Announcement | Ferrari 412P

As Bonhams|Cars announces the 1967 Ferrari 412P Berlinetta ahead of The Quail Auction on August 18th, Andrew Frankel of The Intercooler reflects on his experience behind the wheel of this iconic racecar.

Forget the photographs. However beautiful the Ferrari 412P may look on lap top screen on in the flesh, it is nothing compared to how it appears in reality. You’ll probably gasp, you might even laugh at the fact a shape such as this could have been created, not for exhibition, but motor racing. But it is my extraordinary good fortune to be able to let you into a small secret: however good it looks, it is nothing compared to how good it is to drive.

But before we slip behind its small black wheel with its three, drilled alloy spokes, it’s worth remembering exactly what a 412P is, for does it not look exactly like the famed Daytona 24 Hour winning Ferrari P4? It does, and there’s a reason for that.

Spa 1000kms, 1967 GP Library

Le Mans, 1967 GP Library

BOAC 500, Brands Hatch, 1967 GP Library

In the late 1960s Ferrari had four favoured customer teams, based in North America, Belgium, Switzerland and the UK. And to these teams alone were 412Ps supplied; as such they can be thought of as customer-specification P4s. So they had P4 bodywork, suspension, brakes and wheels, but a different specification for their 4-litre V12 engines, with two valves per cylinder instead of three, and six Weber carburettors in place of Lucas fuel injection. But of these four cars, two – the North American and Swiss cars - had started life as P3s in the previous 1966 season, then brought up to 412P specification for 1967. Which means just two were made as 412Ps from the outset; and this is one of them, chassis 0854.

The record books show its best result in period was to come third in its very first race, at the Spa 1000km, a customer car beaten only by a works Mirage and Porsche; what they do not show are the circumstances. A fuelling problem meant it stalled at the start and by the time driver Richard Attwood had got going again, he’d lost almost an entire lap. But together with co-driver Lucien Bianchi they blasted back through the field to reach the podium, an astonishing result against a world class field.

Today the ever-modest Attwood puts it down to the skill of Bianchi (‘a lovely man and quite the best co-driver I ever had’) who would tragically be killed in practice at Le Mans in 1969, and the fact the 412P ‘was one of those lovely cars that just didn’t have any vices, no nasty surprises up its sleeve… it gave you the edge of confidence you needed to really press on without the fear of being slung off the track.’

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I drove it on a private test track in England, with Richard in attendance to provide driving tips which amounted to, ‘just drive it. It’ll be fine. Car’s easy. And don’t come back until you’ve had a bloody good go.’

You wiggle your way over the wide sill, brace yourself the on the large chassis tube running across the floor, then drop down into the seat on the right hand side of the car because, as Attwood reminded me, ‘most tracks turn right.’ Turn the key and you’ll hear the fuel pumps whirr into life, priming that monstrous regiment of Webers. Press the key and the engine turns and fires, but the V12 won’t hold a steady idle until there’s enough fuel its veins. When it does, it is one of the sweetest sounds on earth.

There are five forward gears, laid out in a traditional Ferrari open gate with a clever interlock system ensuring it’s not possible for the lever to move more than one position to the left or right at the time, saving who knows how many blown engines. The clutch is sharp but not savage and soon you’re moving.

The steering is light but the ride is hard and the car feels restless. You can tell from the outset it doesn’t like being driven slowly. The engine is hesitant on part throttle, suspicious as to your motives. To understand this car, you need it to be thoroughly warmed through and then let it off the leash. And the moment you give it an instruction it recognises, it responds. At once.

The engine howls that multi-layered music made seemingly only by Maranello racing motors. It’s safe to 8000rpm but even at the 7000rpm I use, its voice fills my head while my hands suddenly have plenty to do. The gear shift has no syncro, so rewards fast, positive changes and outright rejects all others. The nose reacts like a Bloodhound that’s just found the scent: it stops hunting around this way and that and locks directly only your chosen course. Traction on fat, hand cut slick racing tires is exceptional but it’s the feel of the car through the light steering and chassis that I’ll remember most. Treat it like the thoroughbred racing car it is by driving its quickly but smoothly, and it’ll give you no trouble at all.

How fast? To me it’s not really the point any more, but its 420hp output and 850kg mass suggests a power to weight ratio not far shy of a brand new 815hp Ferrari 296GTB so it’s a potent weapon for sure, despite being well over half a century old.

But to look at it in such bald terms today is to completely miss its point. What matters is that this Ferrari 412P is one of the rarest, most beautiful sports racing cars ever to be offered for sale, born in the greatest racing stable of all, driven by some of the finest drivers of the era – not just Richard but Piers Courage and Jo Siffert too – at some of the most revered race tracks of all time – Spa and Le Mans among them. It was a privilege to have been able to make its acquaintance.

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Behind the Wheel

Maranello Concessionaires 1967 Ferrari 412P

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