![]() 02/06/2014 at 07:52 • Filed to: WTF | ![]() | ![]() |
This is probably one of the weirdest transformation on a Ferrari, a French Ferrari owner (cliche in 3, 2, 1....) had had his Ferrari 400i converted to diesel:
The story says he loved his car so much he wanted to be able to drive it every single day, on all distances. This is something the V12 apparently wasn't good at, due to high maintenance and fuel costs.
So he had the V12 swapped out and put a VM Motori marine diesel engine (sic.) in the car. The engine apparently is an inline 6-cylinder of unknown displacement ( !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ), said to output 175hp which were sent to the rear wheels through the stock 5-speed manual.
The car appeared to be in pretty good condition when the guy tried to part with it. Though the asking price of 50+k$ (double the price of a manual V12 version) meant that the car remained on sale for a veeery long while.
What do you think of this?
Personally, I love the 400i and seeing one (especially a manual) swapped with a diesel is akin to seeing someone bath himself in kitten's eye soup. Which is bad.
Very bad.
![]() 02/06/2014 at 07:57 |
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This is blasphemy,although the 400i is not exactly one of the best Ferraris.
![]() 02/06/2014 at 07:58 |
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Kill it with fire.
![]() 02/06/2014 at 07:59 |
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Meh. This body is nothing special. Pretty much looks like a generic late 70s/80s car. Is it a shame that he got rid of the V12? Sure. But he's right, it's just not DD-able that way. Plus an 175hp diesel is no joke. Probably nearly as many ponies, and a butload more torque.
![]() 02/06/2014 at 08:00 |
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Yep. Napalm should do the trick nicely.
![]() 02/06/2014 at 08:01 |
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I was thinking nuke, but I suppose napalm is more subtle.
![]() 02/06/2014 at 08:03 |
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Call me an idiot, but I absolutely love the 400i.
There's a simplicity and a class to its design that most cars could use:
Though putting a diesel in there is probably one of the stupidest ideas since the guy who played russian roulette with an AK47.
![]() 02/06/2014 at 08:04 |
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There's a lot of subtlety about Napalm.
![]() 02/06/2014 at 08:05 |
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I remember seeing somewhere how to make something close to it with household stuff. I need to find it again and try it. Because... Uh... Racepalm..?
![]() 02/06/2014 at 08:06 |
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Well it's half the stock power rating (340hp). And it's probably quite a bit heavier and surely ruins the mass distribution.
A BMW 2.8 L6 would have done the trick just as well, or something similar.
![]() 02/06/2014 at 08:12 |
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Let me think... Diesel Ferrari ?
No.
Hell no.
![]() 02/06/2014 at 08:13 |
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Diesels keep winning the Le Mans 24hr race.
*I'll just leave that there.*
![]() 02/06/2014 at 08:20 |
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Dude! Everyone here is hating on that car, when they already make a diesel Ferrari!
![]() 02/06/2014 at 08:20 |
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I kinda like it too,since I tend to prefer those wedge shapes of that era,but it seems like it's not that well regarded in Ferrari circles,at least that's what I remember from an old car magazine I bought in 2008.
![]() 02/06/2014 at 08:22 |
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I like 365 GT4 2+2, 400 and 412 models. But I'm not fan of diesel engines. This kind of conversion is horrible but I guess the owner might still love it. Asking price still should something like half of the crappiest 400i that still has operating Ferrari engine.
Well at least it didn't have a SBC...
![]() 02/06/2014 at 08:24 |
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Weird level: over 9000.
![]() 02/06/2014 at 08:29 |
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I think it's just gasoline and polystyrene mix. Also
![]() 02/06/2014 at 08:38 |
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I can't remember what it is. However, yes. Let's nuke it from orbit.
![]() 02/06/2014 at 08:38 |
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I love the 400i, but I also love diesel engines, so I think this is brilliant.
I would've used the 350hp Audi 4.2 V8 TDI though..
![]() 02/06/2014 at 08:51 |
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Which has less to do with speed and more to do with fuel economy.
![]() 02/06/2014 at 09:18 |
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I knew someone who put a diesel in a Maserati Merek. They were planning to do the same thing to a Ferrari 308/GT4 when I lost touch with them.
![]() 02/06/2014 at 09:37 |
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I love the 400. Clean, classic design, great proportions, comfortable interior and affordable? Count me in.
I would buy this car for cheap and drop in a rebuild Ferrari V12. It deserves to be rescued. It also is blue which is perfect.
![]() 02/06/2014 at 09:40 |
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I'm going to say no. Quite vehemently. While this isn't by any stretch of the imagination one of Ferrari's brightest moments, it still packed a V12, and that is NEVER a bad thing. Replacing it with an oil burner is quite horrible.
![]() 02/06/2014 at 09:46 |
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CP.
But at a cheaper price would buy, and troll the high zootin' car shows with my clatter and coal.
Dressed like Tom Cruise in Rainman.
![]() 02/06/2014 at 10:15 |
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I love the looks of the 400's and love me some diesel too.
And much like I used to source Amal or Dellorto or Mikuni-Solex carbs for some of my rides because everybody and their brothers seemed to go for Webers, I totally appreciate that this guy went the obscure route with a marine diesel.
In fact, I was debating between stroking and Howell fuel injecting the 258ci in my Jeep CJ or doing an OM617 swap (SBC/F are booooring) but this opens a whole new dimension. Marine diesel... Hmmm.
Anyhow, this car is all win in my book.
![]() 02/06/2014 at 10:41 |
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Or... we could sneak into his home, quietly swap the V12 back in place, and leave with the diesel engine -which we would quickly re-sell-.
This way, we don't have to burn a good manual 400i.
![]() 02/06/2014 at 10:59 |
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if i ever get a ferrari 599, the ferri v12 would be go-karted & the 599 would get a 6bt cummins
![]() 02/06/2014 at 11:32 |
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"Quietly swap the V12". What do we look like, Mexicans?
![]() 02/07/2014 at 04:53 |
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No, I was thinking more along the lines of super-cool V12-swapping ninjas / spies.
![]() 02/07/2014 at 06:33 |
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That Ferrari also has less to do with speed and more to do with fuel economy
![]() 02/07/2014 at 08:42 |
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I love beautiful things. I will put up with just a bit of bother for them. I would not, however, have a car I cannot drive due to it being too expensive to maintain or because it had an unreliable drivetrain. American manufactured crate motors have come a long way towards making one's desire for a pretty, nice-handling or otherwise exotic vehicle a reality. At the risk of the torchers and pitch-forkers, I say LSX.
![]() 02/07/2014 at 11:18 |
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I would have said BMW-sourced inline 6 (or V8) for suppleness and similar power to that diesel.
![]() 02/07/2014 at 11:22 |
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For a lighter vehicle I would concur.
![]() 02/08/2014 at 03:16 |
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You should kill the abuser, not the abusee. Buy it, rescue it, put a proper engine in it and after some months of therapy it should be fine.