The 312T series won 27 races, four Constructors' and three Drivers' Championships, making it the most successful car design in Formula One history.

Although it had to carry more fuel, oil and water than the Cosworth DFV-powered cars the power-to-weight ratio of the flat-12 was about the same as the DFV.

This consisted of a modified version of the manual gearbox actuated by a high-pressure hydraulic system, controlled by buttons mounted on the steering wheel.

[4]: 65 [6] The development of the 312T began in 1974, as it became apparent that problems with the handling of the then current 312B3 chassis could not be solved, and a radical re-think was required.

The gearbox design allowed it to be positioned ahead of the rear axle, in order to give a low polar moment of inertia.

Niki Lauda tested the car extensively during the off season, ready for a full-on championship challenge.

In the world championship, after the slow start to the season in which Brabham, Tyrrell and McLaren put up strong competition, Lauda won 4 out of 5 races mid season before snatching the title at Monza by finishing third, whilst Clay Regazzoni's win in that race secured Ferrari its first Constructors' Championship since 1964.

The Formula 1 technical regulations were changed for the 1976 season – from the Spanish Grand Prix in May, the tall air boxes which had become popular would be banned.

The rules therefore allowed Ferrari to continue to use the 312T for the opening 3 races of the 1976 season (Lauda won the first two and Regazzoni the third), before the introduction of its successor, a revised version called the 312T2.

[10] In order to comply with the revised aerodynamic rules, the car no longer featured an airbox behind the cockpit.

Lauda was comfortably leading the world championship after another 3 wins, when at the 1976 German Grand Prix at Nürburgring he had a massive accident caused by a suspected rear suspension failure.

[10] These tests resulted in the introduction of several changes to the car, including a new rear wing, revised bodywork and suspension.

Lauda went on to win the South African race, albeit in tragic circumstances, his car heavily damaged by debris from Tom Pryce's fatal accident.

However, despite its problems, the 312T2B was good enough to win the Drivers' Championship for Lauda, who won more through the car's reliability than outright speed.

Then at the last race at the Mount Fuji circuit in Japan, Villeneuve had an enormous accident where he was launched over Ronnie Peterson's 6-wheel Tyrrell at the end of the straight, cleared the Armco barrier and landed in a spectator-restricted area.

The chassis was completely new, with a new monocoque structure and a different suspension arrangement, designed to work with the Michelin tyres.

The bodywork visibly very different, with a flatter top to the body, allowing improved air flow to the rear wing.

In 1979, a significant amount of progress was made in aerodynamics and to challenge Lotus, Forghieri realised he had to follow their lead and design a ground effect car for 1979.

The 312T4 monocoque was designed to be as narrow as possible, to take advantage of ground effects, but this was limited by the width of the flat 12 engine, which partially sat in the area where the upswept underside should have been, therefore the 312T4 was more of a wing car similar to the Lotus 78.

The car was extremely reliable, recording only one retirement for mechanical reasons and it won 6 races in 1979, three each for Villeneuve and Scheckter.

Scheckter even failed to qualify in Canada and, after only managing 2 points, retired from the sport at the end of the year.

[14] Following the 312T6 experiment articles appeared in the Italian press with pictures and illustrations depicting a secret eight-wheeled Ferrari Formula 1 car, dubbed the 312T8.