VIN: the works / Solar Productions Ferrari 512 S chassis 1004
History of chassis 1004
Chassis 1004 was one of eight 512 S campaigned by Scuderia Ferrari during the 1970 World Sportscar Championship.
It debuted at the opening race of 1970 - the Daytona 24 Hours - as part of a three-car works entry (January 31st to February 1st). 1004 was allocated to Jacky Ickx / Peter Schetty who qualified fifth. The sister 512 S of Andretti / Merzario was on pole followed by a trio of Porsche 917s.
Both Ickx and Schetty ran circumspectly during the race’s opening stages; having initially dropped a couple of positions, 1004 was back up to sixth at the four hour mark.
Unfortunately, soon after 7pm, Ickx suffered a puncture and clipped the wall. 1004 sustained body and suspension damage. It was retired as the sister car of Giunti / Vaccarella had experienced a similar failure.
Ickx went on to join the sole remaining factory entry of Andretti / Merzario which came home third.
Ferrari then won at Sebring, but Porsche were back on top at Brands Hatch.
A repaired chassis 1004 had its next outing at Ferrari’s home race: the Monza 1000km (April 25th). On this occasion, Peter Schetty was joined by John Surtees. They qualified sixth behind the brace of sister cars in second and fourth.
Surtees retained his sixth position during opening laps. By mid-distance, he and Schetty had moved up to third. They ultimately crossed the line three laps behind the winning Porsche to claim the final podium position. The works Ferrari of Giunti / Vaccarella / Amon was second.
Chassis 1004 did not race again. However, it was used as part of the 512 test programme to include an outing on a closed section of Autostrada with the updated Coda Lungo bodywork ahead of the Le Mans 24 Hours.
In June 1970, Ferrari re-numbered 1004 as 1024 (the number of an un-raced 512 S) and sold it without engine and gearbox to Jacques Swaters of Garage Francorchamps (the Belgian Ferrari distributor based in Brussels).
Swaters was helping Solar Productions acquire a fleet of the latest cars for the Steve McQueen movie, Le Mans, filming for which was set to take place between June and November.
Solar Productions fitted the body from 1004 to a remote-controlled Lola chassis which was then used for a spectacular crash scene.
With filming complete, nearly all the Ferraris used for the movie (to include the chassis and sundry parts for 1004) were sold to Herbert Muller in Switzerland.
Muller later sold 1004 to an Italian collector and the car was rebuilt by a subsequent owner in the early 1990s.
Notable History
512 S Berlinetta
Scuderia Ferrari, Maranello, Italy
Red
01/02/1970 WSC Daytona 24 Hours (J. Ickx / P. Schetty) DNF (#27)
25/04/1970 WSC Monza 1000km (J. Surtees / P. Schetty) 3rd (#2)
Used for testing
06/1970 re-numbered 1024 and sold without engine & gearbox to Jacques Swaters, Brussels (Garage Francorchamps)
Sold to Solar Productions Inc., North Hollywood, for the film, Le Mans
Bodywork removed and fitted to a Lola T70 which was used for a crash scene
12/1970 sold to Herbert Muller, Reinach, Switzerland
Sold to an Italian collector
Rebuilt by a subsequent owner in the early 1990s
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Ferrari - https://www.ferrari.com
