1979 Ferrari 512 BB

28151roadItaly

Engine: 5.0L flat-12, dry-sump, carbureted, 355 bhp
Colour: Rosso Corsa (red)

The 1979 Ferrari 512 BB is a left-hand drive Italian-market example, finished in Rosso Corsa over tan leather and assembled at Maranello in September 1979. One of fewer than 1,000 built and none officially destined for the United States, it entered the US via a grey-market licensed importer and passed into the personal collection of Oregon Ferrari dealer Ron Tonkin. Featuring the 5.0-litre flat-12 engine in its final carburetted form, it represents the most powerful production BB variant before the fuel-injected BBi succeeded it.

Ownership

—Auction sale
Sold US$224,000
RM Sotheby's catalogue lot →
1979 → 1979Factory delivery
Trend Import Sales
partial documentation
Los Angeles-based gray market importer who brought the car into the United States when new from the Italian market.
1979 →Private sale
Ron Tonkin
full documentation
Portland, Oregon Ferrari dealer who kept the car in his personal collection; service invoices document regular upkeep, and lower bodywork was repainted to match the body color in mid-1984.

Competition

No competition history extracted from the catalogue.

Maintenance & restoration

1984
Bodywork
Lower body cladding, originally finished in black, was repainted to match the car's Rosso Corsa bodywork as part of broader cosmetic repair and refinishing work.
—Service
Ron Tonkin Gran Turismo
Regular maintenance recorded across multiple service invoices on file, covering routine and minor mechanical attention carried out by Ron Tonkin's workshop personnel.
Ongoing service history documented by invoices retained with the car.
—Service
Ron Tonkin Gran Turismo
Comprehensive pre-sale service performed by Ferrari-certified master technicians in preparation for auction.

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