Absent at Le Mans in 1972, Ferrari showed up in 1973 to face Matra for a legendary edition which also marked the 50th anniversary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It was to be a duel between 12-cylinder engines: on one hand, Ferrari's flat "Boxer" - on the other, Matra's V12 whose sounds still manage to seduce music lovers of the 24 Hours.

In the first qualifying session, Arturo Merzario sounded the charge for Ferrari by immediately clinching pole position. At the start, Ferrari dominated the front row and led the race for 14 hours. On Sunday morning began an extraordinary mano a mano between the Matra of Gérard-Larrousse-Henri Pescarolo and the Ferrari of Jacky Ickx-Brian Redman. Alas, the latter's engine gave up only 90 minutes from the checkered flag. Having started from the pole, Arturo Merzario and Carlos Pace finished second after an impressive climb (they had fallen to 30th position early in the race due to a fuel tank problem), claiming what is still to-date the last overall podium finish for a Ferrari factory prototype.

At the end of 1973, his new assistant, Luca di Montezemolo, managed to convince Enzo Ferrari to focus his efforts on reconquering Formula 1: the 12-cylinder Boxer of the 312 PB (originally designed for F1 in 1970) won three driver titles (Niki Lauda in 1975 and 1977, Jody Scheckter in 1979) and four constructor titles.

Jean-Philippe Doret / ACO - Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO 

Photo: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, SATURDAY & SUNDAY JUNE 9-10 1973. The Ferrari 312 PB prototype (here, the one driven by Carlos Pace - pictured at the wheel - and Arturo Merzario, second) gets its name from its specs: three liters, 12 cylinders, P for prototype and Boxer in reference to the engine's flat arrangement of two rows of six cylinders.