Jo Siffert

At the end of 1969, during the height of the Ferrari-Porsche World Sports Car Championship “wars,” Jo Siffert was wined and dined at Maranello by Enzo Ferrari, who offered him a deal for 1970. But it was not only the bravura of the Swiss in a racing car that interested the wily old Commendatore. After 17 years of trying, the German manufacturer had taken the championship away from Ferrari, which had hogged it for 12 of those 17 seasons.

The Swiss driver was thrilled that he had been asked to join the most prestigious team in motor racing, especially because of his modest origins and his hard slog to the top. But if he signed for the Prancing Horse he would be put to work immediately in an effort to win back the world sports car title for the Italians. And Porsche would lose the man who had won them six WSCC races in ’69 alone! An astute move by Ferrari—but it didn’t work.