Aural Pleasure: Ferrari 412T1 Makes Sweet Love to the Tympanic Membrane, Yes?

With the most anticipated Formula 1 season in ages set to kick off tomorrow with practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix, we can’t help but lament the fact that although there is still a fair bit of variety in terms of chassis, the engines, as in so many other categories, have become homogenized. Oh, sure, they’re still built by different companies using different designs, but these days they’re all 2.4L V8s. Before that, they were all 3.0L V10s.

However, in 1994, Ferrari was still using a V12. It was 3.5L, which was the maximum allotted that year; however, engines would shrink to 3.0L the following year in the name of safety. By 1996, Ferrari had dumped the V12 in favor of the more common V10, which may have been less complex and thus more reliable, but the sound? As you’re about to hear, it was vastly, vastly inferior.
(A word of warning before you click play: Have a change of undergarments handy.)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBXUOomynxw[/youtube]
To quote one of the commenters on the video’s YouTube page, “this isn’t an engine, it’s god clearing his throat…”