Classified Ad Find of the Day: Former A.J. Foyt '84 Ferrari BB 512i

For many, it's a dream to own a Ferrari. For some, that alone is not enough. They need to own a specific Ferrari. We understand. We all have our favorites. Our man Jonny, for example, would probably agree to several waterboarding sessions and a you-can-only-listen-to-boy-bands-forever music restriction in exchange for a 288 GTO. (Jonny would agree to the latter because the GTO's engine noise would obviate the need for music ever again.)

Others among us (cough) would likely dip a toe into the kidney black market for one of the Berlinetta Boxers, whether it be a 365 or a 512. From a practical perspective, choosing between the two varieties is somewhat akin to waking up in 1986 and being asked who you'd rather date: Kathy Ireland or Paulina Porizkova. It's pretty much a no-lose situation. As such, we enjoy perusing the classifieds, anticipating a mythical future in which we have bottomless pockets and are on a first-name, Christmas-card-list basis with every Ferrari mechanic on the eastern seaboard. Yeah, yeah - we know. Don't blow the fantasy, okay?

Anyhow, we think we may have found a winner this week after scanning the "for sale" listings at Octane magazine's website. Offered through Tillack & Co., the '84 BB 512i you see above shows 27,000 miles on the clock, and at $135,000, it's cheaper than your garden-variety F430 (and everyone has those, right?). Plus, it has that classic Pininfarina wedge shape, big NACA ducts, those eternally-cool knock-off hubs, is sufficiently rare (just 1,007 BBi's produced in total), and lets everyone know you laugh at their child-friendly paddles as you work the old-school gated shifter. But these are aspects you'll get with any old BB. What puts this one over the top is its provenance: it was once owned by the legendary A.J. Foyt (with a signed dash and owner's manual to prove it).

Not only does this critical element let you say stuff like, "I have A.J. Foyt's Ferrari" in conversations, breaking any and all ties regarding whose machine at the valet station reigns supreme, it also elevates your Man Status to a point where you can (possibly) impregnate women simply by making eye contact. So if you decide to visit the folks at Tillack and spring for this particular ride, drive it well. And be careful where you look...

[Source: Tillack & Co. via Octane]