This new limited-edition publication, dedicated to Ferrari’s history in the Endurance races, is as much a piece of art as it is a book
The 24 Heures du Mans, to give it its correct name, celebrates its centenary this year. For many, this is the greatest race in the world, the ultimate intersection of motorsport engineering and human fortitude. Clearly, 100 years is a significant milestone.
But this year’s race has another huge emotional hook: after a 50-year hiatus, it sees the return of Ferrari, as part of its keenly anticipated campaign in the top tier of the World Endurance Championship (WEC) with the all-new 499P.
While fresh narratives are already being written by this machine and the team of people who have the honour of racing it, this is the perfect time to revisit Ferrari’s history in this phenomenal branch of motorsport. Welcome, then, to a major new book, called simply ‘Ferrari Endurance’.
Where do we start? Well, it’s an official Ferrari publication, created by a dedicated team in Maranello with access to all the key source materials. It has also been produced to the same exacting high standards as Ferrari’s road cars.
The carbon fibre case is made using the same composite materials as Ferrari's latest hypercars, while the book itself is bound in aluminium and limited to just 99 numbered copies in total, with an exclusive foreword penned by Chairman John Elkann
The format is extraordinary, the aim being to create something that’s as much a piece of art or sculpture as it is a book. Extra-large in size, 'Ferrari Endurance' is printed on super high-quality paper stock, and features innovative and technically complex aluminium binding. But the piece de resistance is the case in which the book is stored.
Designed by creative director Joel Berg, who also oversaw the publication’s visual direction, it’s constructed from carbon fibre and is produced to the same specification as the composites that feature in the bodies of Ferrari’s hypercars and Icona series cars. So it’s light yet structurally rigid, and has a tactility and technical impact rarely if ever seen in a book.
There’s an additional flourish: the book’s storage case features an intake, similar in form to the NACA duct on the side of the Ferrari 512 BB. It’s finished in the same Rosso Corsa colour as so many of Ferrari’s most famous racing cars and has the legend ‘Prova’ stencilled on the back. As an object in its own right, ‘Ferrari Endurance’ is a non-negotiable must-have for any serious brand aficionado.
Be warned, though: you’ll need more than a regular coffee table to display it properly. (Note also the book’s pagination; at 312 pages, it’s an homage to the 312 PB that saw out Ferrari’s works endurance racing commitment by winning 10 races and dominating the 1972 season.)
The historic racing Ferraris shown in the book are numerous: from Luigi Chinetti's 166 MM to the Mauro Forghieri-designed 312 PB, to the Daytona SP3, the fearsomely powerful V12 hypercar that paid tribute to the famous 1-2-3 Daytona finish back in 1967
Needless to say, the story of Ferrari in endurance racing is equally compelling. The editor is journalist, author and broadcaster Jason Barlow, who had the enviable if intimidating task of exploring the great moments, people and cars that mark Ferrari out as one of the key participants in endurance racing. Ferrari’s first win at Le Mans came in 1949, just two years after Enzo Ferrari began making cars under his own name.
That victory came courtesy of Luigi Chinetti, who drove his 166 MM Barchetta pretty much single-handedly to win (his co-driver was indisposed for most of the race). From there to the 312 PB via cars such as the 375 Plus, 250 Testa Rossa, 250 GTO, 330 P3/4 and many more… 'Ferrari Endurance' covers it all, showcasing the key cars in sumptuous, stunning photographic detail. It’s difficult to believe that just 25 years separate the elfin 166 MM from the savage 312 PB.
The rise of Ferrari in the Fifties and Sixties is interwoven with the company’s great achievements in endurance racing, not just at Le Mans but in countless races around the world. Ferrari became a hugely desirable brand for an emerging generation of gentleman racers, whose exploits on the country’s circuits was mirrored in the evolution of Ferrari’s extraordinary road cars – in Europe, but in the US, too.
The detailing on the case includes a nod to the NACA duct to be found on the side of the Ferrari 512 BB
‘Ferrari Endurance’ is also the story of the unbelievably brave characters who raced these cars in an era when safety was not a primary consideration. The book also charts the many teams and individuals who kept the flame alight after Ferrari withdrew from top-level endurance racing in 1973 to focus on F1.
Other highlights include a chapter on the latest Icona car, the Ferrari Daytona SP3, photographed exclusively at the famous Nürburgring circuit, an eye-witness account of the 499P’s debut in the first race of the WEC 2023 season at Sebring, and a stunning complete cataloguing of every Ferrari victory in endurance racing from 1947 to 2022.
The first edition, housed in the carbon case, is available in a run of just 99 numbered copies. Do not miss it.