Header photo: Jayson Fong for RM Sotheby's
We may have too much time on our hands to worry about a small detail like this, but anyway, here we are.
If you’ve ever stood behind a Ferrari 512 BB, you may have noticed something curious. The car is officially known as the 512 BB. However, the script on the rear of the car reads BB 512…
What does 512 BB mean?
Ferrari model names often follow a logical formula. With regard to the Ferrari 512 BB, the 5 stands for 5.0 litres of total displacement and the 12 stands for the amount of cylinders.
Photo: RM Sotheby's
The letters BB stand for Berlinetta Boxer. Berlinetta means a closed two-seat coupe. Boxer refers to the flat 12-cylinder engine layout. Technically, the engine is not a true boxer because opposing pistons share crankpins.
Legendary Ferrari engineer Mauro Forghieri clarified this point in an interview with Davide Cironi. He explained that the first B was originally meant to stand for “Bialbero”, meaning twin cam, not “Boxer”. Ferrari’s engineers knew the flat 12 engine was not a true boxer because the opposing pistons shared crankpins. However, after the name Berlinetta Boxer was presented at the 1971 Turin Motor Show, journalists continued referring to it as Boxer. Despite Forghieri’s attempts to correct the term, the name stuck and became part of Ferrari history.
Why the badge says BB 512
There are no known official Ferrari documents that clearly explain why the badge says BB 512 while the factory name is 512 BB. Because of that, we cannot treat our explanation as confirmed fact. We can only look at the context and reach a reasonable conclusion.
Photo: Jayson Fong for RM Sotheby's
When Ferrari launched the Berlinetta Boxer series with the Ferrari 365 GT4 BB, the real breakthrough was not a larger engine, but the change in the layout. This was Ferrari’s first mid-engine 12-cylinder road car, a major change from front-engine V12 models like the Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona.
Placing BB first on the rear badge may have been a way to highlight that new architecture. The Boxer identity defined the car more than the numbers did. There is also a simple styling argument, because BB 512 looks balanced and symmetrical in chrome script. Visually, it works better on the rear panel than 512 BB.
The Berlinetta Boxer lineage
The Boxer family includes three main road cars. The 1976 512 BB replaced the 1973 365 GT4 BB with a larger 5.0-litre engine that improved torque and drivability. In 1981, Ferrari introduced fuel injection for the Berlinetta Boxer and thus the 512 BBi was born (“iniezione,” meaning injection in Italian).
Production of the Ferrari 365 GT4 BB began at a difficult, global moment. Its launch in 1973 coincided with the global oil crisis, which sharply reduced demand for high-performance cars. As a result, early interest was limited. Ferrari had initially planned a small production run of just 25 cars.
Photo: Tim Scott for RM Sotheby's
However, demand slowly improved and production increased to roughly one car per day as confidence returned. By the time manufacturing ended in 1976, a total of 387 cars had been built. That figure makes the 365 GT4 BB the rarest model in the Berlinetta Boxer family.
Other common Ferrari naming misunderstandings
Ferrari has never followed a perfectly rigid naming system. In fact, some of the most famous models in the company’s history are commonly referred to by names that are not technically correct. The Berlinetta Boxer badge is just one example.
Photo: Kroymans Ferrari
Take the Ferrari F512 M: most people simply call it the 512 M. That sounds logical, especially since it evolved from the 512 TR, however, the official name begins with the letter F, standing for Ferrari.
The same applies to the Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale. Many owners and journalists call it the 360 Challenge Stradale, which makes sense because it is based on the 360 Modena. However, Ferrari officially presented the car simply as Challenge Stradale.
Probably the most famous Ferrari naming misunderstanding involves the Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona. When the car was launched in 1968, Ferrari did not officially call it Daytona. The nickname came from journalists after Ferrari achieved a 1-2-3 finish at the 1967 Daytona 24 Hours. The media quickly attached the name to the new front-engine V12 grand tourer. It became so widely used that today almost everyone assumes it was official from the beginning. In reality, Ferrari did not use Daytona in its early factory documentation.
Photo: Andreas Birner
Then there is the Ferrari 288 GTO. Almost everyone refers to it as the 288 GTO, following Ferrari’s traditional system of 2.8 litres and 8 cylinders. However, the official name is simply GTO. Ferrari revived the historic Gran Turismo Omologato title, first made famous by the 250 GTO. The 288 designation became common usage, but it was never the full factory name.
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