Yahoo Autos The 1970 Ferrari 512S Was a Racing Beauty Doomed to Disappoint
Race cars are designed to do one thing: Win races. Sometimes, in the process, they end up quite gorgeous, like this 1970 Ferrari 512S "Coda Lunga." The 512S isn't as famous as the world-dominating Porsche 917 it competed against, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth of our appreciation.
This film comes to us from YouTube's Blackbird Automotive, which is doing a mini-series on four Group 5 race cars that raced in the World Sportscar Championship in the early-1970s. This installation features the 512S driven by Franco Meiners at Goodwood, and we're almost tempted to label it not safe for work. The car is just that beautiful.
Sadly, the Ferrari's only big victory was at Sebring in 1970–everywhere else that year, Porsche's 917 simply couldn't be beat. Ferrari retired the 512S after one year in favor of the 3.0-liter 312PB which won the World Sportscar Championship in 1972.
Blackbird captures this car beautifully, so take some time to drink in its perfect proportions and its operatic 5.0-liter V12.
