Until Michael Schumacher finally won a drivers championship in a Ferrari in 2000, this car was the last to win a drivers world championship for Ferrari, back in 1979. Ferrari won the constructors championship in 1982-83 and again in 1999, but the drivers championship eluded them for 21 years. Schumacher has since won in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 to take 5 drivers championships in a row. He failed to win the championship in 2005 but as of the time of writing (Jan 2006) he is one of the favourites to win again in 2006.
The man driving this car is Jody Scheckter, a South African who was one of the brightest stars in F1 racing in the 1970s. His first Grand Prix was the 1972 US GP at Watkins Glen in a McLaren, and his first win came driving a Tyrrell in the Swedish GP of 1974. He came to Ferrari for the 1979 season with 7 wins under his belt (3 with Wolf and 4 with Tyrrell) and finished the year as World Champion, with 3 wins (Belgian GP, Monaco GP and the Italian GP). Often outpaced by his brilliant team-mate Giles Villeneuve, he tended to drive more consistently unlike Giles who had a "win or bust" driving style, and therefore ended up with more finishes and more points. 1980 was to be his final year in Formula 1, probably due to a demoralising year in the uncompetitive 312T5 which unlike the previous years car was just not on the pace.
The 312T4 was the last successful Ferrari F1 car to use the 3 litre flat 12 first seen in 1970 in the 312B. (The 1980 312T5 used the flat 12 but was a disaster, and for 1981 Ferrari switched to it's new 1.5 litre turbocharged V6). The idea behind the flat 12 was to lower the centre of gravity of the car (thereby improving handling) and to allow better airflow over the engine to the rear wing (which were new to F1, having first appeared in 1968). The theory proved to be a sound one, and the 3 litre flat 12 proved to be one of the best F1 engines of the 70's (at a time when almost every team was using the Cosworth-Ford V8). A problem arose however in 1978 when Lotus pioneered "ground effect" aerodynamics. By lowering the air pressure under an F1 car (by speeding up the airflow under the car, achieved by running two parallel venturi tunnels along each side of the chassis's central tub) and by using "sliding skirts" (rubber edged, sprung metal strips running along the sides of each car, keeping contact with the ground and thereby creating a seal between the underside of the car and the outside air) designers found cornering speeds could be greatly increased. The negative pressure underneath the car sucked it down onto the road and greatly added to the downforce created by the spoilers attached to the car. Ferrari applied this design feature to the 312T4 but it was not as effective as it could have been because the flat 12 intruded into the channels under the chassis which allowed air to pass freely, unlike the narrower Cosworth V8. However it was more powerful than the Cosworth V8 which compensated for it's un-aerodynamic shape.
Despite not having the best aerodynamic package in 1979, the 312T4 more than made up for this particular shortcoming by having the most powerful engine and terrific reliability, which resulted in 3 wins each for Scheckter and Villeneuve, and netted the constructors championship for Ferrari and the drivers crown for Jody.
Exoto make this model of the 312T4 as part of their "Grand Prix Classics" line. They have made several Ferrari's to date, including the 1970-1 312Bs, 1975 312T, 1976 312T2, 1979 312T4 and the 1990 641. As expected from Exoto, it is a first class model. It has a fantastic engine complete with all ancilliaries, wires and so on, which is easily seen when you remove the upper bodywork (which is superbly painted). Jody Scheckter is realistically represented by a cast figure, and the brakes and wheels look superb. The radiators beside Jody look brilliant and are made from photo etched metal parts. A must have model of a superb F1 Ferrari.
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