Anyone know the origins of the 'Mondial' name?

Hee hee

 

Spoken by the man without one...of couse, it is no 325i.

 

All true, but worth noting that the modern Mondial, like all well thought through things, has multiple reasons for being so:
Mondial = World as in World Champion, but:
importantly for Ferrari in the late 70s/early 80s it means World as in "World Car" i.e. Designed and built to be able to be sold in all markets (but especially the USA) without substantial modification;
It also means "World" as in "more people in the world can own one (4 seats)"

Sadly, all the other definitions above are probably true too!

 

<sigh> Mondial T slow? Not against the v8s that were built before it...but always easy to perpetuate the myth. Happy to meet those folks at the track with pink slips...

 

You Mondial owners are funny. But really when I bought my first Ferrari a 308 GTS I had no idea that there was such a thing as a less desirable Ferrari. How absurd!!! Any freeking Ferrari is special isn't it? Now I own two less desirable Ferrari's and I'm looking for another one.

 

Here here. The only difference between say a brand new 360/430 and a Mondial/308 is that the former are not affordable by the majority, but both are exclusive and desirable by all.

They are priced low, I could of bought a brand new Ford Focus for the same money.

 

Actually it means "prettier than a 4 headlight 330" J.K.

 

I think that Mondial owners have a good sense of humor about anyone who might insult their choice of Ferrari. Here are a few good quips taken from author Stefano Pasini, that fall under the "How You Could Have Said It Better" category:

"What is this bathtub for, sir? To let the kids play in, perhaps?"
"How lovely, with these sweet little horses everywhere!"
"Hasn't anyone, seeing so much red sheetmetal, ever mistaken it for a Ferrari?"

 

I always see people refer to it as a Ferrari Mondale. I guess that's ok if you're a democrat from Minnesota....

 

you referring to Walter F Mondale? He was Jimmy Carters vice president? Not sure of the connection here though. Perhaps second to the big chief, in this case the 308

 

Whats wrong with Minnesota? Besides only being able to drive our Ferrari's
4 months out of the year.
But speaking of politics do you remember Geraldine Ferraro who ran with Walter Mondale back in 84?
Now that ticket would have been a Ferraro-Mondale

Wouldnt all you F-chatters have voted for them ?
With a name like Ferraro-Mondale, its gotto be good !

But as we know the "Mondale" was not so good looking, and they lost the race.
Maybe same can be said with the "Mondial"?

 

No you don't - - - your wife does - - - remember? hehehehe.
By the way folks, try this; the 5' 10" 16 year old model (aspiring), relaxed in the "plus 2" section of my Mondial t - with her mom in the passenger seat. Now, we add to the mix, 3 folding chairs, one cooler for beer (not for the 16 year old), another for food - and all my covers, tool kit, manuals and assorted emergency "handies" including a spare tire!! God, I love this car!!

Cheers, Hank

 

I love Minnesota - good tuna hotdish and lutefisk out on the prairie with my Powdermilk Biscuits. Heavens, they're tasty and expeditious dontchaknow...

I think the Ferrari Mondial had a much longer and successful run than the Ferraro Mondale because of superior handling. The Ferraro Mondale could only go 'left'....

best
rt

 

*ROTFLMAO*

 

VERY GOOD !!

 

Yes

 

And messed up hair (due to the FULL convertible top!)

Had mine parked at the Chick-fil-a the other evening (kids need their chicken nuggets, right?), and some 20-somethings in a car drove through. They stopped and took a photo of the Mondial....guess they must've thought it was just too ugly to pass up, huh?

(By the way, both of my kids - both of which rode with me to the restaurant - got such a big kick out of someone taking a photo of "their" car!......had I been in most other Ferraris, one of them would've been deprived of that experience........) That's certainly not meant to be a pejorative comment about other Ferraris, it's just that I believe Mondials - in particular, cabs - are pretty slick and DEFINITELY have their advantages!

 

Had to say it!

Thanks, Bryan!

Now, as obscure facts go... the origin of Mondial is actually from Jamaica - a Ferrari on the Island needed to be washed, and the soap they used way back when left something to be desired, but, still... it was soap - ANyhooo, the soap was *poof* gone - the Ferrari/soap owner sent his local assistant out who was heard to say "Hey, where 'Mon Dial'?"

Frankly, I'm surprised and disappointed nobody already dug up that nugget.

 

Funny thread...

Actually coming home from Concorso, a few things come to mind when defining the Mondial;

Rare.

A very exciting and USEFUL F-car.

Very fair priced for now-but then again I guess us "few" owners could change that, hmmmmm.

Luggage space!

My goodness-if all F-cars looked the same they would be made by Lamborghini!

I am so friggin glad I own this car!

I actually prefer the look of my F-car over MANY others. I could have easily purchased a different model (and did), but decided to CHOOSE (and keep) a Mondial.

Remember how fairly priced Dino's used to be?

Did I mention rare? I really did not see as many Mondials as the other F cars in attendance...and I believe Ferrari SOLD every one they produced.

And......"No, it's NOT the Magnum PI car" (that one NEVER gets old.)

So what does Mondial mean??? Happiness and contentment, because that is what it means to me.


Ok bash away!

 

Nice summary.

 

Hey, I'll dance to that music!!

 

Right on ! ! !
John

 

They called it slow too!

That is harsh. Although I don't own a Mondial, I've definately considered it. Now that I have two kids, I'm having trouble trying to figure out how to make them fit in the two seater 348.

 

The Mondial t has the same engine as the 348 AND two extra seats.

 

This thread somehow clicked in my aging feeble mind. I remember reading about it and dug wayyyy back in my achives.

Per Dean Batchelor's "Early Spyders and Competition Roadsters" the Mondial engine was developed from the World Driver's Championship 2 liter F2 engine of 1952 and 1953. The championship was contested in F2 instead of F1 in those 2 years. The Mondial was introduced in '54 as "a sports car that customers could use in class competition". Perhaps in FIA type class racing around the World. Dang, there is that word again!
Interestingly enough the last Series 1 car was sold to a gentleman named Boris Said. Dang, I have seen that name before.

The next book in my archive library (pile) was the March 1957 issue of Sports Car Illustrated (for those of you under a half a century old, it was a sports car magazine). On the cover is a new Testa Rossa (Dang, I have seen that name before) featuring "a 120 cubic inch plant". They were pretty impressed with it, even with it's "shovel nose".

The Jaguar XK-140mc is tested. "beyond (3000 rpm) the roadster's nose comes up and begins a relentless rush forward" 0-60, 9.1, 1/4 mile 16.9 @ 86 mph. top speed 124 mph.

In the classified ads section: Alfa 1750, fine condition, $2400. Bugatti type 44, good condition, $1495. Alfa 1750 Zagato w/ spare engine, 1930 Alfa GT "a real bargain", Bugatti type 23 Brescia and a Jaguar "C" type with a new engine.