Showing posts with label P. Show all posts
Showing posts with label P. Show all posts
Friday, 17 July 2015
Friday, 5 August 2011
Ferrari Turned Ugly - Ferrari 312 P #0876 ?
Some months ago I said that after Niki Lauda tested the proposed Ferrari 312 P sports prototype for 1974 he advised Enzo Ferrari that if he wanted to win the World Formula One Championship that he ought to drop the Sports Prototype Programme.
(Ferrari 312 P 1974 Spec, Copyright holder unknown image will be correctly credited or removed upon request.)
The photo above shows Niki Lauda testing the 1974 312 P that is thought to be the work of Mauro 'Fury' Forghieri who simultaneously was working on turning the Formula One Ferrari 312 B3 into a competitive proposition.
It has emerged that it was more likely that Niki and Luca de Montemezolo between them successfully convinced Mr Ferrari that continuing the sports prototype programme was not a good idea.
(Ferrari 312 P 1974 Spec, Copyright holder unknown image will be correctly credited or removed upon request.)
As can be seen above even after the alleged advice and Lauda's test drive, the car, seen here with Niki's team mate Clay Regazzoni at the wheel, was developed further with the wide front wing being added before the car was dropped and plans to enter the World Sportscar Championship were abandoned.
It would appear 1974 spec 312 P was based on a short wheel base 1971 312 P chassis, probably #0876, this car, with it's even more distinctive driver side cooler arrangement, than we saw in last weeks 1973 312 P blog, was never raced and has not ever been seen in public.
It is thought likely the car got destroyed on the orders of Enzo Ferrari early in 1974 before the Italian Tax Authorities were due to pay Mr Ferrari a visit.
My thanks to everyone on the 1974 Ferrari 312PB 'evo' thread at The Nostalgia Forum who contributed to this blog.
Hope you have enjoyed today's Ugly Sister edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres', and that you will join me again, tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !
(Ferrari 312 P 1974 Spec, Copyright holder unknown image will be correctly credited or removed upon request.)
The photo above shows Niki Lauda testing the 1974 312 P that is thought to be the work of Mauro 'Fury' Forghieri who simultaneously was working on turning the Formula One Ferrari 312 B3 into a competitive proposition.
It has emerged that it was more likely that Niki and Luca de Montemezolo between them successfully convinced Mr Ferrari that continuing the sports prototype programme was not a good idea.
(Ferrari 312 P 1974 Spec, Copyright holder unknown image will be correctly credited or removed upon request.)
As can be seen above even after the alleged advice and Lauda's test drive, the car, seen here with Niki's team mate Clay Regazzoni at the wheel, was developed further with the wide front wing being added before the car was dropped and plans to enter the World Sportscar Championship were abandoned.
It would appear 1974 spec 312 P was based on a short wheel base 1971 312 P chassis, probably #0876, this car, with it's even more distinctive driver side cooler arrangement, than we saw in last weeks 1973 312 P blog, was never raced and has not ever been seen in public.
It is thought likely the car got destroyed on the orders of Enzo Ferrari early in 1974 before the Italian Tax Authorities were due to pay Mr Ferrari a visit.
My thanks to everyone on the 1974 Ferrari 312PB 'evo' thread at The Nostalgia Forum who contributed to this blog.
Hope you have enjoyed today's Ugly Sister edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres', and that you will join me again, tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !
Friday, 29 July 2011
Two Seat Grand Prix Car - Ferrari 312 P #0890
Last week on Ferrari Friday we looked at the catastrophe that befell the Ferrari teams Grand Prix effort as a result of Enzo's illness sabbatical in 1972.
The story of the Ferrari teams fortunes in sports car racing during this period were not quite so catastrophic but having red washed the World Sportscar Championship of 1972 winning all races except the Le Mans 24 hours, which the team did not enter allegedly because they did not believe their engine would prove sufficiently reliable, 1973 proved to be a disappointment.
