By Steve Temple

Photos by Chuck Simpson and Courtesy of Norwood

The 1967 Ferrari 330 P4 was one of the iconic racing cars of the 1960s. Only three were built, plus a 1966 330 P3 that was modified to P4 specifications. There were also four detuned 412P models.

The P4 was not only hugely successful, but also wore a stupendously beautiful body crafted by Piero Drogo’s Carrozzeria Sports Cars in Modena, Italy. Today, any P4 variant will bring more than $15 million at auction, so your chances of getting one are basically nonexistent.

Fortunately, many reincarnations have been built over the years, using all sorts of engines, from a Renault V6 to a Chevy V8. Some builders have installed Ferrari V12s, such as in the Norwood P4 shown here, which is actually referred to as a “tribute car,” considering the exacting and extraordinary detail that went into duplicating the original.

It has an all-aluminum body handcrafted by Aaron Chovanetz, who is also working on reproductions of a California Spyder and Delahaye as of this writing. His father developed the first Norwood P4 from full-size photos, transferring dimensions to a wire-frame buck, and using known components such as the wheels and the wheelbase as a sizing reference. Other aspects were shaped by eye, after studying the photos and then examining the body from the same camera angle and distance.

Later on, they created a fiberglass male mold from the wire frame, which serves as a guide for the body shape. Traditional metal-shaping tools form the aluminum.

“We’re old-school,” Aaron says, preferring to use an English wheel, along with a shot bag filled with lead pellets. But he also employs both power hammers and planishing hammers, along with a domed mallet and metal dollies of various shapes and sizes.

The metal is all the same thickness and hardness, .063 and 3003 H14 (halfway between the soft annealed and tempered sheets). The original P4 was actually a bit thinner, .050, since it was a lightweight race car.

Another difference is the engine. The original Ferrari 330 P4 had a 4-liter V12 with twin overhead cams and curved fuel-injection trumpets poking out at an angle between the cams to allow a lower frontal profile.

The Norwood P4 runs a Ferrari V12 engine lifted from the 575 Maranello, which boasts 200 more prancing horses. This 65-degree V12 engine displaces about 350 cubes (5748 cc), and with a streetable 11:1 compression ratio, delivers 610 horses at 7,250 rpm. This flood of power flows through a Porsche G50 transaxle, and is managed by a MoTeC system.

The chassis is virtually identical to the authentic item, except that the space frame is made of 4130 (instead of mild) steel. The suspension uprights are aluminum castings patterned after the original car. Norwood’s Tim Taylor fabricated virtually every single part (magnesium rims, steering wheel, instruments, axles, taillight houses, headlights, magnesium wheels, and so on) or sourced NOS parts.

“It’s easier to build something of your own design than to reverse engineer an original P4,” he admits.

No surprise, then, that Tim calls this P4 a “tribute car.” It’s offered only in turnkey form for slightly less than seven figures. Obviously for the well-heeled collector, it could be driven on the street, but this thoroughbred is happiest winding around a racecourse during track day or vintage car events, with no worries about damaging a priceless piece of motorsports history. Those classic lines, allied to the whine of a proper Ferrari V12, was a winning combination in 1967 and still is today!