Ferrari

Probably the most famous name in the world of performance cars, the name Ferrari evokes all the emotion we feel when it comes to speed and exotic styling in a sportscar.

Ferrari. (Italy) 1946 to date.
Without one man, the autocratic and occasionally eclectic Enzo Ferrari, there would be no Ferrari legend. He was the superb organiser, and dogged fighter, who had the knack of surrounding himself with the best motor engineers and car designers that Italy, could offer. Born in Modena in 1898; his father was an engineer so was always interested in such matters. However he turned down the opportunity to study engineering himself and opted instead to work for several pioneering companies in Italian industry, before joining Alfa Romeo in 1920. It was here that Ferrari could indulge his passion for motor racing, becoming Alfa Romeo 'works' driver, and finishing second in the Targa Florio in the same year.

From 1923 he concentrated on organization, rather than driving, and his skills as a superb tactician came to light. He soon left Alfa Romeo to form his own racing team and Scuderia Ferrari was unleashed in 1929. The role of Scuderia Ferrari was to race the Alfa Romeo cars whilst the parent company could concentrate on designing and developing the next generation of automobiles. It was at this point that the 'Prancing Horse' emblem first appeared. All went well for Ferrari until in the mid 1930's the German government financed Mercedes-Benz and Auto-Union GP cars arrived on the circuit, after which the Alfa Romeos could rarely match them again.

After WWII, Ferrari's links with Alfa Romeo were severed and Enzo Ferrari resolved to start building his own cars. His first chief engine designer was Gioacchino Colombo, who produced the classic V12 engine - versions of which were to become the mainstay of most Ferrari road cars for many years to come. The original V12 was a 1500cc single overhead cam design, first seen in 1947, and cars using it were known as 125's. The first such Ferrari's were a two-seater sportscar, and a new Formula One car.

All Ferrari road cars are titled in numbers and letters. The system has become very confusing, and not always logical, over the years. To start with the number referred to the cubic capacity of one cylinder in the engine, however from 1957 the number referred to the engine size in litres, and the number of cylinders - except when it didn't!!!
Colombo's influence persisted with Ferrari into the sixties, although he actually left Ferrari in 1950 and was succeeded by Aurelio Lampredi. In the meantime the V12 engine was enlarged to 1955cc, and fitted into a very stark sportscar known as the Tipo166. This was a road car that could easily be adapted into a racing car by removing the headlamps and cycle type wings. After Biondetti won the 1948 Mille Miglia the model was given the suffix 'MM' an enlarged version of which became the 195 Inter, which was again enlarged to the 2562cc 212 Inter in 1951.

It was now time for the first of the really big-engined Ferrari's, the 4101cc Type 340 America. This used a new type of V12, familiarly known as the Lampredi type.

The first of the famous 250's, the 250 Europa, appeared at the Paris Motor show of 1953, with a wheelbase of 9ft 2ins (3m). This was followed by the 250 GT with its shorter wheelbase and then in 1956 came the 250GT Coupe, with its bodywork designed by Pininfarina.

One of the all time classic Ferrari sportscars - the fantastic 250GT Berlinetta, once again with Pininfarina styling was released in 1959. Stirling Moss, who had two successive Berlinetta victories in the Tourist Trophy races, made the car famous in Britain.

The classics kept on rolling with the 275GTB (coupe) and the 275GTS (spyder) in 1964, the 246GT in 1969 and the 246GTS, a convertible in 1972.

Many people however believe that the stunning 365 GTB/4 Daytona was the ultimate front-engined Ferrari. It first saw light of day in 1968 and epitomises the Marque of "The Prancing Horse".

The great Enzo Ferrari, closely connected for many years (until the end of 1938) with Alfa Romeo, built a few sports cars bearing his own name and his prancing horse badge, inherited from World War One air ace Francesco Baracca, in 1940, but real car production did not start until after the end of World War Two.

In 1969, Ferrari became part of the Fiat empire, but Enzo Ferrari stayed on as head of his works at Maranello, near Modena. Some Fiat parts were used on his very early sports cars, but when Colombo designed new cars after the war, they were a "pure" Ferrari product with dohc 1.5 litre, 2 litre and 2.5 litre V12 engines in various stages of tune. After 1950, Lampredi designed 4.5 litre and also 2 litre (4 cylinder) sports and racing cars for Maranello, where V12s of 4.1 litres, 4.5 litres and even 4.9 litres were built. Many superb and powerful sports cars have left the Maranello works over the years, some developing over 400 bhp.

Ferraris won Le Mans as well as many championships all over the world, and built numerous fast cars with V-engines from 6 to 12 cylinders with double ohc valve gear. Ferrari has adopted flat-12 engines in his Formula 1 racing cars. In 1955 Ferrari took over the 2.5 litre F-1 Lancias; from 1961 onwards, Ferrari competition cars have been rear-engined.

There have, however, been many superb front-engined production models, like the 275 GTB with a 300bhp 3.3 litre V12 and the 300bhp 4 litre V12 330 GT and GTC. Then there have been the 2 litre mid-engined 180bhp V6 Dino GT, and 365 GTB4 with a 4.4 litre 352bhp V12 and the mid-engined dohc 2.9-litre 352bhp V12 plus, the mid-engined dohc 2.9 litre 308 GTB/GTS and the 4.8 litre V12 400 and 400 GT, successors to the 365 GT; these are coupes with Pininfarina bodywork. Another modern Ferrari, the BB 512, houses an ohc 4.9 litre flat-12 engine.

(Vintage European Automobiles)