FERRARI 512GT
(Italy) Price: $96,000.
Birthdate: Early 1992.
How to say it: “Jor-joe R-mawn-ee.”
It has been alternately and uncharitably described as “the Maranello Reatta” and “the prancing horse from BMW,” but Ferrari is nonetheless intent on producing this stylish, understated four-seat coupe. And why not? If the gentlemen from Bavaria can command $80,000 per 850i, who among us can rightly wag a finger of shame at Piero Ferrari? Ferrari 512GT mules, in both fixed-and soft-top configurations, have spent enough time on test tracks that Italian in-siders expect a launch in early 1992. An automatic transmission will be standard, and power for this car, as its name suggests, will come from a 5.0 litre twelve-cylinder engine— a new V-12 rather than a boxer—producing about 380 horsepower. Given Ferrari’s inability to fulfil exist-ing orders, it seems probable that the 512GT—which should be the company’s least-expensive offering—will bump the current Mondial into oblivion.