Ferrari Berlinetta Boxer

The 24 Hours of le Mans

 

The Ferrari Berlinetta Boxer (BB) is series of sports cars produced by Ferrari in Italy between 1973 and 1984. The BB was designed by Leonardo Fioravanti at Pininfarina. The first BB model, the 365 GT4 BB, replaced the front engined Daytona and was the first in a series of road-going Ferraris equipped with a mid-mounted flat-twelve engine. It was also the first mid-engined road-car to bear the Ferrari name and the Cavallino Rampante (prancing horse) logo. The 365 GT4 BB was succeeded in 1976 by the BB 512, equipped with a larger displacement engine, then by the fuel-injected BB 512i in 1981.

In 1974, Luigi Chinetti's North American Racing Team (NART) developed a racing variant of the 365 GT4 BB to replace the team's Daytonas for use in sports car racing. NART's car debuted at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1975 before earning a sixth-place finish at the 12 Hours of Sebring two months later. NART continued to use the car into 1978, by which time Ferrari had begun their own development of a racing variant of the updated BB 512. Ferrari's Customer Assistance Department extensively modified four 512s in 1978, adding wider wheel arches, a roof-mounted aerofoil, and reusing rear wings from Ferrari 312T2 Formula One cars. Power from the flat-12 was increased to 440 PS (324 kW) while the cars' weight was decreased to approximately 1,200 kg (2,646 lb). The four cars, termed BB LM by Ferrari, were entered by Charles Pozzi, Ecurie Francorchamps, and NART in the 1978 24 Hours of Le Mans, but none was able to complete the race.

After the failure of the first batch, Ferrari worked on fixing the BB LM with a second development program in late 1978. The flat-12's carburettors were replaced with an electronic fuel injection system to increase power to 470 PS (346 kW), a system later adapted to the BB 512i. The production-based bodywork of the first BB/LMs was replaced by a new design developed by Pininfarina which was 16 in (41 cm) longer and carried over none of the original styling cues. The pop-up headlights were now replaced by fixed units integrated into the fascia, while the tail was lengthened to the maximum allowed by regulations. Nine of these revised BB LMs were built by Ferrari in 1979, while a further refined series of sixteen were built from 1980 to 1982. Amongst the BB LM's best finishes was a fifth overall and first in the GTX class at the 1981 24 Hours of Le Mans.

 

1977   1978    
Bil Tong BT118002; Ferrari 365 GT4BB; 1977 24h Le Mans 16th; Migault & Guitteny; RN75   Solido Code 3; Ferrari 512 BB; 1978 24h Le Mans DNF; Andruet & Dini; RN88 Solido 44; Ferrari 512 BB; 1978 24h Le Mans DNF; Guerin, Delauney, Young; RN87  
Bil Tong BT118002; Ferrari 365 GT4BB; 1977 24h Le Mans 16th; Migault & Guitteny; RN75   Solido Code 3; Ferrari 512 BB; 1978 24h Le Mans DNF; Andruet & Dini; RN88 Solido 44; Ferrari 512 BB; 1978 24h Le Mans DNF; Guerin, Delauney, Young; RN87  
1979   1979    
Meri Superkit; Ferrari 512BB; 1979 24h Le Mans DNF; Ballot-Lena, Leclere, Gregg, RN63   BBR HE180021CH; Ferrari 512BB; 1979 Le Mans; Red    
Meri Superkit; Ferrari 512BB; 1979 24h Le Mans DNF; Ballot-Lena, Leclere, Gregg, RN63   BBR HE180021CH; Ferrari 512BB; 1979 Le Mans    
1980        
BBR HE180022; Ferrari 512BB; 1980 24h Le Mans DNF; Guitteny & Bleynie; RN75 Brumm R214; Ferrari 512 BB; 1980 24h Le Mans DNF; Andruet & Ballot-Lena; RN77 Brumm R212; Ferrari 512 BB; 1980 24h Le Mans 23rd; O'Rourke, Down, Phillips; RN78 Meri Superkit; Ferrari 512BB; 1980 24h Le Mans 23rd; Crockfords, O'Rourke, Down, Phillips; RN78 Brumm R210; Ferrari 512 BB; 1980 24h Le Mans; Prototipo
BBR HE180022; Ferrari 512BB; 1980 24h Le Mans DNF; Guitteny & Bleynie; RN75 Brumm R214; Ferrari 512 BB; 1980 24h Le Mans DNF; Andruet & Ballot-Lena; RN77 Brumm R212; Ferrari 512 BB; 1980 24h Le Mans 23rd; O'Rourke, Down, Phillips; RN78 Meri Superkit; Ferrari 512BB; 1980 24h Le Mans 23rd; Crockfords, O'Rourke, Down, Phillips; RN78 Brumm R210; Ferrari 512 BB; 1980 24h Le Mans; Prototipo
1981     1982  
Brumm R213; Ferrari 512 BB; 1981 24h Le Mans 5th; Ballot-Lena & Andruet; RN47 Brumm R211; Ferrari 512 BB; 1981 24h Le Mans DNF; Phillips, Salmon, Earle; RN48   IXO FER006; Ferrari BB512; 1982 24h Le Mans DNF; Ballot-Lena, Andruet, Regout; RN71  
Brumm R213; Ferrari 512 BB; 1981 24h Le Mans 5th; Ballot-Lena & Andruet; RN47 Brumm R211; Ferrari 512 BB; 1981 24h Le Mans DNF; Phillips, Salmon, Earle; RN48   IXO FER006; Ferrari BB512; 1982 24h Le Mans DNF; Ballot-Lena, Andruet, Regout; RN71  

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Last Edit: 12/06/2024   Page Added 01/05/2022