[Video] V12 Ferrari 312P howls as it's thrashed up Goodwood Hill | GRR
It is very hard to argue with the idea that the Ferrari P3 is the most beautiful car the Scuderia has ever produced. But the combination of the looks of the 312P that followed it and its screaming 3.0-litre V12, has to run it close for sheer drama and beauty.
The 312P came at a time when Ferrari was a little strapped for cash, and smarting from the banning of its P4 via a rule change in 1968. Enzo’s men built the 312P to 3.0-litre regs in 1969, racing through the season and into 1970, but with little success. Unfortunately it arrived at a time when the emergence of Porsche’s 917 was making it clear that building cars to 5.0-litre Group 5 regs was going to be the way to go.
But that does not stop the 312P from being an absolute jaw-dropper. Especially when former hillclimb champion David Franklin is as the wheel.
David, in his seventies remember, hurls the screaming stunner up the Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard Hill with absolute abandon. It’s a riot of joy, with the 312P receiving the treatment it was made to take, and David showing zero fear, despite the cramped roof of the coupe causing him to have to sit with his head cocked to one side. If this doesn’t quicken your heart, then we’re not sure what will.