Life's W12, described as a "broad arrow" configuration, was designed by Franco Rocchi, a former Ferrari engineer previously responsible for the 3-litre V8 used in the 1970s Ferrari 308 GTB and GTS. Rocchi's concept originated in a 1967 prototype W3 of 500 cc, conceived as a basis for a 3-litre W18 Ferrari engine of planned 480 hp. Following his dismissal from Ferrari in 1980, Rocchi continued developing the W12 configuration privately. The engine featured three banks of four DOHC cylinders, making it compact like a V8 but taller than a conventional V-banked engine.
In France, Guy Nègre from Moteurs Guy Nègre worked independently on a similar machine, tested privately in 1989 in an out-dated AGS JH22 chassis. Beyond the shared W12 configuration, the two engines bore no similarities and their designers had no connection. Life's W12 architecture was noted as closely resembling that of the Napier-Lion W12 engine.
The W12 was completed in the first half of the 1989 season, at a time when turbo engines had been banned and naturally aspirated engines were required. Other new entrants in the engine market included Ilmor, Judd, and Yamaha. Ferrari and Lamborghini ran V12s; Carlo Chiti's Motori Moderni attempted a flat-12 badged as a Subaru for the Coloni team; Renault and Honda developed V10s used successfully by Williams and McLaren.
Vita attempted throughout 1989 to sell the engine concept to an established team, without success. He then resolved to compete himself in 1990.
Life's headquarters were initially split between technical offices in Reggio Emilia and the factory in Formigine, near Modena, then consolidated in Formigine. The factory housed a "Borghi e Severi" dyno bench with AVL datalogging computers for engine development, along with standard machine tools and warehouse space.
Unable to construct a chassis independently, the team purchased the unraced Formula One chassis designed by Richard Divila for Lamberto Leoni's abortive team, previously held by First Racing. The chassis was fitted with the W12 engine in late 1989, with major engineering work performed by Gianni Marelli, a former Ferrari employee. The completed car — designated the Life L190 — was tested briefly at Vallelunga and Monza by February 1990.
Life entered the 1990 season with one chassis, four engines, spare parts, and a spare chassis. The W12's widely reported output of 470 bhp (350 kW) was far below the 600–700 bhp produced by rival engines. The L190 chassis weighed 530 kg, making it one of the heaviest in the field. The combined shortfalls left the car slower than a Formula 3 car and, as reported, outclassed even by Formula 3000. Bruno Giacomelli later told journalist Andrew van der Burgt that the engine actually produced little more than 300 bhp — less than even the team's own modest claims.
Several drivers were approached prior to the season, including Gabriele Tarquini, Pierluigi Martini, Marco Apicella, Roberto Moreno, and Gianni Morbidelli. Gary Brabham, son of Sir Jack Brabham, was ultimately signed, with Franco Scapini as test driver and Sergio Barbasio as team manager. After failing to pre-qualify for two races — the car coasting to a halt after 400 yards due to a malfunctioning battery — Gary Brabham left the team. He reported that the car had no functioning tachometer in either pre-qualifying session, and that the team had no tyre pressure gauge and had to borrow one from the EuroBrun team. These claims were disputed by the team's mechanics. Brabham had also pressed unsuccessfully for a switch to the Judd CV V8. Gianni Marelli departed around the same time following a disagreement with Vita.
Vita attempted to replace Brabham with Bernd Schneider, who had stood in at Arrows earlier that season, but Schneider declined, saying "I definitely don't want to drive for them." Test driver Scapini was considered but was not granted an FIA Super Licence. New Zealander Rob Wilson expressed interest, particularly if the team expanded to two cars, but was not signed.
Bruno Giacomelli, who had last raced in Formula One in 1983, was then engaged. Giacomelli had recent experience of Formula One machinery as a test driver for Leyton House Racing and had contacts with Engine Developments, manufacturer of the Judd Formula 1 engines. The most laps completed in any single pre-qualifying session was twenty-two, at Silverstone. At the 1990 San Marino Grand Prix, Giacomelli stated he feared being struck from behind because the car was so slow. During pre-qualifying for that race, the car broke down at the end of the pit lane on the out lap with the transponder still active, resulting in a recorded gap of almost six minutes to the second-slowest time as the car was timed while being towed.
For the Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril, Life replaced the W12 with the more conventional Judd CV V8, completing the conversion in under three weeks. On its first lap the engine cover came loose and flew off. The team's final appearance was at Jerez for the Spanish Grand Prix; they withdrew before the last two rounds of the season.
The race team throughout the year comprised nine people: the driver; Sergio Barbasio (team manager); Franco Scapini (test driver); Francesca Papa (Vita's wife); Maurizio Ferrari (engineer); Emilio Gabrielli (mechanic and truck driver); and three mechanics — chief mechanic Oliver Piazzi, Heinz Willi Mueller, and Luca Cassoni.
The Life L190 was fully restored in 2009 by Oliver Piazzi and appeared at the Goodwood Festival of Speed that year with its original W12 engine reinstalled. The car completed two successful runs up the Goodwood hill climb, driven by Arturo Merzario and Lorenzo Prandina, the car's owner at the time.
This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.
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