VIN: the works / Solar Productions / Nick Mason Ferrari 512 S chassis 1026
History of chassis 1026
Chassis 1026 was one of nine 512 S that appeared as works cars during the 1970 season.
It debuted in Berlinetta trim at the Daytona 24 Hours where Mario Andretti (who was partnered by Arturo Merzario) qualified on pole with a time 1.3 seconds faster than the second place Gulf Porsche 917.
Andretti was passed by the two Gulf 917s on the opening lap, but he and Merzario led the Ferrari challenge throughout.
1026 was briefly delayed when Merzario span and it was subsequently black-flagged twice for no rear lights.
When Jacky Ickx’s 512 retired, he joined Andretti in 1026.
Soon after midnight, 16 minutes were lost for a disc change, but as 4am approached, Andretti / Ickx had risen to second.
At 9am, the Ferrari came in with a broken chassis crossmember under the gearbox which took 45 mins to weld up. Another 32 minutes were lost soon afterwards for further repairs.
1026 ultimately dropped a position but nevertheless took a creditable third place behind the two Gulf 917s.
At Sebring seven weeks later, the works 512s arrived with reinforced chassis, 35kg less weight and an extra 40bhp thanks to an updated fuel-injection system.
Ignazio Giunti and Nino Vaccarella qualified seventh in 1026 and were up to fourth at quarter distance as Porsche experienced technical problems. With six hours gone, Giunti / Vaccarella had risen to second behind leaders Andretti / Merzario.
Shortly after 7pm, 1026 went off at the hairpin and punctured a tyre. The trip back to the pits wrecked its rear suspension which took 24 minutes to replace.
After Andretti’s car dropped out with gearbox problems with 80 minutes to go, he joined Giunti / Vaccarella in 1026, which was by this time second behind the Solar Productions Porsche 908/02 driven by Peter Revson and Steve McQueen.
Andretti took over for the final stint and closed on the Porsche at the rate of five seconds per lap. 1026 eventually took what would be the 512’s only win at World Championship level.
The car next appeared at Monza in Spyder trim. No winglets were fitted and there had been changes to the metering units and distributors.
1026 was allocated to Chris Amon and Arturo Merzario who started second.
Amon dropped to fifth at the start and the car had a quiet race on its way to a fourth place finish; Amon later joined the Giunti / Vaccarella car which finished second.
The 1000km race at Spa took place in treacherous conditions. Subtle changes to the bodywork improved stability and revisions were made to the inlet trumpets.
Now back in Berlinetta trim, 1026 started fifth in the hands of Giunti / Vaccarella.
The car was sixth at quarter distance, fifth at half distance and, with around three hours to go, had risen to fourth where it finished after just over four hours of racing.
1026’s final competitive outing came at the Le Mans 24 Hours. It was one of eleven 512 Berlinettas entered; the four works cars and four distributor team cars were all equipped with long-tailed Coda Lunga bodywork.
Scuderia Ferrari’s own machinery also arrived with changes to the camshaft profiles, injection trumpets and exhaust manifolds.
Derek Bell and Ronnie Peterson qualified 1026 in seventh, but unfortunately, Bell picked up an early puncture.
Then, during the third hour, 1026 was caught up in an accident which took four of the 512s out of the race.
Reine Wisell was running his Scuderia Filipinetti example at drastically reduced speed through Maison Blanche as his windscreen had been covered in oil. Wisell was hit by Regazzoni's works car which was in turn hit by the other Filipinetti long tail. All three cars retired on the spot. In avoiding the melee Bell's car had registered excessively high revs and blew a valve a few minutes later.
Afterwards, 1026 was purchased by Solar Productions for use in the Steve McQueen movie Le Mans.
During filming (which took place between June and November) 1026 was crashed by Derek Bell. The car caught fire and was gutted.
The remains were sold via Herbert Muller to a Frenchman who later took it to Britain for a rebuild. Once estimates for the restoration were filed, the French owner decided against proceeding and 1026 was sold to Pink Floyd drummer, Nick Mason.
Mason had the car rebuilt from a basket of bits by Bob Houghton.
The original chassis was repaired on a jig and fitted with a new body. New tie rods, rose joints, a new magnesium steering rack and a new brake system were also fitted. For ease of use, Houghton added a centre console to bring all the controls within reach and switched the car to a push-button rather than key start.
1026 subsequently appeared in a July 1982 track test by Motor Sport magazine and was raced extensively. It today forms part of Nick Mason’s Ten Tenths collection.
Notable History
512 S Berlinetta
Scuderia Ferrari
01/02/1970 Daytona 24 Hours (M. Andretti / A. Merzario / J. Ickx) 3rd oa, 3rd in S5.0 class (#28)
21/03/1970 Sebring 12 Hours (I. Giunti / N. Vaccarella / M. Andretti) 1st oa, 1st in S5.0 class (#21)
Converted to Spyder trim
25/04/1970 Monza 1000km (C. Amon / A. Merzario) 4th oa, 4th in S5.0 class (#1)
Converted to Berlinetta trim
17/05/1970 Spa 1000km (I. Giunti / N. Vaccarella) 4th oa, 4th in S5.0 class (#22)
Fitted with Coda Lunga bodywork
14/06/1970 Le Mans 24 Hours (D. Bell / R. Peterson) DNF valve (#7)
6/70 Obtained via Jacques Swaters, Brussels, and sold to Solar Productions Inc., North Hollywood, USA, for the film, Le Mans
Crashed during filming
Remains sold to a Frenchman
Later purchased by Nick Mason and restored by Bob Houghton
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Ferrari - https://www.ferrari.com
