1970 Ferrari 512 M Coupe

The Penske Racing / Kirk White Sunoco Ferrari 512M was prepared for David Hobbs and Mark Donohue to race in the 1971 long distance events, commencing with the 24 Hours of Daytona. Not satisfied with accepting the Ferrari as delivered, the Penske organization embarked on a revamp of Ferrari's best endurance racer. The body was replicated by Berry Plastics resulting in a substantial weight savings. The engines were built by Travers and Coon (Traco) and delivered over 600 horsepower (about a 50 horsepower increase over the factory built engine). Hobbs and Donohue qualified on the pole at Daytona, beating a host of Porsche 917s and other 512 Ferraris. The car was running in a second place in the middle of the night when the Porsche of Jacksonville's Tom Nehl and Charlie Perry flipped in the banking and struck the flying Ferrari. Many rolls of duct tape, a broom handle, and borrowed (from Luigi Chinetti) suspension pieces later, it was back on the track and finished an incredible third overall. They had gained back 30 of the 54 laps that they had lost due to the collision. Had the collision not occurred, the probability of an overall will was virtually assured.

At Sebring, the team of Hobbs and Donohue, once again, qualified on the pole and led the race. In the 4th hour of the 12 hour enduro, Donohue was struck repeatedly by Pedro Rodriguez in the Gulf 917 Porsche in an on-track confrontation, damaging the left rear corner and the fuel fillers. They soldiered on to finish 6th overall (the highest finishing Ferrari). Later in the year at LeMans, it qualified fourth but lasted only four hours, dropping out with gearbox failure. Its last race was at Watkins Glen, New York, in July of 1971, where it qualified on the pole, but did not finish due to suspension and steering failure.