512 Boxer v. 328 GTS

I believe the 328 will be cheaper to own, and less problems( newer vehicle) 512 Boxer was never imported in USA by Ferrari. They are all grey market cars and the conversions are sometimes suspect.

 

Welcome,

The Boxer drives like a heavy 328 GTB with a lot more power.

I own a 328 GTB and have driven the Boxer.
I liked the Boxer a lot. Much more so than the Testarosa.

the 328 is light and nimble but doesn’t have a lot of power. But, it revs nicely and is fun.
If it wasn’t for the engine out maintenance , I’d have a boxer.

I do the engine out thing with a 355 and it’s plenty for me.

 

A boxer goes and pulls hard, power wise a 328 feels flat in comparison.
A boxer is harder to drive and drive fast, it requires more of you.
A 328 feels lighter than boxer, but there is a a rmedy.
Boxers came with crap tires, change a boxer to 17 in wheels and narrowish ribber in the front(225's) with wider backs (275's) and its delightful.
Any older ferrari needs sorting if its not already sorted, the big cost difference o a boxer is an eo to do the belts.
Some are miltant about 5 year belt serivuce. Exerince indicates that tesioner bearings will snap belts more thna belts just failing. Ironicaly most eo's dont do tensioner bearings. If evrything is sorted belts are good for at least 7 years.

 

The Boxer is a car I have lusted over for years. The motor is on top of the gearbox, so in stock trim, it will not corner as well as a 328, Im not sure other than what the OP said about changing the wheels and tires, even then, Im sure its not going to handle better than a 328 , especially if the 328 has 17 inch wheels with super sticky rubber as well.

Thank you

 

the 328 gts is robin
the 512bbi is batman

 

Owned both. I drove my 328 GTB as a DD for 2 years in the nineties and loved every minute of it. Didn’t need more power, it was reliable, loved the handling. The Boxer has a much more charismatic engine, feels more powerful and -to my eyes at least- is every bit as beautiful. However the driving position is less comfortable, the handling is worse (driving fast on a mountain road you will really feel the high centre of gravity) and maintenance will be much more expensive.
It all depends on what you want. If you want a car to drive occasionally and -hopefully- appreciate over time, the BB is the one. They have dropped in the last couple of years and demand is low, so now is the time to buy. If you want a car to drive regularly, stick with the 328


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Question; whats that up you Batman
Answer; Robin
Take that any way you like.

 

We have been with the BB on three nice events the last two years. All with a lot of different roads, narrow and windy, wide and sweeping and some "Hill Climb" stuff.

All people were very impressed by the BBs ability on tight corners and windy roads. We had tons of fun driving the BB and beeing not that much slower than the modern cars (we only go to about 7-8/10).

One time, we were followed by a 328 on a very windy and narrow road. The 328 driver was very impressed and said, he had to fight a bit to keep up. For us, it was fast, but not crazy fast. But I think, a driver knowing the 328 well, would drive away on that particular road.

I like the nimble and easy to drive fast 328. I also like the fast and strong pulling BB. If you can, keep the 328 and compliment it with a BB.


Maintanace on a 328 is not that expensive as on the BB (engine out for belts and waterpump, weak original differentials).

 

My experience with a B.B. has only been on track - they get really hot inside and you really feel the weight transfer and chassis lean. They do sound awsome at 5k rpm


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