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Ferrari Cars ›› Ferrari Mondial
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Ferrari Mondial Introduction
Throughout the 1970s, Ferrari worked to expand its sales base as well as the build quality of its road cars. The Mondial 8 and its successors the Mondial qv, 3.2, and t were a prominent result of this modified emphasis. When the Mondial was unveiled at the 1980 Geneva Salon it heralded the beginning of a new type of car for Ferrari, promising and delivering much. The Mondial's performance was more subdued than two seat Ferraris, but this was of little consequence since it was designed for practical daily driving.
Nonetheless, the car could attain a top speed approaching 140mph and sprint to 60 mph quickly enough to leave competitors behind.
Through its production run Ferrari improved both the luxury and performance of the Mondial. The Mondial t of 1993 could thus be pressed above 150 mph and get from 0 to 60 mph in 6 seconds or less: unnecessary in a luxury 2+2, but a pleasant power to possess. Handling was generally sharp and confident, though the extra weight of the car and its mission combined to make comfort a higher priority.
The Mondial provided a good balance of handling and comfort, the car being able to out-corner most of the competition while providing four people a pleasant ride in a sculpted soft leather cabin. In its time, the Mondial was the pinnacle of V8 powered daily transportation. So stable was the platform, the Mondial was the road car on which Ferrari debuted fuel injection, the removable rear sub-frame, power steering, the collapsible and adjustable steering column, the company's first full convertible in a decade, Anti-Lock Braking Systems (ABS), the redesigned 3.4 litre V8 engine, an electronic clutch, and the transverse transmission. Most important, however, was the increased wheelbase which allowed Ferrari to produce and market the world's first mid-engined car that could actually seat four adults. This was an entirely new kind of car.
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