Man Maths: Ferrari 456 GT

I’ve never driven a 456 and wonder if it arrived just a little too early for the full Montezemolo effect to have taken hold (the first 456s were built in summer 1992). But the models that arrived soon after, the F355 and 550 Maranello, are all-time greats, and I can’t believe the 456 deftly picked a path from concept to production without being touched by at least some of that know-how and expertise.

Its technical make-up is promising – a 436bhp V12 up front, a transaxle for improved weight distribution, aluminium body panels to keep overall weight down and double wishbones at all four corners. Nevertheless this is a grand tourer not a pure sports car, but as long as you went in with your expectations suitably calibrated, I reckon a 456 would be a fine way to get to wherever you’re going.

A Maranello insider once told me the early cars didn’t sound the way they should, which is why the firing order was changed for the updated ‘M’ version of 1998, releasing a little more singsong from the V12. These 456Ms don’t necessarily carry a huge premium today – I found one for less than £40,000, while the cheapest 456 was listed for £31,500 – but finding a manual is difficult.

For the first few years of production all 456s were fitted with stick shift transmissions (these were badged GT), but the four-speed automatic arrived in 1996 (with GTA badging) and after that autos outsold manuals four to one in the UK. I suspect the torque converter auto works just fine and perhaps even suits the character of the car rather well, but a V12 Ferrari with a four-speed automatic? It just seems wrong to me.

In total, 3289 456s were produced during an 11-year lifespan. Close to 2000 were pre-facelift cars, less than a quarter automatics. However half of all 456Ms were specified with two pedals. The holy grail is a 456M GT – a facelift car with a manual transmission – but it’s thought there are only 30 or so such cars in the country, in light of which I’d satisfy myself with an earlier model with a manual gearbox instead.

The big question, of course, is how much pain you’d need to prepare yourself for. Finding a car that’s been used regularly and cared for lovingly is key. Routine servicing by a specialist needn’t be hideously expensive, but I’d live in fear of something breaking and finding myself at the mercy of the Ferrari parts machine. That way four and five-figure bills lie – a replacement air conditioning compressor is £5000…

But whoever said buying the cheapest Ferrari would be cheap?

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