The Ferrari P series had evolved rapidly through the 1960s as Ferrari battled first Aston Martin and later Ford for supremacy in endurance racing. The 330 P3 of 1966 had introduced Lucas fuel injection and scored notable victories, but the Ford GT40 programme had outgunned Ferrari at Le Mans in 1966 with a celebrated 1-2-3 finish of its own. Ferrari's response for 1967 was the 330 P4, a substantial development of the P3 intended to restore the marque's standing in long-distance racing.
The 330 P4 used a V12 engine of 4.0 litres producing up to 450 hp, benefiting from a three-valve cylinder head modelled after those of Ferrari's Grand Prix-winning Formula One cars, combined with the same Lucas mechanical fuel injection system carried over from the P3. The P4 chassis was new, distinct from the P3's architecture, though one car (chassis 0846) was built on an upgraded P3 chassis.
Only four cars were ever given P4 engines: three purpose-built 330 P4s (chassis 0856, 0858, and 0860) and the upgraded P3 chassis 0846. The customer "412 P" cars that ran alongside the works entries used carburetor-fed engines rather than the factory fuel injection, specifically so they would be competitive but not in a position to beat the works cars outright.
The defining moment of the 330 P4's history came at the 1967 24 Hours of Daytona. Ferrari placed three cars across the top three finishing positions — 0846 in first, 0856 in second, and 412 P 0844 in third — creating a formation finish photograph directly analogous to Ford's Le Mans image from the previous year. It was a conscious gesture, and widely understood as such.
Ferrari won the 1967 1000 km of Monza with the P4 as well — the same race the P3 had won in 1966. The P3 had taken victory at Monza in 1966 for Parkes and Surtees; the P4 continued that tradition.
The subsequent histories of the four P4-engined cars have been the subject of considerable scrutiny and occasional dispute:
Chassis 0846 was scrapped by Ferrari following accumulated accident and fire damage sustained at Le Mans in 1967; Ferrari states this chassis no longer exists and has written off the number from its records. Chassis 0856 was originally a Berlinetta but converted to Spyder configuration for the 1967 Brands Hatch race and remained in that form; it was sold to new ownership in 2020. Chassis 0858 was also converted to Spyder for Brands Hatch in 1967 and later turned into a 350 Can-Am by Ferrari; it subsequently received a P4 Berlinetta body and is in German ownership. Chassis 0860 was similarly converted to Spyder for Brands Hatch, later became a 350 Can-Am, received a P4 Spyder body in the early 1970s by its then-French owner, and remains in that family.
The 330 P4 is regarded as one of the most beautiful and historically significant sports prototype racing cars ever built. Its Daytona triumph gave Ferrari a symbolic victory over Ford that resonated beyond the circuit. The car represented the apex of Ferrari's front-line factory endurance racing effort before regulations, budget constraints, and Fiat's impending acquisition redirected the company's resources. Ferrari would not return to serious factory prototype competition until the 499P programme decades later.
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