3.0 FERRARI 312P (1969,1970)

Chris Amon at the wheel of the 3.0 Ferrari 312P Barquetta during the 1969 Nürburgring 1,000-kms. PICTURE: Sport Auto (French edition), #90, p. 50.

When mid-1967 the CSI decided to ban the over-3-litre prototypes from the circuits, with one penstroke the most thrilling of all legendary combats was ended: the one between Ford and Ferrari. Furious about this decision, making the fantrastic 4.0 Ferrari 330 P4 obsolete, Enzo Ferrari refused to send new factory cars to the 1968 Manufacturer's World Championship. The fact was that he had no flat 3-litre motor as Porsche could install (with success) in its new 3.0 Porsche 908LH. 
However, towards the end of the year Il Commendatore changed his mind and let manufacture a 3.0 Ferrari 312P open spyder, in view of the 1969 season. 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.  Eventually only 3 copies of it were manufactured with numbers 0868, 0870 and 0872. Compared to Porsche, who let race in 1969 no less than 26 different copies of its 908, there was never an equal Porsche-Ferrari fight in the 3-litre class.
The Ferrari 312P was in fact a 3-litre F1 car transformed in a duo-seater with covered wheels. Indeed, "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" (www.QV500.com - Ferrari 312 P Part 1: The 312 P). "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 " (ibidem).
Main problem of the 312P was that it didn't use a flat motor as Porsche did with its boxer on the 908. So the rear of the car was higher than on the 908. The weight was also higher, since no air-cooled engine was available.

"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" (ibidem).
Initial plans were to let race the new car at all rounds of the 1969 Manufacturer's Worlds. However, at a test at Vallelugna the unique 0868 went off the road, and was only repaired for the Sebring 12 hours where Chris Amon realised the pole position in 2'40"14. He and Mario Andretti - who never tested the car before - finished 2nd. At the Le Mans April trials two copies of the 312P were present, but disappointed since Chris Amon couldn't do better than 3'37"8, which was 7 secs slower than was done by the new Porsche 917LH, also slower than the fastest 3-litre prototypes: res. the Matra MS630/650 of Johnny Servoz-Gavin (3'33"9) and the Porsche 908LH of Hans Hermann (3'35"3). So it was decided to make a closed body for Le Mans. After the 24h race both Ferraris 312P Berlinetta should be sold to Luigi Chinetti's N.A.R.T.
At Brands Hatch the lonely entered 312P finished as 4th, headed by 3 3-litre Porsches 908. At Monza - where 2 cars were entered - the 312P was again fastest on the grid, but they didn't finish. At the Francorchamps 1,000-kms the 312P qualified as second and finished as runner-up to the 908LH of Siffert/Redman. At the Nürburgring 1,000-kms the 312P qualified again as 2nd, but didn't finish. At the Le Mans 24-hours two 312P Berlinettas were entered. they qualified as 5th and 7th but failed to finish. At 6 direct confrontations with the Porsche 908 the 312P won only once and lost 5 times from the 908.
In 1970 N.A.R.T. let race the 312P Berlinetta 3 times. With a 4th and 5th place at the Daytona 24-hours the Porsches 908 were beaten. At Sebring only one 312P was brought home (6th). At the Le Mans 24-hours the 312P Berlinetta was brought home as 10th (still 6th after 21 hours!). In 1971 N.A.R.T. transformed the 0872 in a spyder (inspired by the total new 312PB). If finished as 5th at Daytona and 8th at Sebring.

SEBRING 12 HOURS 1969 - Having realised the pole in hands of Chris Amon (in 2'40"14) the new Ferrari 312P Berlinetta - chassis 0868 - finished as runner-up, one lap down to the winning Lola T70Mk3B. A holed radiator by some debris on the track made Amon/Andretti loosing several laps in the pits.

