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Early Ferraris are famous for their twelve cylinder engines — in fact, they are historically some of the best sounding powerplants, no matter the era. Often small in displacement, popular models like the coveted 250 GTO only had 3.0L to spread among its twelve pots, but what about an engine that’s half the size and has the same number of cylinders? Such is the case with this 1965 1512 F1 car. It’s 1.5L flat-twelve is a high-revving zinger, and it was revived at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed to an array of applause.
The car was an evolution of F1 legend John Surtees‘ Ferrari 158, an eight cylinder engine that was designed to compete against the strong British V8s of the time. Ferrari’s Scuderia team later decided to up the number of cylinders to twelve and rearrange the configuration, transforming it into a flat-twelve. This helped to separate it from competition like the Coventry Climax and BRM cars of the time, and further reasserting Ferrari’s place in single-seater competition.
Though Surtees typically preferred the eight cylinder version, this 1512 let out such a unique engine note that it is often the favorite among fans. According to one YouTube commenter, the car failed to meet Goodwood noise requirements six times.
Ferrari opted for a different path after 1965, but this 1.5L remains to be one of the most abstract grand prix cars of the time.
Listen to the oddly built racecar travel around Lord March’s lawn, and pay attention to the historic model scream through the revs.
