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Ferrari 312PB Was An Unstoppable Flat-12 Prototype-Sportscar

Before the Prancing Horse channeled all its racing know-how to Formula 1, Ferrari was one of the toughest names in sportscar racing. The last hurrah in a glorious line of prototype racers was the car we're talking about today - the glorious 1972 Ferrari 312PB.
Ferrari 312PB 1 photo
Photo: screenshot from Youtube
In the early '70s, Scuderia Ferrari was pretty much at the top of the game with the 312PB. Designed by Mauro Forghieri, who became chief of technical department for racing cars after Carlo Chiti left the Italian manufacturer, the curious looking machine had all sorts of groundbreaking bits and bobs for that era.

An F1-based naturally aspirated 3-liter DOHC flat-twelve was mounted in the middle and mated to a five-speed manual transmission. On a bad day, the mill could send 450 horsepower to the rear axle, all in a car that weighs somewhere close to 650 kilograms, translating in a mind-boggling power-to-weight ratio.

Further more, the chassis is an aluminum central monocoque with steel spaceframe construction at both ends, while suspension at the front features a double wishbone setup with outboard coil spring and damper. In the hands of Ronnie Peterson, Mario Andretti, Jacky Ickx and Clay Regazzoni, among others, the Ferrari 312PB managed to win 10 of 11 races from the 1972 season of the World Sportscar Championship.

Only the 24 Hours of Le Mans round was skipped by the Scuederia because… reasons. Reasons you can find out by watching the spectacular video below, courtesy of the Petrolicious team. Don't worry, there's plenty of eye and ear candy on the menu, so kick back in your chair and turn the volume up to 11 for the full experience.

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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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