Matra who had only entered, and won, the Le Mans 24 hours in 1972 made a successful bid for the World Sports Car Championship in 1973. While this was by no means as comprehensive a blue wash as Ferrari had achieved the year before.
The absence of 'Fury' Forghieri who had been exiled to the Fiorano test track by FIAT management during Enzo Ferrari's sabatical was tangible in terms of Ferrari's flagging sports car results.
This 1973 spec Ferrari 312 PB chassis #0890 was built for the 1972 season during which Art Mezario and Brian Redman drove the car to victory in the Spa 1000 kms.
Mezario also drove to a solo non championship victory at Imola in a 500 km race in this chassis, #0890 only disgraced it's self once from six starts in 1972 with an engine failure at Kyalami.
During 1973 #0890 was raced a further five times with 2nd place finishes it's best results at Dijon for Ickx / Redman and at the Nurburgring for Carlos Pace / Merzario a partnership which brought the car a 3rd place in it's final front line race in the 6 hours at The Glen.
Chassis #0890 seen here at Goodwood Festival of Speed is easily recognisable being the only one of the six 312 P chassis that had the air intake modification to the drivers side chassis skin which appeared at the ADAC 1000 kms at the Nurburgring in 1973.
In 1972 Ferrari built six 312 P chassis so that there could be a team of three freshly prepared cars at each of the World Championship races. The PB initials were used by the press to distinguish the car from the previous 312 P model of 1971.
The 1972 Ferrari sports car team managed by Peter Schetty with Ermanno Cuoghi looking after the preparation of the cars was without doubt the class of the field,
their cars powered by a water cooled 3 litre /183 cui 48 valve flat 12 motor that was in essence a Grand Prix engine detuned for reliability. Five of the six 312 P chassis originally built in 1972 are known to exist today.
Thanks for joining me on today's PB edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres' and I hope that you will join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !
The story of the Ferrari teams fortunes in sports car racing during this period were not quite so catastrophic but having red washed the World Sportscar Championship of 1972 winning all races except the Le Mans 24 hours, which the team did not enter allegedly because they did not believe their engine would prove sufficiently reliable, 1973 proved to be a disappointment.
Matra who had only entered, and won, the Le Mans 24 hours in 1972 made a successful bid for the World Sports Car Championship in 1973. While this was by no means as comprehensive a blue wash as Ferrari had achieved the year before.
The absence of 'Fury' Forghieri who had been exiled to the Fiorano test track by FIAT management during Enzo Ferrari's sabatical was tangible in terms of Ferrari's flagging sports car results.
This 1973 spec Ferrari 312 PB chassis #0890 was built for the 1972 season during which Art Mezario and Brian Redman drove the car to victory in the Spa 1000 kms.
Mezario also drove to a solo non championship victory at Imola in a 500 km race in this chassis, #0890 only disgraced it's self once from six starts in 1972 with an engine failure at Kyalami.
During 1973 #0890 was raced a further five times with 2nd place finishes it's best results at Dijon for Ickx / Redman and at the Nurburgring for Carlos Pace / Merzario a partnership which brought the car a 3rd place in it's final front line race in the 6 hours at The Glen.
Chassis #0890 seen here at Goodwood Festival of Speed is easily recognisable being the only one of the six 312 P chassis that had the air intake modification to the drivers side chassis skin which appeared at the ADAC 1000 kms at the Nurburgring in 1973.
In 1972 Ferrari built six 312 P chassis so that there could be a team of three freshly prepared cars at each of the World Championship races. The PB initials were used by the press to distinguish the car from the previous 312 P model of 1971.
The 1972 Ferrari sports car team managed by Peter Schetty with Ermanno Cuoghi looking after the preparation of the cars was without doubt the class of the field,
their cars powered by a water cooled 3 litre /183 cui 48 valve flat 12 motor that was in essence a Grand Prix engine detuned for reliability. Five of the six 312 P chassis originally built in 1972 are known to exist today.
Thanks for joining me on today's PB edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres' and I hope that you will join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !
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