Le Mans’ double-winning Ferrari

Deep-dive volumes on specific chassis of a renowned and successful racing model have become a Porter Press signature. But this one is a little different thanks to its large ‘art-style’ format perhaps best described as ‘Cinerama’. Dimensions of 295mm x 400mm equates to the book equivalent of widescreen.

Not suitable for bedtime reading, then – you really need a table rather than your knees upon which to rest it. On the plus side, such breadth on decent paper enhances the expansive qualities of the 260-plus photographs, particularly the evocative black and white archive stuff from Le Mans. This really is a lovely thing.
The subject, as the subtitle suggests (The Only Ferrari to Have Won Le Mans Twice), is a very special Ferrari. Chassis 0816 was the last of four 250 Ps built for the 1963 season as Ferrari adopted a mid-engined approach to its new breed of endurance prototypes. As a works entry, it only raced three times – and won on each occasion: Le Mans 1963 in the hands of Lorenzo Bandini and Ludovico Scarfiotti; then in uprated 275 P form at the 1964 Sebring 12 Hours driven by Mike Parkes and Umberto Maglioli; and finally at Le Mans once again, in 1964, this time with Nino Vaccarella and Jean Guichet behind the wheel, to claim its unique status in Ferrari lore.

Back then, of course, such a feat carried no particular value to Enzo Ferrari or anyone else for that matter, so past-its-best 0816 headed to Luigi Chinetti’s North American Racing Team – which painted it gold for the 1965 Sebring 12 Hours. Why the lurid colour? Politics, of course. The Old Man had fallen out with the organisers for allowing Chaparral’s 2A and Lola’s T70 Spyder in and ‘boycotted’ the race (even if he didn’t really). NART then turned it back to red and sold it to USAF major William ‘Bill’ Cooper, who raced it in USRRC rounds at Road America – the first one solo, which probably wasn’t wise given the race’s near six-hour duration. After a final Sebring 12 Hours with a NART stripe in 1969, 0816 took its place in Pierre Bardinon’s celebrated Ferrari collection and only changed hands again after the Frenchman’s death in 2012.

It’s all here, as you’d expect, covered in forensic fashion by the author, a respected Ferrari specialist. Keith Bluemel explains the most contentious part of 0816’s history. It only appeared at Le Mans in 1963 after Vaccarella smashed up 0814 in a crash at the Nürburgring 1000Kms. Time was short, so for the 24 Hours 0816 raced under 0814’s identity. “This was an easy task on this model,” writes Bluemel, “as the chassis number was stamped on a small rectangular metal plate, which was tack-welded to a chassis tube in the engine bay.” Recent Ferrari Classiche certification has confirmed the ruse, although we’re left to take the author’s word that period factory records he’s seen offers “irrefutable” proof.

All very Ferrari. If only Enzo had known how we’d value such provenance… actually, given his relish for mischief, he’d likely have acted precisely the same.

Ferrari 275 P 0816
Keith Bluemel
Porter Press, from £125
ISBN 9781913089672