<< Prev Page 2 of 2 For 1965 two more cars were constructed, but because of technical difficulties and lack of low-end torque team leader John Surtees often preferred the 158 over the 1512. Halfway through the season a highly modified version of Forghieri's V12 was introduced, which was rumoured to produce over 250 bhp. It was not enough to turn the complex Ferrari into a winning machine and Bandini's second place finish in the Monaco Grand Prix was the car's best result. At the end of the season the rules were changed once more and the engine displacement limit was increased to 3 litres, leaving the 1.5 litre engines obsolete.
Although the three cars were retired, Forghieri's flat 12 design was not and first reappeared in the all-conquering two litre 212 E Montagna. In the hands of Peter Schetty it recorded nine victories in nine entries in the 1969 European hillclimb championship. In three litre form the 12 cylinder engine would dominate the World Sportscar Championship in the early 1970s and more importantly Formula 1 in the second half of the decade. In the hands of talented drivers like Niki Lauda, Gilles Villeneuve and Jody Scheckter, the flat 12 Ferraris scored three driver's and four constructor's championship between 1975 and 1979.
Although not a big success on the track, the 1512 must have given Ferrari's engineers and Forghieri in particular valuable data later used to build the multiple championship winning two and three litre variants. It is also the only Ferrari to ever receive a four digit type indication. Remarkably all three cars survived and have been in long time ownership in various collections. Unlike previous Ferrari single seaters the 1512s were not destroyed to prevent them falling the hands of the competition, because they were truly obsolete at the end of the season. << Prev Page 2 of 2
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For 1965 two more cars were constructed, but because of technical difficulties and lack of low-end torque team leader John Surtees often preferred the 158 over the 1512. Halfway through the season a highly modified version of Forghieri's V12 was introduced, which was rumoured to produce over 250 bhp. It was not enough to turn the complex Ferrari into a winning machine and Bandini's second place finish in the Monaco Grand Prix was the car's best result. At the end of the season the rules were changed once more and the engine displacement limit was increased to 3 litres, leaving the 1.5 litre engines obsolete.