In 1970, Scuderia Ferrari was determined to return to success after spending much of the 1960s trailing British manufacturers like BRM, Cooper, Lotus and McLaren. To do it, the team needed a radical new design that took full advantage of the newly revised rules regarding wings and aerodynamics, a mindset that resulted in the creation of the Ferrari 312B.

Under the direction of Mauro Forghieri,  Ferrari developed a new flat-12 engine for 1970 that had a lower center of gravity than a traditional engine and allowed for air to flow unobstructed under the rear wing. Jacky Ickx returned to the team to drive the new boxer-powered car, while the notoriously unlucky Chris Amon left for March and was replaced with Clay Regazzoni.

The 1970 312B didn’t win Ferrari the championship, but it did carry the Scuderia to four wins in Austria, Italy, Canada and Mexico, putting Ickx in second in the driver’s championship and Ferrari second in the constructor’s championship. It was a far better result than the team had achieved in any season in the 1960s and helped set it up for years of success in the mid- and late- 1970s.

YouTube’s 19Bozzy92 recently caught a 1970 Ferrari 312B putting on a small show for Italian race fans at Imola. The video, which we’ve embedded above, offers the rare opportunity to see the frankly beautiful 312B in action at a classic F1 track and hear Ferrari’s wonderful flat-12 in race-spec. You won’t want to miss it.