Sports car racing rules had been changed in 1968 and Ferrari were determined that they would make the most competitive car they could for the 1969 season.

The cars had been split into two classes, prototype and GT. Prototype cars were limited to an engine displacement of 3 litres and for this class, Ferrari had the 312P all ready to go with a 3 litre engines straight out of the formula 1 car of the day. However, Ferrari wanted to dominate the GT class as well, so work begain on the brand new 5 litre engine that the rules allowed for. The engine would produce 560bhp and with a little work would go on to produce 600bhp.

However, part of the GT requirements were that the car must be homologated, that is, examples had to be manufactured that could be sold to cash customers. Originally set at 50, that number was reduced to 25 for the 1969 season. Ferrari passed the homologation inspection by the skin of their teeth showing off 17 completed examples of the new 512s and parts that would go to make the remaining 8. Only hours after the inspection 5 cars were on their way to Daytona.

All 25 cars were completed and 19 of them raced in 1970. Five of the cars were Spider versions. Chassis numbers were all even starting at 1002 and ending with 1050. Chassis number 1020 was later converted to be a 512 M and was sold to NART who entered it into competition a year later.