Tag Archives: Ted

Fury’s Experiment – Ferrari 312 B3 #009 Spazzaneve

In the autumn of 1972 I was sitting in my dorm at school thumbing through a copy of Autocar when I came across a 4″ x 2″ photograph of today’s featured car the, there was only ever one, Ferrari 312 B3 nick named the Spazzaneve or snow plough. I reached for a pair of scissors and cut the photo out and stuck it to my bedside table where I could see it from my bed and would day dream of driving this compact vehicle to to dozens of Grand Prix victories.

Ferrari 312 B3 Spazzaneve, Hall & Hall, Bourne, Lincs

Being only 13 at the time and some months away from becoming fully mentally engaged with Formula One, I had no idea that it would be 40 years before I got to see this car in the flesh, partly because it was an experimental model and never raced in anger, partly because it’s designer Mauro ‘Fury’ Forghieri was to be moved to another job soon after #009 was built and tested and partly because Enzo Ferrari was ill which allowed FIAT management at helm of the good ship Ferrari and they wanted Franco Rocchi and Giacomo Caliri under the direction of FIAT’s Stefano Colombo to design Ferrari’s 1973 Grand Prix challenger.

Ferrari 312 B3 Spazzaneve, Hall & Hall, Bourne, Lincs

The 312 B3 Spazzaneve was a significant departure from Foghieri’s previous model the not entirely unsuccessful Ferrari 312 B2.

Ferrari 312 B3 Spazzaneve, Hall & Hall, Bourne, Lincs

Like many designers of the time, including Tyrrells designer Derek Gardner, Mauro was concerned with improving the handling of his cars by packaging all the heavy items, radiators, fuel, oil and water tanks and so forth as close to the centre of the cars gravity as possible.

Ferrari 312 B3 Spazzaneve, Hall & Hall, Bourne, Lincs

Interestingly this experimental vehicle did not feature inboard front brakes, as did both contemporary Lotus and Tyrrell designs which would have reduced the unsprung weight of the car to the benefit of the handling and brought these items closer to the cars centre of gravity further reducing the chassis ‘polar moment of inertia’ which has the benefit of reducing chassis stresses and improving handling.

Ferrari 312 B3 Spazzaneve, Hall & Hall, Bourne, Lincs

To improve front end grip radiators were mounted behind the front wheels and are fed fresh air by the large NACA ducts in the nose.

Ferrari 312 B3 Spazzaneve, Hall & Hall, Bourne, Lincs

The hot radiator air was then expelled through the ducts behind the mirror.

Ferrari 312 B3 Spazzaneve, Hall & Hall, Bourne, Lincs

Thanks to Regazzoni at The Nostalgia Forum I have been told that Mauro Fogheri’s dedication on the side of the car translates as “With this one [the car] I could understand many more things. With sympathy and a bit of envy Mauro Forghieri”

Ferrari 312 B3 Spazzaneve, Hall & Hall, Bourne, Lincs

Thanks to GD66 and domenico also at The Nostalgia Forum these signatures have been identified as those of Jacky Ickx, top, and Chief Mechanic Giulio Borsari bottom.

Ferrari 312 B3 Spazzaneve, Hall & Hall, Bourne, Lincs

I have not seen any photos of Ickx’s team mate Art Mezario driving the car in period, but there is no reason to suppose he didn’t, Art has demonstrated #009 since.

Ferrari 312 B3 Spazzaneve, Hall & Hall, Bourne, Lincs

The cockpit for anyone taller than an average horse jockey is incredibly cramped.

Ferrari 312 B3 Spazzaneve, Hall & Hall, Bourne, Lincs

Note the front support has three different anchor points, linked here is a photo of Jacky Ickx driving #009 with the wing mounted all the way forward on square shouldered Firestone tyres, and another of #009 with the rear wing mounted further back on round shouldered Goodyear tyres linked here. Jacky and Art can be seen chatting in the back ground in the latter.

