Today’s featured Ferrari began life as a Ferrari 512S chassis #1010 which was qualified on pole for it’s first race by Mario Andretti at the 1970 Sebring 12 hours. Andretti and co driver Art Mezario retired from the race leaving Andretti free to jump into the sister car, chassis #1026, which up to that point had been driven by Ignazio Giunti / Nino Vaccarella, from seventh on the grid. Andretti famously chased down the Solar Productions Porsche 908 which was driven primarily by Peter Revson and shared with Steve McQueen to win the race.

During the remainder of the 1970 season #1010 was driven by the likes of Jackie Oliver, Peter Schetty and Jackie Ickx who teamed up with Giunti won the season finale 1970 Kayalami 9 Hours.

For 1971 a larger 6.3 litre / 384 cui V12 replaced the original 5 litre / 305 cui motor and Art Mezario used it to win the Interserie (Unlimitied Can Am style) race at Imola under the watchful of eye of Enzo Ferrari himself. Later in 1971 #1010 appeared at Watkins Glen with new open body work and now with a 6.86 litre / 418 cui V12 for Mario Andretti to drive in the Can Am Series. Despite a lack of development Andretti managed to qualify 5th and finish 4th only for the car to disappear for the remainder of the season.

For 1972 Luigi Chinetti acquired the largest Ferrari V12 engine ever built along with chassis #1010 in which to run it and entered Jean-Pierre Jarier in for two more Can Am races, he finished 4th from 10th on the grid at Road America where it had become obvious the by now turbo charged Porsche 917’s were in a completely different class from the Ferrari 712 and indeed the rest of the field.

Brian Redman had the honour of driving the car for the last time in the 1974 in the Watkins Glen Can Am round, which almost eliminated all non turbocharged vehicles with a maximum permitted fuel limit, he qualified 19th and retired with broken rear suspension. Today Enzo’s Big Banger chassis #1010 is run by Paul Knapfield and is seen here at the recent Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Thanks for joining me on this “Enzo’s Big Banger” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”. I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I shall be looking at the original version of the Lotus 49 that revolutionised Grand Prix Racing in 1967. Don’t forget to come back now !