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Automotive Lifestyle
VINTAGE: Early Ferrari Race Car Sold
The 1946 116 Spyder Corsa, one of the first successful competition cars built and campaigned by a fledgling Scuderia Ferrari, was auctioned in Monaco.
The 1948 Ferrari Spyder Corsa was one of the stars of RM Auction's recent Monaco sale. (Photo: Wouter Melissen)
An example of Ferrari’s earliest race cars, a 166 Spyder Corsa bodied by Fontana, sold for 1 million euro ($1.25 million) during the recent RM Auction in Monaco. Completed in spring 1948, chassis 012I was the ninth Ferrari ever built.
The Spyder Corsa was raced extensively by the Scuderia Ferrari with considerable success on road courses and hill climbs. At the end of the year, the car was sold to Giovanni Bracco, who campaigned it in 1949, scoring victories in several hill climbs.
Vittorio Marzotto was the next owner, and like most Ferraris owned by the Sicilian family, he had chassis 012I re-bodied by Fontana. The small coachbuilder fitted the Ferrari chassis with a Touring-inspired Barchetta body.
Giannino Marzotto entered the newly restyled car in the Targa Florio, where he retired to save the life of a friend and fellow competitor, as well as in the Mille Miglia where he placed ninth overall and sixth in class. Fontana was called in again at the end of the year and modified the body with a fastback hard-top roof.
The car is believed to have been raced as late as 1955 before it was stored in a garage in Rome. The 166 Spyder Corsa resurfaced in the early 1970s and since then has passed through various hands.
During the 1990s, it was acquired by an American who had it meticulously restored by Phil Reilly & Co. The work was finally completed in January 2012.
The history of the Spyder Corsa goes back to the very beginning of Enzo Ferrari’s efforts to build his own race and road cars. In the early 1920s, a young Ferrari entered the racing world as a moderately successful driver, but it was not until the end of the decade when he formed his own racing team, Scuderia Ferrari, competing in Alfa Romeos that he made a lasting mark.
By bringing together Italy's finest engineer and driver, Vittorio Jano and Tazio Nuvolari, respectively, Ferrari created a winning package that would dominate the sport in the early 1930s. When Alfa Romeo decided to decrease their racing efforts, the independent Scuderia Ferrari replaced the official racing department. Initially, cars were assembled from parts supplied by Alfa Romeo, but from 1936, completely new Grand Prix racers were designed and constructed.
Ferrari felt it was time to really spread his wings in 1937 after being closely involved with the Milanese automaker for almost two decades,. Although Scuderia Ferrari was officially independent, the relationships between the two were so intertwined that Enzo had to agree to not make cars under his name for four years to get out of the contracts.
While the rest of Europe was actively involved with the Second World War, Ferrari was busy constructing his first cars. Complying with his agreement, he had formed a new company called Auto Avio Construzioni. The 815 was introduced in 1941, a combination of various Fiat mechanicals and a custom body. Only two cars were built before the war reached Italy.
During the war, all production was aimed at military supplies and the various factories were spread out around the country for tactical reasons. Ferrari's workshop was moved from Modena to nearby Maranello and focused on constructing ball-bearing grinding machines.
Soon after the fighting was over, Enzo resumed work on a new racing car despite the high demand for his machines. He unsuccessfully tried to employ Vittorio Jano to design his new car but found a very good replacement in Gioachino Colombo. They had already worked together before the war when the Scuderia Ferrari was developing new race cars for Alfa Romeo, with the 158 single seater as their finest product.
Ferrari understood that the demand for the exotic cars he proposed to construct would not be very high in a world preoccupied with reconstruction. He gave Colombo the difficult brief of designing a drivetrain and chassis that was versatile enough to attract a broad audience.
In 1946, the engineer drew up a straightforward tubular frame and a 60-degree V12 engine not dissimilar to his last projects at Alfa Romeo. A displacement of 1.5 liters was chosen, which in naturally aspirated form could power a sports racer and when equipped with a Supercharger met the Grand Prix regulations. As per Enzo's request, a five-speed gearbox completed the package at a time when four speeds were the norm.
