1970 Ferrari 512S #11
Pilots: R. Bucknum, S. Posey
Team: North American Racing Team
Race: 4th overall (3rd in S 5.0 class) at Le Mans in 1970
Tecnomodel - TM43-01E (resin)
Published 08/22/25
The first half of the 60s is now known as the Ferrari Era at Le Mans. They won six times straight, from 1960 to 1965. However, in 1964 Ford came up with the Ford GT, and in 1966 the Ford Era began. The Dearborn manufacturer achieved four consecutive wins, from 1966 to 1969. Ferrari lost the supremacy, and FIA did not help, limiting engine capacity to 3 liters in Group 6 for 1968. Ferrari’s ticket to the World Sportscar Championship was Group 6, and they didn’t have a competitive 3-liters car. However, a loophole in the Group 5 rules allowed 5-liters engine if 25 cars were produced. Porsche jumped on the opportunity, and in 1969 released the 917. Flush with cash, after FIAT bought half of the company, old man Enzo decided to follow Porsche.
With that, in 1969 Mauro Forghieri began working on Ferrari’s new sportscar: the 512S. The 512S counted on an all-alloy 4993 cm³ V12, with DOHC and 48 valves. To tame all those Italians stallions Ferrari used a manual 5-speed gearbox, and disk brakes to slow ‘em down. With Lucas indirect fuel injection, that translated to 404 kW (542 hp), allowing a top speed of eye-watering 340 km/h. The chassis was a conventional steel tubular spaceframe, developed from the P4 and the 612. To add rigidity, they reinforced everything with aluminum sheets. The suspension was also “normal”, with double wishbones, coil springs and telescopic shock absorbers on all corners. Covering everything up was a light polycarbonate shell, designed by Giacomo Caliri, to help alleviate weight. Even so, because of the complex water-cooling system and steel chassis, the 512S weighed 840 kg dry.
The idea was to build some cars for the factory team and the rest for paying clients, just like Porsche. However, that’s where the similarities ended. While Porsche’s clients received full factory support, almost like works teams, Ferrari didn’t do much for their clients. To make matters worse, the 917 raced in 1969, while the 512S debuted in January of 1970, at Daytona. With that, in June, for Le Mans, the 917 had a huge development advantage over the 512S. Nonetheless, Ferrari arrived at La Sarthe loaded for bear: four cars in the works team. Furthermore, there were seven more cars in four client teams. Facing the Italian squadra were eight 917s. Of the 11 512S that started the race, only two finished. One car from the North American Racing Team (chassis #1014) and one from Ecurie Francorchamp, in fourth and fifth, respectively.
The 512S was not a great car at first. By the end of the year Forghieri further developed the 512S, creating the 512M. The 512M was much better, able to face the 917 as an equal. However, Ferrari opted to focus on the new 312P, relegating the 512M to client teams. These privateers simply didn’t have the resources to allow the car to reach its full potential.
Therefore the 512S is not a winning car (far from that), but for me it’s VERY special. The 917 along with the 512S were the cars in the film “Le Mans” that ignited my passion for motorsports. In fact, I’m writing this exactly because I was in awe of the battle between those two cars 47 years ago. Without a doubt, this is a grail model for me. Thankfully, Tecnomodel delivered a SUPERB rendition of the car. It’s just beautiful, to say the least.