.I cansqueeze theacceleratorto the
floorinfifthat1500rpmandtheMondialpullswithouta hiccup.
Thelovelyleather-wrappedMomowheelwithitsblackalloy
spokesisa long way away,andmountedat ananglethat’smore
Mini than Maserati. It needs a good heave at parking speeds
because there’s no assistance, and even on the move there’s
enoughresistanceat therimto exerciseyourarmsandshoulders.
The pedals need assertive inputs, too, and that’s made more
difficultbecausethey’reoffsettowardsthecentreofthecarand
mountedsoclosetogetherI wishI’d wornmy racingboots.
Beforelong a sinuousribbonoftarmacopensoutaheadofus
andit’ s timeto putthebusintherear-viewmirror.Ablipofthe
throttlehastheV8awakeasI clickthetallgearleverthroughits
exposeddogleggedgateintofourth,andanotherblipraisesthe
enginenote anoctaveasI pullthegearleveracrossandclickit
backwardsintothird.Witha gloriousfour-camsnarltheMondial
flashespastthebusandsuddenlythesteeringwheelisaliveinmy
handsasthefr ontMichelinTRXsreactto theripplesinthetarmac.
Atightcornerloomsandthebrakeshauldownthespeed,thefirm
pedalprovidinga perfectfulcrumfora heel-and-toedownchange.
Thelownoseturnscrisplyintotheapex,andasthebendunwinds
theFerrarihowlsoutofthecornerandonto thenext.
Givenitshead,theMondialisa differentcar.Itsgreattrickis
doingsucha goodjobofbeing a practical,usablecar– thanksto
the flexibleengine,agoodride,andsmallbutworthwhilerear
seats– andyetit canstilldelivergenuineFerrarithrills.Allat a
bargainprice.Youcanpickupa usablecarforlessthan£25,000
and even the best rarely nudge £50,000. Values of the best
Mondialscoincide withthe cheapestexamples ofthe 308GTS,
whichsharestheV8enginebuthasonlytwoseats– anda fine
GTScouldsetyouback£200,000.ArguablytheGTSisprettier,but
eventhemore reservedlinesoftheMondialturnheads.
A16vcylinderheadoneach
bankof theV8gainedthe
QVa valuable29bhp
[TheBigTest]TopCabrios
Steeringwheelisof a similar
angletothat inthedithering
coachAndrewhasto pickoff
