VIN: the works / NART Ferrari 312 P chassis 0872
History of chassis 0872
Chassis 0872 was the last of three cars built in 1969 to 312 P trim. Of these, 0872 was the only one originally configured as a Berlinetta although its sister car, chassis 0870, was re-bodied to match after it had made four outings as a Spyder.
The debut appearance for the Berlinetta variant came at the 1969 Le Mans 24 Hours where 0872 and 0870 were entered by Scuderia Ferrari. For this event, both cars ran the beefier Group 6 endurance racing gearbox rather than the lighter F1-based unit.
0872 was allocated to Chris Amon and Peter Schetty. It appeared at la Sarthe with the VIN tag of chassis 0868 so as to match the entry forms originally lodged with the organisers. Chassis 0868 had been heavily damaged at the Monza 1000km in April and subsequently played no further part in the 1969 campaign.
Amon and Schetty qualified seventh in 0872 while team-mates David Piper and Pedro Rodriguez started fifth in the sister car.
Unfortunately, neither car finished the race which was marred by a disastrous opening lap when John Woolfe fatally crashed his brand new Porsche 917 (chassis 005). Amon’s Ferrari had been immediately behind Woolfe and the Porsche’s burning fuel tank became lodged underneath chassis 0872 which briefly caught fire. Amon pulled off the track and punched the fire extinguishing system which prevented the car from burning out. It was retired on the spot.
The week after Le Mans, Fiat purchased a 50% stake in Automobili Ferrari for $11m. Enzo Ferrari decided to abandon the 312 P programme and create a five-litre car to rival the 917: the Ferrari 512 S.
Once refreshed and repaired, chassis 0870 and 0872 were sold to Ferrari’s US distributor, Luigi Chinetti, for his North American Racing Team (NART).
Chassis 0872 went on to make three appearances for NART during the 1970 season.
At the Daytona 24 Hours, Sam Posey and Mike Parkes finished fourth overall and won the Prototype class
At the Sebring 12 Hours, Mike Parkes and Chuck Parsons finished sixth overall and fourth in the three-litre Prototype category.
At the Le Mans 24 Hours, Tony Adamowicz and Chuck Parsons were plagued with electrical glitches caused by the dreadful weather. After 24 hours they were still running, but had covered insufficient distance to be classified as finishers.
For the 1971 season, 0872 was re-bodied with 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 came at the 1971 Daytona 24 Hours where Nestor Garcia-Veiga, Luigi Chinetti Jr. and Alain de Cadanet claimed fifth overall and first in the Prototype class.
The Daytona outing was followed by an appearance at the Sebring 12 Hours where Chinetti Jr. and George Eaton crossed the line eighth overall. This was good enough for third in the three-litre Prototype category.
Luigi Chinetti then set about building a new car using a number of 0872's components. The suspension, steering, engine and gearbox were dropped into a brand new chassis known as the Chinetti Special. It was raced by NART at the 1972 Daytona 6 Hours and the 1974 Le Mans 24 Hours.
During the early 1980s, all the parts taken from 0872 were re-united with the original car which had been sold to Francois Sicard in 1972. The new owner, Carle Conway of Southport, Connecticut, then sold the dis-assembled machine to local collector, Paul Pappalardo, who in turn traded them to TV producer, Greg Garrison, in Thousand Oaks, California.
By the early 1980s, chassis 0872 was with Peter Sachs of Stamford, Connecticut. Sachs subsequently had chassis 0872 restored to its original configuration during the late 1990s.
Notable History
312 P Berlinetta
Scuderia Ferrari
15/06/1969 WSC Le Mans 24 Hours (C. Amon / P. Schetty) DNF (#19)
Sold to Luigi Chinetti (NART)
01/02/1970 WSC Daytona 24 Hours (S. Posey / M. Parkes) 4th oa, 1st P class (#24)
21/03/1970 WSC Sebring 12 Hours (M. Parkes / C. Parsons) 6th oa, 4th P3.0 class (#22)
14/06/1970 WSC Le Mans 24 Hours (C. Parsons / T. Adamowicz) NC (#57)
Converted to 312 PB-style Spyder body by Wayne Sparling
31/01/1971 WSC Daytona 24 Hours (N. Garcia-Veiga / L. Chinetti Jr. / A. De Cadenet) 5th oa, 1st P class (#21)
20/03/1971 WSC Sebring 12 Hours (L. Chinetti Jr. / G. Eaton) 8th oa, 3rd P3.0 class (#21)
Dismantled after Sebring
Engine, gearbox, steering and suspension used in the '312 Chinetti Special'
1972 chassis and bodywork acquired by Francois Sicard in 1972
Early 1980s sold to Carle Conway, Connecticut
Re-united with original engine, gearbox, steering and suspension used in the '312 Chinetti Special'
Sold to Paul Pappalardo, Connecticut
Sold to Greg Garrison, California
Sold to Peter Sachs, Connecticut
Restored
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: unattributed