LE MANS APRIL TRIALS 1969 - Australian Peter Schetty is testing the Ferrari 312P Barquetta with chassis 0870. Also the 0868 was present. However, with their Spyder bodies, both cars were seriously off the pace down the Mulsanne Straight and after setting some disappointing times, Ferrari decided he would fit both entries with Berlinetta bodies for the 24 Hour race that June. PICTURE: Grand Prix '70, p. 56.

BOAC 1,000-KMS 1969 - Chris Amon in the lone 312P Barquetta which he shared with Pedro Rodriguez. The car - with chassis 0870 - finished 4th, headed by 3 Porsches 908. Several fins were added to improve the road holding. After loosing out during the qualifications from Jo Siffert's Porsche 908, Chris Amon could take the lead in the opening laps, pulling away from Siffert's car, suffering a puncture. However, when Siffert recovered, the Ferrari 312P was passed by his Porsche, later also by two other factory Porsches 908. PICTURE: Turner Hans and Nye Doug, Ferrari, Somerset/Newbury Park: Haynes Publications, 1985 (1979), 6th edition, p. 419.

BOAC 1,000-KMS 1969 - Again Chris Amon in the Ferrari 312P with chassis 0870.

MONZA 1,000-KMS 1969 - America's Mario Andretti in the 3.0 Ferrari 31P Barquetta - chassis 0870 - team mate Chris Amon put on the pole in 2'48"2. After 38 laps Andretti pitted, leading the race ahead of the Porsches 908LH of Siffert/Redman and Hermann/Ahrens, and the second work's 312P - chassis 0868 - shared by Pedro Rodriguez and Peter Schetty (the #2 having qualified as 3rd). Immediately after his stint Andretti pitted to have Amon take over and immediately left for an USAC race in the States. Amon lefted only one and a half lap more before the engine broke. Rodriguez coming off no better although in reality he did well to escape a nasty accident unscathed. After an off at Parabolica had caused some light damage, Rodrigiez was sent back out of the pits only for 0868's rear bodywork to come loose down the ultra fast main straight. The Brazilian was a passenger as his 312 spun off and went backwards into the safety barriers at high-speed, this car then being dismantled back at the factory never to race again. PICTURE: Sport Auto (French edition), #89, p. 38.

MONZA 1,000-KMS 1969 - No color picture was found of the #2 Ferrari 312P Barquetta, chassis 0868, which Rodriguez wrote off after 66 laps. Here we see him passing the #21 Porsche 907 of Antonio Nicodemi and Carlo Facetti.

FRANCORCHAMPS 1,000-KMS 1969 - Start of the race. On practice Jo Siffert realised the sharpest time with the new Porsche 917LH (3'41"9). Porsche AG however decided that the Swiss ace had to race the #25 Porsche 908LH having realised 3'48"6 at the qualifications. So pole position went surprisingly to the #33 Lola T70Mk3B, shared by Paul Hawkins and David Prophet, having realised 3'42"5, ahead of the #1 JWA Gulf-Mirage BRM M2/300 of Jacky Ickx and Jackie Oliver (3'46"6). The Ferrari 312P Barquetta - chassis 0870 - with #8 realised the 4th best time, ahead over the #32 Lola T70Mk3B of Joachim Bonnier. The work's Ferrari was shared by Pedro Rodriguez and - due to Chris Amon's illness - (the much too slow) David Piper. After an early collision with a Porsche and a subsequent delay in the pits, 0870 ran reliably to finish second. They came home behind Siffert and Redman in the works Porsche 908, this car having started one place ahead of them on the grid. PICTURE: L'Automobile, July 1970.

NÜRBURGRING 1,000-KMS 1969 - The last race before Le Mans was held around the picturesque Nurburgring circuit in Germany where the 0870 was entered for Chris Amon and Pedro Rodriguez. Having been beaten to pole by the Jo Siffert and Brian Redman Porsche 908, the number seven car was forced to retire after 28 of the allotted 44 laps, its Marelli Dinoplex ignitition failing. Here we see the Mexican at the wheel.

