Ferrari 330 P3/P4
American race fans seem to have a love-hate relationship
with Ferrari. There's the F1 race team, whose penchant for political
gamesmanship has at times overshadowed its on-track prowess, despite
its place atop the all-time winner's list. And there's its heritage in sports
car racing, in which it often played the role of arch-rival to American cars and
teams like Ford, Shelby and Chaparral.
But, the cars themselves? Rarely do you hear any
bad things to say about them. It would be a challenge indeed to name a marque
that has been able as consistently to create works of automotive art that also
set the pace than the house that Enzo built. The 330 P series of sports
prototypes is surely a case in point.
Built at the height of Ferrari's bitter rivalry with Ford,
the 330 P3 of 1966 was intended to carry on the domination that the 250 P had
maintained through the first half of the 1960s, in the face of Ford's all-out
assault.
The P3 incorporated fiberglass doors – a first for
Maranello – while the 410 horses of its 4.0-liter fuel-injected V-12 were
transmitted via a 5-speed gearbox. An F1-style monocoque chassis was augmented
by some stressed body panels.
Pedro Rodriguez/Richie Ginther (Ferrari 330P3 Spyder) at Le
Mans in 1966.
After Ford GT40s won the opening two rounds of the World
SportsCar Championship in '66, Ferrari fought back with wins on home ground at
Monza and at Spa with the P3. But the critical battleground of Le Mans went the
Americans' way as the armada of factory-supported GT40s swept the first three
places, while all three works P3s failed to finish. Ford went on to edge the
Italians by two points in the constructor's championship that year.
source: http://racer.com/more/viewpoints/item/105799-your-favorite-racecars-4-ferrari-330-p3-p4
by Andrew Crask
Images: LAT Photographichttp://www.fzrestoration.com
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