There is some man from Hollywood having a tubular frame chassis the origin of which is questionable in the world’s only Ferrari P3/4. This man, James Glickenhaus liked its shape as much as he did the Enzo’s mechanicals. What does he do next? Simple. He picked the Enzo and his 1967 Ferrari 330 P3/4 and flew to Turin. And a brief laid down to the creators of the Enzo - Pininfarina (who were keen to work with James on the P3/4 anyway). Design a car with the hard points of an Enzo and an exterior reminiscent of the P3/4.
Being ‘carrozzerias'(hand crafting specialised cars) for more than half of the last century, this was nothing new-fangled to the Italian design house. They had only recently produced the Ferrari 612 Kappa for another rich American called Peter Kalikow. Oh! And god knows how many for the Sultan of Brunei and his brother to store in their secret cubbyhole. Not to be ever revealed to the rest of the world. Why? Well maybe it’s this attitude that separates a Sultan from us mortals. It is reckoned that Pininfarina have a department set up to cater to such clients!
Fortunately however, Mr. Glickenhaus will proudly disclose his version of the revisited P3/4. In fact Ferrari has allowed it to be christened P4/5. It is quite unheard of from Pininfarina to recreate a Ferrari from the past. In that the P4/5 has remained faithful to the '67 P3/4 in its proportions. Attaining its design cues in the fenders, roofline, ducktail and side air intakes. However the added spice is the tail pipes of the exhaust previously seen in modern day F1 cars.
The original Ferrari P3/4s was not just a visual masterpiece; she reserved her place in the supercar folklore by trouncing the Ford GT40s for the world constructors’ sports car championship of ’67 at Daytona. The GT40s were incidentally created to beat the Ferrari when Henry Ford could not buy out Ferrari.
The modern carozzeria that is Pininfarnia have not simply put a body atop an Enzo platform. James has revealed that sufficient rubber has been burnt on the tarmac to ensure the Ferrari Dynamics, besides undertaking wind tunnel tests. Making the modern incarnation of the P3/4 aerodynamic unlike its beautiful original. After all the benchmark would have been the donor car, Enzo. It is claimed that some 200 custom parts were fabricated complete with a custom interior and hinges for the butterfly doors. So, would the P4/5 now claim to be one of the fastest, beautiful street legal cars of this era? Arguable, when compared to the original.
One thing is for sure. Since we know that the Sultan of Brunei lives in a planet yet to be traced by scientists, this project has spelt the resurgence of the custom-built Ferrari. Then days, Ferrari built racecars and was just beginning to be a brand to surmise. Chosen patrons would procure a racing chassis and get a carrozzeria to tailor a body around it. However this art saw its dusk in the seventies with extensive use of unit-body construction. Rendering any unique sculpture on wheels an expensive hobby (ever since) and their sighting even rare.
Now if you missed to catch a glimpse of the Ferrrari P4/5 in flesh at the Pebble Beach Concours this month, then not to worry. James is kind enough (unlike the Sultan) to display his car at the Paris Mondiale come September end.