1989 Ferrari Mondial T Cabriolet 3.4L V8 5MT RWD (300 HP)

Vehicle Overview

While its coupe sibling struggled with low-volume sales in the U.S., the cabriolet remained the only version of the Mondial available on the North American continent, continuing its glorious path of a four-speed luxurious supercar.

By 1989, the Mondial was already an old car. Still, it was one of the only options available for a four-seater, open-top supercar. Most other manufacturers couldn’t even get close to that performance, so Ferrari enjoyed the last glorious years for the Mondial T Convertible on the market. But still, it did that with significant improvements. While those from the outside were minimal, there were more consistent upgrades on the car’s interior and, most importantly, under the car’s skin.

Pininfarina Studio penned the car in the mid-70s, but the beautiful, timeless lines of the car were still attractive. So, Ferrari’s design center had the difficult task of making it look fresh again, and it successfully completed the task by adding colored-body bumpers adorned by a lower black spoiler at the front and back.

In addition, the stylists had to enlarge the car’s fenders to cover the wider track of the vehicle. But they couldn’t find a better solution for the retractable canvas top, which remained concealed under a fabric cover behind the cabin when folded down.

Inside, the leather-wrapped 2+2 cabin tried to provide enough comfort for adult-sized occupants. For the front occupants, the car provided just enough headroom and legroom, but the rear seats were mostly suitable for children. The automaker had to push the seats forward to make room for the retractable roof, and that affected legroom.

The redesigned instrument cluster offered a much better, well-organized layout with two large dials for the speedometer and rev counter flanking two gauges stacked between them for the oil pressure and coolant temperature. On the outer sides, the automaker placed the fuel level on the left and the ammeter on the right. Between the front occupants, on the flat center console, Ferrari placed an array of buttons for several car functions, such as the HVAC controls, the power antenna, and the parking lights. In addition, the automaker placed the gated gear stick lever on the forward part of the center console. On the center stack, Ferrari added the buttons for the suspension settings, power windows, and stereo. The latter was concealed behind a flip-down panel.

But the most significant change for the car was under the hood. There, the automaker reversed the engine and gearbox layout, placing the transmission in front of the V8 powerplant. As a result, the car’s weight distribution improved. Moreover, the engine gained a bigger displacement and produced 300 PS (296 hp) thanks to the advanced multi-point injection system.

Thanks to these improvements, the Mondial T provided better road behavior and improved acceleration times. Last but not least, Ferrari developed, together with the European manufacturer Bilstein, new dampers that could provide a stiffer or a softer ride at the touch of a button.