STORY OF THE DAY: Ferrari’s P4 Chases Ford to Second

Ludovico Scarfiotti and Mike Parkes finished second in works Ferrari 330 P4 number 21 at the 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans. They completed 384 laps, four behind the winning Ford Mk IV of Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt, and salvaged a major championship result for Ferrari.

The P4 remained Ford’s closest challenger after sister Ferraris encountered trouble. Parkes and Scarfiotti sustained the pressure without matching the winning car’s combination of pace and reliability. Their runner-up finish preserved Ferrari’s honour but also confirmed that Daytona’s sweeping success had not settled the rivalry.

The 330 P4 used a four-litre V12 with three valves per cylinder, Lucas fuel injection and a mid-engined tubular chassis reinforced by stressed panels. Its voluptuous closed body combined low drag with cooling efficiency, producing one of Ferrari’s most advanced and visually distinctive endurance prototypes.

Scarfiotti was an Italian Le Mans winner and hill-climb champion; Parkes was a British engineer-driver central to Ferrari’s testing programme. Both understood how to conserve complex machinery at speed. Their second place was the strongest possible result once the Ford established its decisive advantage.