NÜRBURGRING 1,000-KMS 1969 - Again the Ferrari 312P Barquetta - chassis 0870 - now with Chris Amon behind the wheel. For the Barquetta it was its last race with that body. Up from now it will be raced as a closed Berlinetta.

LE MANS 24 HOURS 1969 - Pit stop of the 3.0 Ferrari 312P Berlinetta - chassis 0870 - shared by Pedro Rodriguez and David Piper. After running within the top ten for 223 laps, the car was forced out with a broken gearbox. PICTURE: Prunet Antoine, La légende Ferrari sport et prototypes, Paris: E.P.A., 1983 (1978), 2nd edition, p. 40.

LE MANS 24 HOURS 1969 - Rare shot of the Ferrari at La Sarthe showing pre-24-hours preparation of two work's Ferraris 312P Berlinetta. On the transporter tail lift the brand new 0872 (entered with the papers of the '0868', the new papers being not ready) intended for the pairing Chris Amon/Peter Schetty. Having qualified 7th, the 0872 retired on the first lap when a burning fuel tank from John Woolfe's Porsche 917 became lodged underneath. Amon pulled off the track and smartly exited the cockpit while the car smouldered, Schetty consequently never getting to drive whilst Woolfe unfortunately lost his life in the incident. The 0870 on the right will be shared by Rodriguez/Piper. PICTURE: Turner Hans and Nye Doug, Ferrari, Somerset/Newbury Park: Haynes Publications, 1985 (1979), 6th edition, p. 422.

FERRARI 312P BERLINETTA - Here the restored 3.0 Ferrari 312P Berlinetta at a meeting for classic cars. Too many modellers base their models on this pic, believing that it is the Le Mans outfit.

BRIDGEHAMPTON CANAM 1969 - Trucked back to the factory and freshened up, Luigi Chinetti took delivery of 0870 soon after and entered it under the banner of his North American Racing Team at the Bridgehamton Grand Prix in mid September. The Long Island race was round seven of the 1969 Can Am Championship and having been altered little since its Le Mans outing, Pedro Rodriguez started 0870 from 11th on the grid. Clearly the fastest 3-litre entry throughout, it looked as though a deserved class win wasn't going to happen when on the very last lap, Rodriguez had to make an emergency pit stop for fuel. The Porsche 908 Spyder of Tony Dean then swept past the pits just as Rodriguez was making his way out, but when Dean was subsequently slowed by a backmarker, the Mexican took his opportunity, regained the class lead and finished fifth overall. That was that for 1969, Chinetti taking 0870 the short trip back to his warehouse in downtown New York where it was joined by 0872 before the end of the year.

BRIDGEHAMPTON CANAM 1969 - Chris Amon in the 6.0 Ferrari 612P - big brother of the 312P Barquetta - having finished 3rd. CANAM Ferraris such as the 350P, 412P, 512P, 612P and 712P reached never the successes obtained later by the Porsches 917/10, 917/20 and 917/30.

DAYTONA 24 HOURS 1970 - Having qualified as 13th the N.A.R.T. Ferrari 312P Berlinetta - chassis 0870 - of David Piper and Tony Adamowicz finished as 5th overall. Years later Tony tells: "I remember that I was very impressed with the strength and integrity of the 312P.  I recall that the track surface deteriorated during the last half of the race - revealing coral under the surface.  Bits of the coral kicked up and began to eat away at our radiator, which was mounted very low in the nose.  Mike Parkes had unfortunately crashed the #24 bubble roofed car during the early morning hours, and the only spare radiator between the two Ferraris had been used in repairing his car. The track conditions would eventually render our own radiator useless, and David and I had to drive for five hours without any water in the system, using the oil temperature as a guide to finishing the race.  And so that's racing, not bad for the first ever ride in a Ferrari."

