In 1969 Enzo Ferrari sold half of his stock to Fiat.  He used some of that money to build 25 cars in order to compete with the Porsche 917.

The Ferrari 512, powered by a 5 liter V12, was introduced for the 1970 season.  I had a taste of it finishing 2nd at Daytona with Bucknum in a Spyder version earlier this year, but this was my first chance to drive the coupe, a real blunt weapon, at Le Mans.

Le Mans 1971 was a far cry from 1970’s torrential rains.  What a pleasure to drive in decent weather.  I was teamed with Sam Posey to drive the NART 512M chassis #1020 entry.  Roger Penske’s 512M required the assistance of Mr. Luigi Chinetti and was accepted under his American entry.  Our pits were adjacent, and at the start of practice our mechanics started my engine.  It roared to life with lots of blipping the throttle in normal Ferrari fashion.  Roger Penske happened to be behind our car, standing in front of the pristine blue Ferrari.  His matching yellow sneakers and pants were covered with dark soot from our rich engine start up.  This was not a good beginning for the Penske team.

I knew our car had its limitations, so I worked with Sam.  By giving written instructions to him regarding the actual rev points, gear changes, etc., it allowed the car to be driven as if one driver was doing it all.  The 24 hours of Le Mans is truly a chess game.  We knew we did not have the straight-line speed of the streamliner 917K, so we were determined to drive the car within its design limits.

The engine performed well considering we did have some oiling problems, the transaxle performed flawlessly throughout the race.  By instructing Sam not to squirt off the corners in low gear, we were able to make everything last to the end, finishing third overall, first Americans and first Ferrari.

The Penske-Donohue 512M was truly a detailed machine with matching yellow pin striping.  The dark blue color with yellow trim produced a strikingly un-Ferrari like appearance.    The wheels were at a high polish over the normal painted gold Ferrari NART wheels.  You could eat off of any part of the car.  It looked every bit a winner.

 Unquestionably, it was a fast car.  We’d seen that five months earlier at Daytona.  Once again here at Le Mans, the blue Penske 512M out-qualified us.  Many called it the fastest Ferrari in the world, but it was not our equal during the race where it counts the most.

So what was the mystique of the blue Penske /Donahue 512M?  Their chassis underwent major work in the cab and was strengthened wherever they felt was needed.  It underwent complete AN plumbing & wiring overhaul, simplifying the factory wiring harness, which gave them problems during the race.

The factory M bodywork was replaced by lightweight bodywork made from their own plastic molds.  The bodywork did not hold up to the rigors of Daytona during a 24-hour race.  The rear wing was replaced by a new full-width wing design that produced more down force than the standard wing with less angle of attack.  The design produced additional loads on bodywork and wing attachments, to the point they were failing and needed constant maintenance.  This caused potential aerodynamic imbalance of the car, producing understeering handling traits.  No additional front aerodynamic tabs were added to compensate for the handling.  The limited slip differential was replaced by a locker rear end, that produced additional understeer.  This was one of Mark’s traits and he wanted to use the locker rear end.

The rear suspension had alternate adjustable suspension pick up points, new springs with different rates and adjustable roll center.  Their new springs gave them trouble, collapsing under the stress of the banking G forces at Daytona.

Their 512 M engine was re-engineered by TRACO in Culver City, California for better performance and reliability.  The fuel injection cam was re-mapped for better mid-range power and the valve springs changed to allow maximum 9500 RPM’s.  The engine oiling and fuel system was revamped as well, for better reliability.  Although TRACO Engineering had a great reputation as an engine builder, ultimately the engines were not so reliable and even the power was questionable at times.  Despite the car’s great qualifying performances, one could only think that it was over engineering and not necessarily an unfair advantage over the initial Ferrari 512 design.

Adamowicz collection – courtesy of Bernard Cahier

A fantastic group photo from 1971 Le Mans:  From left to right:  Tony Adamowicz, Vicki Dokos, Goodyear Racing Director Larry Truesdale, 1961 F1 World Champion Phil Hill, Dick Attwood (over David Hobbs’ shoulder), David Hobbs, Elliott Forbes-Robinson, Chris Craft, Ritchie Ginther, Alma Hill, and David Weir.

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