NART's last hurrah

Apart from Enzo Ferrari himself, no single person was so critical to Ferrari’s global cachet as Luigi Chinetti. In 1949, he received Enzo’s blessing to operate as Ferrari’s sole distributor within the United States. That same year, Chinetti earned the marque’s first outright win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, thereby cementing the reliability and sporting capabilities of Ferrari’s earliest post-war catalog.

In 1958, Chinetti founded the North American Racing Team (NART), which competed exclusively in the world’s marquee endurance events. Throughout his career, Chinetti was a tremendous proselytizer for multiple iterations of factory-supported customer racing programs.

Between 1975 and 1977, NART ran a heavily modified 365 GT4/BB in competition. Meanwhile, Chinetti was lobbying Ferrari to step in with a run of works-prepared cars based on the 512 BB platform. Maranello agreed in 1978, and provided four examples of the Series 1 BB/LM to privateers; one for NART, one for Ecurie Francorchamps, and two for the eponymous Ecurie Charles Pozzi. The 512 BB/LMs immediately proved to be remarkably quick due to their severely reduced weight, exaggerated aerodynamics, and increased power.

By 1981, the factory-prepared 512 BB/LM had been thoroughly refined as an even sleeker and quicker model, the Series 3. The thin bodywork features extremely wide arches, revised intake ducts on the skirts and front fascia, and an extended, aerodynamic nose with low, gentle lines that taper rearward into the car’s dramatically elongated tail section. The mechanicals of the 5.0-litre F102B flat-twelve engine were similarly upgraded with forged internals and high compression pistons. In this final form, the Series 3 BB/LM boasted a factory rating of 480 horsepower.

This example is the tenth of 16 factory-built BB/LM Series 3s, it is also reportedly the last Ferrari ever sold to, or raced by, Chinetti’s team. Delivered new to NART in April 1981, it debuted at the 24 Hours of Le Mans wearing #49 and driven by the team of Alain Cudini, John Morton, and Philippe Gurdjian. It proved the fastest of all five 512 BB/LMs present, securing a qualifying lap time of 3:52.

Cudini started the race 29th overall and had improved to 4th by 8:00 PM. The car floated between 4th and 8th overall through the night thanks to a steady effort from Morton. After an early Sunday morning puncture which damaged the rear bodywork and cost the team valuable time, Gurdjian’s crash on the 247th lap dashed NART’s increasingly faint hope of class victory. Chinetti later learned that this entry had posted the fastest lap of any Ferrari during the race, with a best time of 3:56.

The following year it returned to Le Mans, this time wearing the NART #72 livery and assigned to the trio of Cudini, Morton, and John Paul Jr. With Cudini at the wheel, it again proved the fastest qualifier among five BB/LMs entered, and also the fastest Ferrari during the race. Paul Jr. started the race from the 37th position and outlasted several other 512 BB/LM entrants going into Saturday night. Morton provided another trouble-free overnight shift which saw him peak at 3rd place overall. Gearbox problems began around 11:00 AM on Sunday morning, but a very conservative strategy allowed Cudini to stave off complete gearbox failure while securing a 9th overall finish, and 4th in class.

The 1982 Le Mans 24 Hours and this Ferrari 512 BB/LM represents NART’s last race entry. This historic endurance racer will be available at RM Sotheby’s upcoming Monterey auction held between the 12-14th August 2021. Photos: © Robin Adams for RM Sotheby’s