DAYTONA 24 HOURS 1970 - Here the 0872 (the only 312 P to have originally been completed as a Berlinetta). After its dramatic entry at Le Mans 1969 the car was modified with a roof blister to accomodate taller drivers. One of these was Mike Parkes, team manager for the works 312 programme, the Englishman being paired with Sam Posey for the opening race of 1970, Daytona's 24 Hours. Parkes qualified ninth, four places ahead of Piper and Adamowicz in 0870, but 0872 had to undergo lengthy repairs after being hit by a backmarker. The number 24 car fought back to fourth, Chinetti's sister entry taking fifth, this having been good enough for a class one-two. Indeed, with the arrival of Porsche 917's and the Ferrari 512 S, 312 P's were no longer in contention for outright wins and the Daytona result was about as good as Chinetti could have hoped for.

SEBRING 12 HOURS 1970 - Again the 0872 with the bubble on the roof. The Mike Parkes and Chuck Parsons entry made it to the end in 6th overall, finishing 4th in class behind the Steve McQueen/Peter Revson Porsche 908-02, a work's Alfa Romeo T33/3 and a Matra's MS650.

SEBRING 12 HOURS 1970 - The 3.0 Ferrari 312P Berlinetta with chassis 0870 at its real last race. Entered by N.A.R.T. for Luigi Chinetti jr and Tony Adamowicz, the car failed to finish.

LE MANS 24 HOURS 1970 - Both Ferraris 312P Berlinetta were expected to contest for N.A.R.T. the Le Mans 24 Hours in June, but because a sponsorship deal fell through at the last minute, 0870, the Sam Posey/François Migault entry, was withdrawn after having already set a time good enough for 29th on the grid. It was bought that weekend by Pierre Bardinon and has resided in his collection ever since. The 0872 did start though after qualifying a disappointing 28th, but things didn't improve much for it in the race. Plagued with electrical glitches caused by the dreadful weather, it was still running at the finish, but due to having covered insufficient distance, it was not classified. (Three hours before the end the car was still 6th, but lost 4 places in the pits with electrical bothers).

LE MANS 24 HOURS 1970 - Again the #57 Ferrari 312P Berlinetta, entered by N.A.R.T. for Tony Adamowicz and Chuck Parsons.

LE MANS 24 HOURS 1970 - The Tony Adamowicz/Chuck Parsons Ferrari 312P Berlinetta - chassis 0872 - at the finish.

SEBRING 12 HOURS 1971 - For 1971, Chinetti's solitary 312 P (chassis 0872) was put on a diet and re-bodied by Wayne Sparling who fitted a new open-topped shell that mimicked a 312 PB at the front and a short-tailed 512 S at the back. In this configuration, the car was raced twice more, its first outing coming at the 1971 Daytona 24 Hours where Luigi Chinetti Jr. and Nestor Garcia-Veiga ran 3rd for much of the race, eventually finishing 5th overall and first in its class. At Sebring, Luigi Chinetti Jr. was joined by George Eaton and they started the race in 15th. Making steady progress throughout the 12 hours, the 0872 eventually finished 8th. This was good enough for 3rd in its class, but Luigi Chinetti sr of N.A.R.T. wanted more performance and set about building a new car for which he used a number of 0872's components. The suspension, steering, engine and gearbox were dropped into a brand new chassis known as the Chinetti Special. However, all the 312 P parts used for its construction were eventually re-united with the rest of 0872 during the early 1980's.

BOAC 1,000-KMS 1971 - Successor to the 3.0 Ferrari 312P was the 312PB, a brand new car with a 3-liter boxer motor, developping 450HP for 625 kg. It was the start of a new generation of ultra fast prototypes, together with the 3.0 Alfa Romeo T33/3 and the Matra MS660. Those cars were at several races faster than the Porsches 917K. Where Alfa could win 3 of the 11 rounds for the 1971 Manufacturer's Worlds, the 312PB was victim of unbelievable bad luck. However, one year later, the car won ALL rounds it entered. PICTURE: L'Automobile, May 1971.