Ferrari 312 B3 Spazzaneve, Hall & Hall, Bourne, Lincs

Like Derek Gardner’s Tyrrell 006 design the Spazzanave was found to be very nervous to drive, unlike Tyrrell Ferrari ditched the low polar momentum concept and built 3 freshly designed cars which resulted in Ferrari’s worst season to date, while Jackie Stewart drove the Tyrrell OO6 to his third World Drivers Championship in 1973.

Ferrari 312 B3 Spazzaneve, Hall & Hall, Bourne, Lincs

Soon after returning to work in 1973 Enzo Ferrari withdrew his team from the 1973 World Championship for a short sabbatical and recalled Mauro Fogierhi to his former position to rework the 1973 cars with his low polar momentum idea’s. The following season the 1974 version of the Ferrari 312 B3 was developed into a championship contender.

Ferrari 312 B3 Spazzaneve, Hall & Hall, Bourne, Lincs

Thanks to a touch of galvanic corrosion twixt wheel nut and wheel my school boy day dreams were partly realised while visiting Hall & Hall in Bourne when I was asked to apply the brake pedal in an effort to help free the wheel nuts of the car. Christmas certainly came a couple of weeks early this year.

I understand #009 is for sale, unfortunately I do not have the readies to relieve Hall & Hall of the responsibility of looking after Spazzaneve, if you do contact details can be found on this link.

My thanks to Ted Walker of Ferret Fotographics for taking me to visit Hall & Hall and to Rick Hall for permission to take these photographs.

Thanks for joining me on this “Fury’s Experiment” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Share

1% Efficiency Gain – Porsche 935 K3 #00017

The dominating sports car of the mid 70’s to early 1980’s was the Porsche 935, built for a set of regulations known as Group 5. The 935 was based around the Porsche 911, the works factory team developed three distinct versions in ‘76, ‘77 and ’78 when the Moby Dick version marked the high tide of factory 935 development. Porsche also built a customer version of the 935 the 935/77A.

Meanwhile the Kremer Brothers set about developing their own 935, the K1, based on the Porsche 934 model, that was available for the technically less demanding Group 4 regulations in 1976. In 1977 the Kremer brothers acquired a customer 935 and in 1978 followed their own development path based on the 935/77A to develop the K2.

Porsche 935 K3 #00017, Palo Alto

For 1979 their K3 model featured over 100 detail changes from the standard customer 935 ’77 which included a lighter air to air intercooler in place of the hitherto ubiquitous air to water sytem, composite carbon fibre panels which saved 30 kgs / 62 lbs. The DM 400,000 K3 was thought to have been 1% more efficient than the standard customer 935 ’77 which over an endurance distance of 6, 12 or 24 hours would accrue to a handy advantage.

The K3 scored the 935 models only win at Le Mans in the hands of the Klaus Ludwig and the Whittington Brothers Don and Bill and a string of customers were soon knocking on the Kremer Brothers door in Cologne asking for copies.

Porsche 935 K3 #00017, Palo Alto

It is believed the Kremer Brothers built 13 K3’s and supplied kits to update older 935 models. I have not managed to ascertain if this 935 K3 is one of the Kremer brothers built models or one built up from a kit around a donor car, it carries the paint work of a vehicle belonging to Ted Field that was raced by Ted, Danny Ongias and Milt Minter in the Daytona 24 hours that came in 3rd from 5th on the grid.

Canepa Design are known to have recently restored such a car and if as seems highly probable this is the same vehicle the chassis number of this vehicle is # 00017.

My thanks to URY914 at The Nostalgia Forum for confirming that this car may have been converted to Trans Am spec and entered by John Klug Racing in 1983 and to Geoffey Horton who kindly sent me these photos from Palo Alto Concours d’Elegance.

Thank you for joining me on this Interscope edition of Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’, wishing you all a happy bank holiday Monday, I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to to come back now !

Share