Ferrari Mondial Quattrovalvole Cabriolet

Why it matters

Unveiled in 1983, the Mondial Cabriolet reopened an important chapter for Ferrari, which had not offered a series-production convertible since the 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spider ended production a decade earlier. Pininfarina carefully reworked the Mondial's angular shape into an open 2+2 while preserving the 2,650 mm wheelbase, rear seating and transverse mid-engine architecture. Its 2,927 cc V8 used four valves per cylinder, Bosch K-Jetronic injection and electronic ignition to produce 240 hp in European specification, driving the rear wheels through a five-speed gated manual transaxle. With its fabric roof lowered, the Cabriolet offered four occupants an unusually direct connection to the V8 behind them. Ferrari built 629 examples through 1985 before the enlarged Mondial 3.2 arrived, making the original QV Cabriolet both rarer than the contemporary coupé and a landmark in Ferrari's open-car lineage.