John McEnroe has long been the brightest star of the world tennis. His great talent, combined with famous outbursts on the pitch, helped create a memorable competitive steamroller. McEnroe was in fact number 1 in the world for four consecutive years from 1981 to 1984, and won 7 Grand Slam titles in singles (Wimbledon and US Open in particular), 9 in doubles and 1 in mixed doubles. He missed the Grand Slam, which he came close to in 1984 with the final defeat at Roland Garros and elimination in the semifinals at the Australian Open.
During his career McEnroe has earned a lot and has been able to afford several valuable cars. One of them, now for sale on Catawiki with an estimated value of between 80,000 and 88,000 euros, it is the black Ferrari 400i that was also exhibited at the 1982 Paris Motor Show, as a tribute to Gilles Villeneuve, who died in the same year in Zolder during the qualifying rounds for the Belgian Grand Prix. The car, delivered in France to Charles Pozzi in that year, was bought by McEnroe in 1988 with the rare combination of black leather interior and beige seats.
There Ferrari 400i, therefore with electronic injection, it was presented at the Paris Motor Show in 1979 as the second series of the 400. A total of 1308 examples were produced, of which 884 with automatic transmission. The 2 + 2 bodywork designed by Pininfarina and the V12 engine completed the picture of a model loved by great entrepreneurs (such as Gianni Agnelli and Sergio Pininfarina), and moreover Enzo Ferrari defined it as a Gran Turismo in evening dress.
McEnroe’s car was recently overhauled, with particular attention to the exhaust system (redone), the brakes (replaced), the speedometer (replaced), the electrical system. The engine is considered to be in very good condition and the Michelin TRX tires are also brand new. This is an opportunity, because it is rare to find a car that unites great names in the history of sport such as Villeneuve and McEnroe.
(cover image: Catawiki)
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