Ferrari 312PB

There are some cars in this world that melt your heart not because they are the most stunning cars, or the most advanced or have an epic history, its the sound alone that does it. I could quite happily just listen to this you tube clip all day, and be content with that v12 roaring around the track. Thankfully this is the future and we don’t have to just put up with audio only media, this one comes with video which makes it oh so more enjoyable. Sit back and enjoy another amazing video from the guys at Petrolicious

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The Ferrari 312PB (officially known as the 312P, but appended with the ‘B’ by the media to differentiate it from the ’69 312P) marked the end of an era. It was Ferrari’s last new car developed specifically for sports prototype racing. In the hands of drivers like Mr. Mario Andretti it was a world-beater helping to cement his reputation. The thing is, that as great a racer as he was, other Scuderia Ferrari drivers were similarly successful with the Group 5 car. Drivers Brian Redman and Arturo Merzario each drove the car and combined to win three of the eleven races of the 1972 championship-winning season, a season that saw Ferrari win every race except the 24 Hours of Le Mans (which they sat out due to reliability questions related to the Formula One-derived twelve cylinder).

And reliability issues were the one concern that truly worried Mr. Steven Read before acquiring this endurance legend. He wanted to take it vintage racing but every photo of the 312PB that he found featured about twenty mechanics working on the car simultaneously while it was in the pits. Obviously such an extensive endeavor would have been prohibitive. Perhaps it was the Formula One-based cockpit that attracted him, or the fact that this was one of the last Ferrari sports prototypes of the golden age of racing. Or maybe the 312PB’s racing pedigree, including races at Brands Hatch, Daytona, Nurburgring, and Watkins Glen and the fact that it can pull multiple Gs through corners and keep you motionless in the seat with your hands right where they need to be that convinced him it might be worthwhile. All of these factors probably contributed, but let’s be honest, it had to be that sound!

The Ferrari 312PB is special for another reason too: it was Ferrari’s last sports prototype before they exited sports car racing to focus their efforts solely on Formula One. They put the exclamation point on a long and storied history by winning the championship.
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John Galvin (JSG)
It started at a young age with bedroom posters, the Countach of course. This slowly grew into a super car die-cast model collection, fifty five 1:18 models at the last count. At which point it had almost taken full control, the incurable Mad Car Disease ran deep though my veins all the way to the bone. And things for my loved ones just got worse as the cars where now being bought at 1:1 scale, after a BMW, HSV, and couple of Audi's, the disease reached my brain, pushing me over the edge and down the rabbits hole into the world of the bedroom poster.

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