Racing
John von Neumann took the delivery of the 412 S in 1958, in USA, and campaigned the car in 1958 USAC Road Racing Championship under Ferrari Representatives of California team. The car was painted silver with a dark strip.[11] By September the 412 S had its first outing in USAC International Formula Libre Grand Prix at Watkins Glen. Car was driven by Phil Hill who reported handling problems, and ultimately retired with a broken driveshaft.[12]
In October 1958, the car was entered in Los Angeles Times Grand Prix, a championship race at Riverside. Phil Hill qualified on second position for the race, two seconds behind the Reventlow's Scarab Mk. II-Chevrolet and four seconds quicker than von Neumann's Ferrari 335 S.[13] The start of the race Hill and Chuck Daigh traded the leading position many times. The high temperatures caused problems with a fuel pump and fuel vapors. When the mechanical fuel pump overheated the electric one failed to work in time and forced Hill to pit on his 21st lap. When Ferrari pitted twice more, the Scarab secured the lead. Hill finally retired on 58th lap, just four laps before finish. The 1958 United States Grand Prix for Sports Cars was ultimately won by the Reventlow's Scarab with Ferrari 375 Plus, driven by a future champion Dan Gurney, on second place.[14]
By 1959, Eleanor von Neumann, took possession of the 412 S as a part of her divorce settlement. The car was fielded in 1959 USAC Road Racing Championship, with its first race the Kiwanis Grand Prix at Riverside. This time the car was driven by Richie Ginther and repainted silver and red. Ginther scored the fastest qualifying time and in the race won against smaller engined Porsche 718 RSKs. This would remain the only 412 S' victory.[15] The next race, also at Riverside, was a 200 miles long Los Angeles Times Grand Prix. Richie Ginther qualified on pole for the race but had to retire on lap 35 with a faulty fuel feed.[11] After that the car was sent back to the factory for a disc brake conversion and became one of the first Ferraris with this improvement. In December, Ginther scored a second place in the 5 Lap Governor's Trophy over 2-litres at Nassau, Bahamas. Over the same week, at the 12 Lap Governor's Trophy race, Ginther retired on the fifth lap. During the final race, the Nassau Trophy, Englebert tires degraded quickly on the coral surface and failed after 15 laps. Ten laps later the car retired with a broken gearbox. The last race of Richie Ginther behind the wheel of the 412 S was at the 1960 Los Angeles Times Grand Prix. The car retired again with gearbox problems.[14] In 1961, Frederick Knoop continued to campaign the car in SCCA racing, scoring third place at Riverside preliminary heat and second at main event. Skip Hudson then raced a couple more races during that same year, but to no avail.[11]
