The 312 P was born as a Barchetta, became a Berlinetta in between and finally left the racetracks as a Spider, but today it is back with a fully restored roof. The Berlinetta version is by far the most beautiful version of this Ferrari sports prototype.
A dynasty of aesthetics
As the successor to the most beautiful Ferrari sports prototype ever, the 330 P4 from 1967, it was not easy for the 312 P to continue the dynasty of aesthetics. From a sporting point of view, the 312 P was also unable to match the success of the 330 P4.
The Ferrari 312 P was presented at the Real Fini in December 1968 and was entered in races from 1969.
The new book on the red sports prototype by Gianni Agnesa fills a gap, albeit a small one, in the register of Ferrari racing cars.
Complete chronicle in three languages
Agnesa, a trained engineer and great Ferrari fan, describes the development of the 312P in eight chapters and at the end of the 264 pages also describes the complete restoration of the car with chassis number 0872.
Gianni Agnesa, who lives in Cagliari in Sardinia, planned his book project for many years, but never found a publisher for it. Only the collaboration with Edi Wyss, who restored the car and inevitably came across the Sardinian during his research on the car, bore fruit. Wyss was able to make the book palatable to the McKlein publishing house and the result is something to be proud of.
Originally written in Italian, of course, it has now been translated into English and German and published in three languages. The only small point of criticism is the German translation, because what certainly reads excellently in Italian unfortunately seems a little bumpy in the German version, but this does not detract from the ingeniously researched information.
Impressive image material
For the most part, the image material is absolutely outstanding, not only the image quality but also the choice of motifs is impressive. It is also impressive how many great pictures there still are of the car.
It is well known that Mercedes-Benz has always maintained an excellent picture archive, but it is not really known what Ferrari has. Here, however, pictures from various test drives, as well as some night-time atmospheric pictures, come to light that are simply outstanding.
Few racing successes
The car only raced just six times in its first and only factory season in 1969. Most of the time, technical defects and certain driving errors prevented the competitive 12-cylinder from achieving better results. Despite great drivers such as Mario Andretti, Pedro Rodriguez and Chris Amon, there were only two second places in the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 1000 km race at Spa-Francorchamps.
For Le Mans, the Barchetta was turned into a Berlinetta, which improved the look, especially the lateral lines, many times over, but the two most beautiful cars in the entire field did not see the chequered flag.
The book takes you through the entire history of the two cars right up to the present day. There was the time in the NART team from 1970-74 where the three-liters had no chance against the new five-liters. In 1974, Andruet / Zeccoli and ninth place overall did achieve a notable classification in the "24h du Mans".
Many contemporary witnesses
The book goes into great depth about the history of the race and also gives a voice to various people who were responsible at the time, some of whom have since passed away. For example, the engineers Caliri and Rocchi, as well as the then press spokesman Sig. Dottore Franco Gozzi and not forgetting the Swiss Dr. Peter Schetty, who worked for Ferrari from racing driver to race director at the time. Of course, there are also the words of 17 drivers who more or less drove these cars.
The 264 specific pages with its 250 great photos and the convincing layout definitely justify the price of € 89.90. A book to enjoy ...
Bibliographical details
- Title: Ferrari 312 P - Ferrari's perhaps most beautiful racing car
- Author: Gianni Agnesa
- Publisher: McKlein Publishing
- Edition: 1st edition November 2019
- Languages: German/English/Italian
- Format: 29.5 x 27 cm, hardcover in slipcase
- Scope: 264 pages, approx. 114 color and 123 black and white illustrations
- ISBN: 978-3947156191
- Price: EUR 89.90
- Buy/order: Online at amazon.de, online in the McKlein Rally webshop or in relevant bookstores
