May be of interest to some so thought I'd post up Ferrari 348 LM At Le Mans DVD, 1993 | eBay The vid actually describes the development by Simpson Engineering of the first of the two 348s to race at Le Mans. The write up is: "This is a 45 minute film made during the 1993 & 1994 Le Mans race, Peacock Films where a small film making company active then who were commissioned to make this film by Robin Smith who was developing & racing a Ferrari 348 for the French race. The film shows the build of the car, tesing at Silverstone & of coarse the Le Mans race over both years. This film was never advertised or released to the public so this is the first time it's been openly available. Please be aware that when made, this was in the good old VHS days & the editing equipment was much restricted compared to todays standards, also this film was made to a strick budget so please don't expect a Hollywood blockbuster performance. The disc you will recieve in the case is exactly as shown, a direct copy from the VHS original, multiple copies can be made if needed. Being envolved in the making of this film was a huge experience for me, my Father was the owner of Peacock Films, and also the main cameraman in the making of this film, I myself am in the film & featured in the credits. This is a chance to see some scenes in the Ferrari pits of one of the most famous raes in the world along with a lot of behind the scenes footage of the building & testing of a Ferrari 348. (I have 6 copies of this DVD at the moment but i'm getting a lot more on 7th April so I will add more copies for sale then. So if you miss out on these 6, don't worry, more on the way. Many thanks,)"
That would be a spoiler Not great in the first year is the answer but it wasn't their fault, they were taken off the track by another car on a warm up lap. They entered for a second year though and at least made it to the start line. The concept was to get Ferrari back to Le Mans, they had been absent for 10 years, so just being there was the real objective. Since that day Ferraris have been back in Le Mans ever since. It's a chapter of the car's history it's worth seeing IMO. The DVD will definitely go into my collection of '348 stuff'.
Yep, Simpson Engineering entered one in '93 to get Ferrari back to Le Mans then entered it again in '94. Michelotto converted some 348s to Le Mans spec (11 I think) and one was entered by Respol Ferrari Espana in '94 - it finished 11th overall which is quite something for a GT2 class car. Ferrari Club Italia entered another Michelotto 348 LM in '94 but it didn't finish. This car was driven by Oscar Larrauri who had blown away the competion in the 1993 Italian GT Championship in a 348 (different spec though) regularly beating the F40s and XJ220 in the GT1 class (the 348 was GT2 so that's quite something). He did so well that Ferrari released a limited edition 'commmorative' GTB to honour his achievement. It had the same racing seats as the race car Oscar had used, lighter doors and a few other tweak that were a nod at the track car which Oscar had driven. Although it was not built specifically for the track it was called the 348 GTC
Thanks for the info, really appreciate it! It's amazing how far these cars have come since then Cheers.
We had a member in the UK Section, that came up with the LM spec engine, and was going to put it in his car??
Sy (angelis). I vaguely recall it was difficulties with writing an ECU that prevented the installation going ahead. Someone do correct me if I'm wrong. Is he going to install it in a 348? All the best, Andrew.
I'm afraid I don't know if it'll work over there. It didn't run on my laptop for some reason but opened fine on the DVD player in the kids' PS3. I'm afraid you'll have to drop the seller a line
No, it wasn't that. It was taken apart and one of the heads had a problem. After spending a lot of time trying to find someone to install the engine and after also finding out the original mechanic who was doing it for me was incompetent, I just lost interest. Sold it to DeeGee (Time) and purchased a video camera with the money.
Hi Angelis Did you get the magic details on the heads before selling ? Porting / Valve sizes throttle bodies, Injectors. Cam lift / profile Pistons/Rods - were they different regards Angus
What a find, sad that it's sold. Would be Interested in buying One. For the 348 Le Mans Cars, here is a special thread about the Rapsol 348 LM Michelotto http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/challenge-gt-cars/476456-ferrari-348-gtc-lm-michelotto-ex-le-mans-1994-a.html Car was for sale in Paris this year.
The 348 was attempted to be raced in a number of series back in the day and unfortunately just wasn't competitive. I believe that the lack of competitiveness with other marques is one of the reasons that led to the "I love me series", otherwise known was the Challenge Series. Having a 1 make series, targeted at amateurs guarantees 2 things. First off, a Ferrari is guaranteed to be in the winner's circle and second, coaxing those with little talent and deep pockets guarantees plenty of body and mechanical work for the dealers who run the teams. It's actually a brilliant idea. I was doing allot of racing back then and running a 348 and trying to be competitive was a chore. However, the good thing (for me), was it really taught me how to be smooth and improved my car control skills. When I would get into a car that worked with me more than the 348, I was so much better. Even with some of the problems, the 348 remains one of my favorite Ferraris. I had mine for 20 years and now another Fchatter is taking good care of 82589.
