A manual transmission and a V12 go together like a kick and a snare. There’s just something so inherently right about that combination that poster cars from the Lamborghini Countach to the Ferrari F50 to the Pagani Zonda used it. Want a cherry on top? Make that manual gated. It’s a rarified combination, one that usually commands blue chip pricing. But what if I told you that you might not have to mortgage your dog to get your hands on a gated manual V12 car? No, it’s not some shed-built special, it’s a proper Ferrari.
I’m talking about the Ferrari 456 GT, predecessor to the 612 Scaglietti and a turning point car for the brand. With this four-seater GT, it finally felt like Maranello had entered the nineties, and it came with the performance to match. We’re talking zero-to-60 mph in less than five seconds, a top speed of 192 mph, and all the pedigree you could possibly ask for.
Despite being enjoyed by everyone from the Brunei royal family to Michael Schumacher to Mike Tyson, the 456 is now something of a sleeper in the second-hand Ferrari market, and that means you can pick one up for less than you’d spend on a well-equipped Ford Mustang Dark Horse. The two cars both have equine motifs on their noses, they both have an engine at the front, and they both seat four, but that’s about where the similarities end. Tempted?
What Are We Looking At?
Back in 1992, the 456 GT was something of a revelation. At the time, it was the brand’s first all-new front-engined V12 GT car in twenty years, and did it ever show. The sleek Pininfarina lines were all modern, with pop-up headlights enabling a low nose and modern construction allowing for flush glazing and double-bubble molded tail lights. Under the hood, a brand new 65-degree V12 making 436 horsepower set the stage for every V12 Ferrari through the 575M, and when mated to a six-speed gated manual transmission, that propulsion made the 456 GT the second-fastest four-seater of all time when it went on sale. The first-fastest? None other than the Porsche 959. We’re talking about a performance envelope high enough that Car And Driver used one to race a plane across west Texas. The plane won, but only by a nose.
Our silver 456GT—the quietest, bestÂriding, most user-friendly Ferrari ever built—has lost the race by exactly 540 secÂonds. It averaged, for 2 hours, 34 minutes, and 20 seconds, a speed of just under 103 mph. In return for this grand performance, the 456GT gulped 25 gallons of fuel, four more than the Mooney required.
Still, that first sentence is high praise, and speaks volumes about the liveability of the 456 GT. Here’s a roomy, practical four-seater with decent ergonomics, comfortable seats, and hushed freeway cruising abilities that still serves up a dose of gated manual V12 performance. Best of all, you can now pick one up for less than the price of a new Ford Mustang Dark Horse, making this an attractive entry point to the holy grail of Ferrari powertrain layouts.
How Much Are We Talking?
When I wrote that you could buy a manual V12 Ferrari for Mustang Dark Horse money, I wasn’t kidding. A Mustang Dark Horse Premium stickers for $71,370, including freight, and it’s not hard to find a gated Ferrari 456 for less than that. Take this 1995 456 GT, for example. Finished in lovely Blu Swaters over beige leather, it had just 51,000 miles on the clock and a clean Carfax when it crossed the virtual auction block on Bring A Trailer in July. Belt service? Done. Control arm bushings? Done. The hammer price? A reasonable $67,500.
Not a fan of bumper reflectors? How about a European-spec car? This grey-over-tan manual 1994 Ferrari 456 GT has some serious pedigree, sold new in Switzerland before being brought to Germany by the then-CEO of Ferrari Germany, then making it to America years later. With about 53,000 miles on the clock, it seems reasonably well-cared-for. Sure, it’s had some paintwork, but it’s also had the all-important belt service done. The hammer price on Bring A Trailer in December reflects this, coming in at a solid $70,456.
If you don’t want to wait on an auction, you could always give the traditional classifieds a go. This 1995 Ferrari 456 GT is up for sale on Long Island for a reasonable $69,500. Sure, it may have 82,312 miles on the clock, but cars like this being driven is generally a good sign. It typically means someone’s been maintaining it rather than letting things pile up while the car sits. Plus, this 456 GT comes with a clean history report.
What Could Go Wrong On A Ferrari 456?
I mentioned the belt service several times above, and that’s for good reason. In addition to replacing the timing belt, tensioner, front drive belts, and associated components, a belt service on a 456 GT also requires valve adjustment, and labor really does add up. You can expect to pay somewhere in between $6,000 and $8,000 for a belt service, and the recommended interval is a mere 30,000 miles. This will be your biggest expense on a 456 GT, but it’s not the only thing that goes wrong. Self-leveling suspension accumulators can fail, although third-party replacements are available for as little as $319 each. Wind whistling can likely be traced down to poor window adjustment, which will take a few hundred dollars in labor to sort.
Otherwise, keep in mind that a Ferrari 456 GT is effectively a 30-year-old car at this point. Soft-touch switches can get gummy to the touch, little things can break, and it helps to budget around $3,000 a year in maintenance to run this big V12 GT car. That’s not bad for a Ferrari, but it’s still not exactly inexpensive.
Should You Buy A Ferrari 456 For Mustang Dark Horse Money?
There are two ways of concluding this. The first is that most people probably shouldn’t buy a Ferrari instead of a Mustang. That feels fairly obvious. The second is through the lens of car person math. Whether you buy a Mustang Dark Horse or a Ferrari 456 GT, it probably won’t be your daily driver. Sure, a few thousand a year in maintenance is a lot, but so is a few thousand a year in depreciation. Given that 456 GTs have effectively bottomed out on their depreciation curves, buying one might not be as financially harmful as you may expect. Of course, if anything goes seriously wrong, you’re on your own. The Mustang, meanwhile, has a warranty. So, if you’ve always wanted a gated manual V12 Ferrari and can afford the upkeep, buy the 456 GT. Not only is it the most cost-effective way to your dream, it’s also just a good car to enjoy.
Top graphic image: Bring A Trailer
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Damnit, Thomas. Don’t tempt me like this. I think there is a solid argument to get this over a Mustang, providing you’re the type person who can stomach Italian exotic maintenance costs. The argument is in resale value. I guarantee you in 10 years, the dark horse will have depreciated considerably more than the Ferrari..and by Ferrari math, I suspect a gated manual is only going to go up in value as the years march on.
The person who buys this wants the V12 experience in a classic grand touring configuration. If I was going to buy a V12, I think I’d test drive one of these. Enough HP to get up and go, clean lines to look at, and the snik-snik of the gated shifter. Oh the places I’d go….