VIN: the works Ferrari 312 P chassis 0868
History of chassis 0868
Ferrari built a trio of 312 Ps for the 1969 World Sportscar Championship of which chassis 0868 was the first.
Unveiled at the firm’s Hotel Real Fini press conference in Modena during December 1968, chassis 0868 then underwent an extensive test programme.
It debuted as the solitary Scuderia Ferrari entry at the Sebring 12 Hour race on March 22nd 1969. In the hands of Mario Andretti and Chris Amon, the 312 P proved shatteringly fast. Despite the fact he had never driven the car, Andretti put it on pole with a new circuit record.
Amon had a slow start in the race, but after three hours, 0868 was up to second. Amon then took the lead for 21 laps, but a spin to avoid a rubber cone thrown up by a slower car handed the advantage to Porsche.
The Ferrari was still second at mid-distance when a Chevron lost its rear bodywork down the main straight. Amon collected a fragment that partially blocked the 312’s radiator intake and immediately caused the engine to overheat.
After a two-minute stop to repair the ductwork, the temperature was still too high; enough water had escaped as steam to form vapour locks in the cooling lines and, despite a number of stops, the mechanics were never able to properly clear them. Nevertheless, the car continued on, somewhat down on power and belching clouds of white smoke on the overrun.
Around an hour later, 0868 was blackflagged for no lights which took eight minutes to cure.
Problems for Porsche meant that, against the odds, Ferrari later regained top spot. However, a final ten minute stop for water meant the Jacky Ickx / Jackie Oliver Gulf-backed Ford GT40 inherited a lead it would retain until the end.
As the GT40 was a Group 4 car, Ferrari’s second place finish meant they won the Group 6 class.
0868’s next appearance came at the Brands Hatch 6 Hours on April 13th. On this occasion, Amon was joined by Pedro Rodriguez and the Ferrari qualified second.
Amon made a perfect start and, by the end of lap one, he and Siffert were already well clear of the rest. On lap five, Siffert pushed passed and built a lead his Porsche would never lose.
With 40 minutes gone, Amon suffered a puncture and rejoined seventh. 20 minutes later, the Ferrari was back up to fourth. 0868 had climbed to third after four hours of racing, but seemed unable to do anything about the leading pair of Porsches.
In the final hour, the Ferrari wasn’t running so well; it transpired the accelerator cable had stretched which meant Amon was only able to use one third throttle. This allowed the fourth place 908/02 to pass and meant Porsche swept the podium positions.
Ferrari went to the Monza 1000km race on April 25th with a pair of 312 Ps. 0868 was to be driven by Rodriguez and Peter Schetty. It had been fitted with an F1 gearbox that weighed 18kg less than the bulkier original.
During practice, Schetty suffered a blowout on the exit of Ascari at around 160mph. The flailing tyre damaged the suspension, tore the rear body apart and smashed the oil tank.
0868 was repaired in time for the race and started third.
Both Ferraris made superb starts. They headed into the first corner with Andretti ahead of Rodriguez. By lap three, Siffert’s Porsche had slithered past them both. Rodriguez went into second and set a new lap record in his pursuit of the Porsche. He and Siffert exchanged the lead a couple of times before Rodriguez managed to build a gap and hand Schetty a 20 second advantage.
Ten laps after taking over, Schetty was back in the pits with tyre trouble and the car proved difficult to restart which dropped him in down to fourth. The Swiss recovered to second before handing back to Rodriguez.
On his third lap, Pedro emerged from Parabolica in a cloud of smoke after an enormous spin. The mechanics changed a couple of punctured tyres and he re-joined third. Another three laps had passed when, heading down the main straight, a small piece of fibreglass behind the rear tyre that had punctured came adrift. This allowed air to get into the tail section which blew off at high speed.
0868 veered sharply to the left and went into an enormous 100 metre spin, after which the car slammed backwards into the barrier. Rodriguez was fortunate to escape unhurt, but the car sustained heavy damage.
0868 was taken back to the factory and dismantled.
Although it would never race again, the car did later serve as part of the 512 S design programme.
It was rebuilt with a 512 S-style rear-end, re-numbered 002 and fitted with a 612 Can-Am engine block (number 0866).
Afterwards, Ferrari dispatched the rolling chassis to Pininfarina. Here it was equipped with a brand new dream car body, re-branded the Ferrari 512 S Speciale and unveiled at the Turin Motor Show in October 1969.
Notable History
Scuderia Ferrari, Maranello
12/1968 displayed at the Hotel Real Fini Press Conference, Modena
22/03/1969 WSC Sebring 12 Hours (C. Amon / M. Andretti) 2nd oa, 1st P3.0 class (#25)
13/04/1969 WSC Brands Hatch 6 Hours (C. Amon / P. Rodriguez) 4th oa, 4th P3.0 class (#60)
25/04/1969 WSC Monza 1000km (P. Rodriguez / P. Schetty) DNF (#2)
After its accident at Monza the damaged frame of 0868 was returned to the factory
Rebuilt with a 512 S-style rear-end, re-numbered 002 and fitted with a 612 Can-Am engine block (number 0866) as part of the 512 S provisional design work
Rolling chassis then delivered to Pininfarina and converted into the 512 S Speciale
10/1969 displayed at the Turin Motor Show
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Ferrari - https://www.ferrari.com & Pininfarina - https://pininfarina.it