Colombo rejoined Alfa Romeo, so he did not stay long enough for his designs to materialize and Ferrari was again on the lookout for a new chief engineer. Meanwhile, the designs were turned into usable drawings and the first engine parts were cast halfway through 1946. Construction of the chassis frames was outsourced to Gilco, who completed two similar frames in September 1946.
The Spyder Corsa was raced extensively by the Scuderia Ferrari with considerable success on road courses and hill climbs. At the end of the year, the car was sold to Giovanni Bracco, who campaigned it in 1949, scoring victories in several hill climbs.
Vittorio Marzotto was the next owner, and like most Ferraris owned by the Sicilian family, he had chassis 012I re-bodied by Fontana. The small coachbuilder fitted the Ferrari chassis with a Touring-inspired Barchetta body.
Giannino Marzotto entered the newly restyled car in the Targa Florio, where he retired to save the life of a friend and fellow competitor, as well as in the Mille Miglia where he placed ninth overall and sixth in class. Fontana was called in again at the end of the year and modified the body with a fastback hard-top roof.
The car is believed to have been raced as late as 1955 before it was stored in a garage in Rome. The 166 Spyder Corsa resurfaced in the early 1970s and since then has passed through various hands.
During the 1990s, it was acquired by an American who had it meticulously restored by Phil Reilly & Co. The work was finally completed in January 2012.
The history of the Spyder Corsa goes back to the very beginning of Enzo Ferrari’s efforts to build his own race and road cars. In the early 1920s, a young Ferrari entered the racing world as a moderately successful driver, but it was not until the end of the decade when he formed his own racing team, Scuderia Ferrari, competing in Alfa Romeos that he made a lasting mark.
By bringing together Italy's finest engineer and driver, Vittorio Jano and Tazio Nuvolari, respectively, Ferrari created a winning package that would dominate the sport in the early 1930s. When Alfa Romeo decided to decrease their racing efforts, the independent Scuderia Ferrari replaced the official racing department. Initially, cars were assembled from parts supplied by Alfa Romeo, but from 1936, completely new Grand Prix racers were designed and constructed.
Ferrari felt it was time to really spread his wings in 1937 after being closely involved with the Milanese automaker for almost two decades,. Although Scuderia Ferrari was officially independent, the relationships between the two were so intertwined that Enzo had to agree to not make cars under his name for four years to get out of the contracts.
While the rest of Europe was actively involved with the Second World War, Ferrari was busy constructing his first cars. Complying with his agreement, he had formed a new company called Auto Avio Construzioni. The 815 was introduced in 1941, a combination of various Fiat mechanicals and a custom body. Only two cars were built before the war reached Italy.
During the war, all production was aimed at military supplies and the various factories were spread out around the country for tactical reasons. Ferrari's workshop was moved from Modena to nearby Maranello and focused on constructing ball-bearing grinding machines.
Soon after the fighting was over, Enzo resumed work on a new racing car despite the high demand for his machines. He unsuccessfully tried to employ Vittorio Jano to design his new car but found a very good replacement in Gioachino Colombo. They had already worked together before the war when the Scuderia Ferrari was developing new race cars for Alfa Romeo, with the 158 single seater as their finest product.
Ferrari understood that the demand for the exotic cars he proposed to construct would not be very high in a world preoccupied with reconstruction. He gave Colombo the difficult brief of designing a drivetrain and chassis that was versatile enough to attract a broad audience.
In 1946, the engineer drew up a straightforward tubular frame and a 60-degree V12 engine not dissimilar to his last projects at Alfa Romeo. A displacement of 1.5 liters was chosen, which in naturally aspirated form could power a sports racer and when equipped with a Supercharger met the Grand Prix regulations. As per Enzo's request, a five-speed gearbox completed the package at a time when four speeds were the norm.
Colombo rejoined Alfa Romeo, so he did not stay long enough for his designs to materialize and Ferrari was again on the lookout for a new chief engineer. Meanwhile, the designs were turned into usable drawings and the first engine parts were cast halfway through 1946. Construction of the chassis frames was outsourced to Gilco, who completed two similar frames in September 1946.
Goodwood Festival Of Speed
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