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www.QV500.com Ferrari 312 P Part 1: The 312 P |
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Possibly the most beautiful sports prototype of all time, Ferrari's 312 P was introduced to mark the firms return to endurance racing. Ferrari had refused to officially participate in 1968's World Manufacturers Championship as a protest about the CSI's new 3-litre engine limit for prototypes, another blow having come from the hike in over five-litre homologation requirements. Increased from 25 to 50 cars, they hit Ferrari hard, most obviously making the P4 practically obsolete. |
Not wanting to lose a development year to the likes of Porsche and Matra, Ferrari went to the States in 1968 to contest the no-limits Can Am series with a factory programme for their 612 P. By the summer though, Enzo Ferrari had decided he did want a 3-litre prototype for 1969 and thus the 312 P was conceived. Little more than a Formula 1 car with a full-width body, it should have been the fastest thing racing that year, but when the CSI decided to reduce their Group 4 build requirements back down to 25 in late 1968, Porsche stepped up with the 917. The timing of the CSI's decision was unfortunate for Ferrari, not because the 312 P was outclassed on the track, but because it meant Porsche got a seasons headstart in what was clearly the preferable class again. Nevertheless, the 312 P was an exceedingly quick car and came based around a semi monocoque tub with alloy and fibreglass panels bonded in place. The wheelbase was unique at 2370mm, but underneath the sultry new bodywork, the 312 P had clearly been influenced by the P4 and more recent 612. Its fully adjustable double wishbone suspension was largely derived from the 312 F1 car, albeit with outboard front springs because of the full-width shell. Ventilated disc brakes were by Girling, the tyres by Firestone and the 15-inch diameter wheels by Campagnolo, these being knock-off alloy rims of 10.5 and 13.5-inches at the front / rear. |
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For the engine, Ferrari made use of some existing hardware and fitted a mildly de-tuned Formula 1 unit from the 312. A Rocchi-designed 60° DOHC V12 with four valve cylinder heads, it acted as an integral part of the chassis and to it the rear spaceframe was attached. Displacement remained at 2989cc thanks to a bore and stroke of 77mm x 53.5mm respectively, the Lucas fuel injection and Magnetti Marelli Dinoplex ignition also going largely unchanged. |
| Compression was reduced, the prototype running at 11.0:1 while 1969 F1 motors ran 11.8 - but they only ever contested sprint races by comparison. Output was consequentlya meagre 16bhp less, 420bhp being developed at 9800rpm, this maximum coming 1200rpm lower than the Grand Prix engine. A five-speed gearbox with single-plate clutch completed the mechanical spec. The body was the work of aerodynamicist Giacomo Calibri and although having worked closely on the 612 project, was his first design. Fabricated in light alloy, the finished article looked absolutely sensational, Calibri's little Spyder standing barely three-feet high but stretching to almost 16-feet in length. Launched at Ferrari's annual press conference in Modena's Hotel Real Fini on December 14th 1968, the 312 P generated a very enthusiastic response from all who saw it. After early tests at the Modena Autodrome, an airbox and winglets were added, but Calibri never quite found an optimum set-up. As a consequence, the aero addenda often varied in shape and location, but somehow enhanced the 312 P's demeanour. The first car weighed in at 860kgs and won its class on debuting at the Sebring 12 Hours, Chris Amon and Mario Andretti finishing second overall. Driving chassis 0868, the original press conference car, they were the first open entry home and scored what would be SEFAC's only class victory with the 312 P. |
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Despite the Spyder's good looks, at the build up to 1969's most important race, April's Le Mans Trials, it was exposed as losing out massively on top speed. Consequently, Ferrari made the decision to re-body both cars as Berlinetta's for the June 24 Hour race. This marked a concerted effort on the part of Ferrari to do well at Le Mans that year as substantial costs were incurred by having new bodies built for what he already knew would be the factory's last outing with 312 P's. |
Ferrari had already agreed that after the race, both 0870 and 0872 would be sold to Luigi Chinetti for his North American Racing Team (the damaged 0868 still residing at the factory). However, Ferrari was suddenly flush after getting his hands on Fiat's money and soon after, set about producing 25 Group 4 cars to challenge Porsche in 1970. Three months after Le Mans, Pedro Rodriguez won his class at the Bridehampton Grand Prix with one of the ex-works N.A.R.T cars, Chinetti going on to enter the 312's in a handful of big races during 1970. Most notable was that years Daytona 24 Hours where Mike Parkes and Sam Posey won their class, but the bright brief career of these gorgeous machines in their original configuration was all but over by the summer of that year. After Le Mans, one of Chinetti's Berlinetta's was sold to Pierre Bardinon whilst the Daytona winner was taken back to the US and re-bodied as a Spyder with a 312 PB-style front-end and 512 S tail. In this 1971 configuration, N.A.R.T drivers Luigi Chinetti Jr. and Nestor Garcia-Veiga secured 0872 back-to-back class wins at Daytona. Meanwhile, the damaged 0868 was used for some provisional 512 S layout work during the summer of '69, its damaged rear-end being re-worked in the style of the new car and fitted with an empty block. Then given to Pininfarina for use as a rolling chassis upon which to craft a show-stopping concept car, the 512 S Speciale went on to star at the Turin Salon during October 1969. |
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