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365 P Pininfarina Tre Posti Speciale
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  Ferrari 365 P Pininfarina Tre Posti Speciale      

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Country of origin:Italy
Produced in:1966
Numbers built:2
Introduced at:1966 Paris Auto Salon
Designed by:Pininfarina
Author:Wouter Melissen
Last updated:August 14, 2014
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Click here to download printer friendly versionEver the conservative, Enzo Ferrari was remarkably quick to switch to mid-mounted engines for his Formula 1 machines and sports cars. As a result, Ferrari was the first to win the F1 World Championship after pioneers Coopers with a mid-engined car, and also scored the first ever outright win at Le Mans with this layout. Enzo Ferrari was altogether more hesitant to offer road-going versions of these racers as he felt only professional drivers could control these hairy machines, particularly those powered by the big V12 engines.

Longtime associate of Ferrari's and the company's coach builder of choice, Sergio Pininfarina did see the potential of road going Ferrari with the trademark V12 mounted behind the driver. This would not only open a new market for Ferrari but also provide Pininfarina with a more exotic canvas to showcase the carrozzeria's capabilities.

Well aware of his good friend's reservations, Sergio Pininfarina tried to change his mind through several show cars, most notably the road going 250 LM at the Geneva Motor Show in 1965. Although Ferrari was still not convinced, prominent Ferrari clients Luigi Chinetti and Gianni Agnelli were very interested and Pininfarina set about creating a spectacular new mid-engined Ferrari for the 1966 shows.

Ferrari did provide the underpinnings for the new car, which were derived directly from the sports 330 P2 sports cars that raced at Le Mans. While these were powered by the latest twin-cam engines, they were usually re-fitted with a slightly larger, single-cam V12 when sold to customers like Chinetti. It was this 365 P specification that was also used for the new Pininfarina project.

Good for around 380 bhp and mated to a five-speed transaxle, the 4.4 litre V12 was mounted in the latest evolution of the familiar sports car chassis. This was built around a multi-tubular space frame with added aluminium sheets to increase rigidity. This semi-monocoque construction was also used for Ferrari's F1 cars of the day. Suspension was by double wishbones with coil-overs on all four corners.

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  Article Image gallery (26) Chassis (2) Specifications User Comments (1)