10 Of The Coolest Cars Of All Time Formula One
Ferrari 312T — 312T5
When it raced: 1975 to 1980 (ending with the 312T5)
The Ferrari 312T won four Constructors’ Championships during its run. Niki Lauda piloted it to two of his own championships, on either side of his famous duel with James Hunt in ’75. Gilles Villeneuve’s on-edge heroics, though, are just as big a part of the car’s legend.
The Ferrari 312T was a Ferrari Formula One car design, based on the 312B3 from 1974. In various versions, it was used from 1975 until 1980. It was designed by Mauro Forghieri for the 1975 season and was an uncomplicated and clean design that responded to mechanical upgrades.
The 312T series won 27 races, four Constructors’ and three Drivers’ Championships, and was replaced for the 1981 season by the 126 C, Ferrari’s first turbocharged F1 car.
The car was powered by the powerful and ultra reliable flat-12 engine which gave around 510 bhp. The T in the name stood for ‘transverse’, as the gearbox was mounted in this way, improving the car’s handling characteristics, which had been the downfall of its predecessor.
he development of the 312T began in 1974, as it became apparent that problems with the handling of the then current 312B3 chassis could not be solved, and a radical re-think was required. As with all Ferrari F1 cars of this era, the design of the new model was led by Mauro Forghieri.