1970-1971: Ferrari faces off with Porsche – After Ford, Ferrari found itself in another legendary duel at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, this time with Porsche. Following the same regulations as the Sport class (5-liter engine, 25 cars produced), Ferrari created the 512 to battle the 917. The latter won the race in 1970 and 1971, whereas the 512 finished fourth in and fifth in 1970, then third and fourth in 1971. The factory team did not compete in the 24 Hours in 1971: that year, the 512s at the start were entered by partner or private teams.

1973: Ferrari and Matra, the final duel – For the return of its factory team at the 50th anniversary running of the 24 Hours, Ferrari put up a stunning fight against the French constructor Matra. The Italian marque's 312 PB prototype scored pole position and the three cars fielded all held the lead at some point during the race. On Sunday, the Ferrari of Jacky Ickx/Brian Redman was forced to retire 90 minutes from the checkered flag while chasing down the Matra of future winners Gérard Larrousse/Henri Pescarolo. It was to be the last official appearance of Ferrari in prototypes: in late 1973, Luca di Montezemolo, the marque's new head of sporting activities decided to refocus Ferrari's efforts in Formula 1.

1971-1978: A Daytona for Le Mans – Called the "Daytona," the 365 GTB/4 was the first iconic Ferrari GT of the 1970s. The car was fielded in the 24 Hours until 1978, achieving its best results early in the decade with three consecutive class wins in 1972, 1973 and 1974. In all, nine Ferrari Daytonas made it into the top 10 those three years.

1978-1982: "Initials BB"…like BB 512 – After the Daytona, the BB 512 was the standout Ferrari GT of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Fielded in the 24 Hours in 1978, the car reached the checkered flag for the first time the following year with a 12th place finish for Jean Blaton, Bernard de Dryver, Nick Faure and Steve O’Rourke. In 1981, the BB 512 earned its best results overall with fifth and ninth places. For its final participation in 1982, the car finished ninth thanks to Luigi Chinetti's team NART.

1995-1996: The F40 at the 24 Hours – The F40, the last car produced while Enzo Ferrari was still living (1898-1988). The car was intended to celebrate the marque's 40th anniversary, and developed a short career at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the 1990s, with in 1995 a 12th place finish for Michel Ferté/Carlos Palau/Olivier Thévenin. Two other F40s took the start that year, as they did the following year (retirements).

1995-1999: The 333 SP, an enthusiast's dream – One of the exciting elements of the 1995 24 Hours was the presence of a Ferrari prototype. Called the 333 SP, the car was created thanks to Gianpiero Moretti, the founder of the MoMo steering wheels and rims, and longtime Ferrari partner. In 1997, along with Max Papis and Didier Theys, Moretti clinched the 333 SP's best overall result, sixth place. But the best was yet to come, in 1998…

1998: Victory for the 333 SP – That year, the 333 SP fielded by the Doyle-Risi team finished eighth overall thanks to Wayne Taylor/Eric van de Poele/Fermin Velez and won the prototypes class. A Ferrari dealer, Giuseppi Risi then won two consecutive GT class wins with the F430 GT under the name of Risi Competizione.

2003: Ferrari 550 Maranello, the GT renaissance – The first front-engine road Ferrari since the 365 GTB/4, the 550 Maranello was also the first Ferrari to make its mark at the 24 Hours in the 2000s. Developed in the Prodrive workshops in England and spearheaded Franco-Swiss gentleman-driver Frédéric Dor, the car won its class in 2003 thanks to Jamie Davies, Tomas Enge and Peter Kox.

2003-2020: A new generation of GT – The appearance of the 550 Maranello at the 2002 24 Hours of Le Mans marked the arrival of a new generation of car that went on to build an impressive track record of nine class wins between 2003 and 2019 for the 550 Maranello, the F430 GT, the 458 Italia and the 488 GTE.

2009: Patrick Dempsey and Ferrari work for a good cause – At the height of his popularity on the TV series "Grey’s Anatomy," the actor took the start in his first 24 Hours of Le Mans at the wheel of a Ferrari F430 GT as part of a charity event where every kilometer corresponded to a donation. Finishing 30th overall, Dempsey earned $250,000 for the Seattle Children's Hospital (the city where "Grey's Anatomy" takes place) and 70,000 euros for Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque in France on behalf of kids with heart defects.

2015: A Russian first – By winning the LMGTE Am class that year, the Ferrari 458 Italia of Aleksey Basov/Andrea Bertolini/Viktor Shaytar (20th overall) gave Russian team SMP Racing its first victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

2011-2020: The 10th anniversary of LMGTE and six wins – Since the inception of the LMGTE class in 2011, Ferrari earned six wins: three in LMGTE Pro (2012, 2014 and 2019) and three consecutive in LMGTE Am (2015, 2016 and 2017) for the 458 Italia and 488 GTE.

 

PHOTOS (Copyright - ACO ARCHIVES): LE MANS (SARTHE FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES DU MANS. Top: three Ferrari 512 Ss (#7, #14 and #5) up against the Porsche 917 (#23) winner at the race in 1970. Below: the last Ferrari produced while founder Enzo was living, the F40 hits the track for the 2018 Le Mans Classic.