1989 Ferrari Mondial 3.2 QV

The Mondial is one of the last Ferraris to benefit from the reduced maintenance costs that are the by-product of analogue, old school engineering, making it a popular model with knowledgeable enthusiasts who prefer to do their own servicing.

This one has been resting in a heated garage for the last four years and would benefit from a good tune up and some use. Having said that, the car does run and we'd recommend s a full service and check over before you hit the highway in it.

The Mondial’s panel fit and shut lines are all good, and everything opens and closes correctly, including the electrically operated bonnets. The paint itself is sound, but would benefit from a machine polish to bring its lustre back. The roof has suffered from some UV damage and has faded as a result – it’s an occupational hazard with red cars.

There is the odd small chip – to the sunroof and nearside (driver’s) door, as you can see in the pictures and video. Some of the black areas, especially the plastic ones have faded over the years, but the original Ferrari alloy wheels are in excellent shape. The tyres have plenty of tread on them but we think they’re too old to be dependable, so a new set would be our recommendation.

Overall, this is a very straight and honest looking Ferrari that could be massively improved cosmetically with a little TLC from an enthusiastic new owner.

Ferrari interiors rarely disappoint and this one is no exception. Built long before the era of sticky switches, the inside does show some signs of wear and tear but nothing that a bit of TLC wouldn’t sort out.

A red Ferrari with a black leather interior – iconic? You betcha. It’s in generally very sound condition too, although all the leather could do with a good application of hide food to bring back its shine and suppleness. It’s very easy, quick and cheap to do and it would make a massive difference for a very small investment of time and money.

The leather on the driver’s seat is the place that shows the most wear – quite understandably as it will have seen the most use. The bolster and seat base look a little worn but the stitching is perfectly intact and we suggest that a recolour would make it look first class again.

The trim around the centre console is all fine, and sitting on top of it is a period perfect mobile phone holder and speaker system. The console itself houses a cassette radio stereo system, which is in good working order.

The driver’s side and carpet has a tear, but the dash and the headlining are both in good shape, and the electric windows work as they should.

The interior has a wonderful simplicity that isn’t available on anything built today. Take the steering wheel – an elegant three spoked affair, all in black. It looks fantastic, and implies that this is a car for driving. Throw in the famous Ferrari H Gate gearchange, with its chrome surround, and you know you’re somewhere special.

Open the engine compartment lid and the 3.2-litre four-valve V8 sits transversely across the engine bay, with the Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection metering head nestling in the bottom right hand corner.

The quad cam V8’s plenum chamber is finished in red paint (obviously) but this has become a little chipped and glum looking over the years. We reckon a weekend spent cleaning the engine covers and general area, plus a few hours with a red rattle can would have the engine bay looking much happier, but this is purely a cosmetic situation as the engine itself starts and runs.

There’s a hole in one of the fibre side panels that, although a little unsightly, makes no difference to how the car runs. It would be nice to repair and repaint it though.

Looking underneath the Mondial we could see plenty of sound underseal. We’d encourage any potential bidders to come and have a look at the car for themselves.

This Mondial has service history going right back to May 1987, when it was sold new in Italy. While in the UK it was regularly maintained by Lancaster Ferrari in Colchester, Essex, as the paperwork shows. It looks as though the cambelts were last changed in 2010, so we’d be getting those renewed straight away.

All the original handbooks are with the car, and there are also some historic MoT certificates. The car has no test certificate at present, and the owner tells us it failed on the emissions test, which we imagine is because of the rough running engine. The owner says:

‘This was my father’s car, he had it shipped over from Italy because he loved Ferraris. It fell to me about four years ago when he passed away, and I’ve kept it in a heated garage since then. It’s been moved a couple of times but I haven’t used it.

‘My father used to take us to school in it, and I also remember some family holidays to Switzerland – my mum followed on behind in her Jeep. I also remember my father telling me that this was the last Mondial made while Enzo Ferrari was still alive, but I have no way of verifying this.

‘The engine is the original as far as I know, and the car failed the MoT on the emissions because it’s not running properly. The tester also suggested a new set of tyres would be a good idea.’

If you’re hankering to get into the classic Ferrari scene then the Mondial is an excellent first choice. Prices are still affordable, although as with any Ferrari, values are likely to rise. Furthermore, these cars were designed and built before electronics started making heavy inroads into the automotive world, so there won’t be any terrifying dash lights coming on to warn you of a big bill around the corner.

We estimate this car to fetch between £22,000 - £28,000 in auction.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; we are open weekdays 9am-5pm, to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.