VINTAGE: 'Sharknose' Ferrari Is Recreated

Automotive Lifestyle

VINTAGE: ‘Sharknose’ Ferrari Is Recreated

Famed race car was only competitve one season and all original versions were scrapped; accurate replica debuted at Goodwood.

Wouter Melissen | http://www.ultimatecarpage.com | Posted September 24, 2009 Goodwood (GB)

An accurate replica of Ferarri's legendary Sharknose race car was presented this year at Goodwood. (Photo: Wouter Melissen)

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Ferrari upheld the policy to scrap redundant Formula 1 cars at the end of the season. One of the saddest results of this practice is that no examples are left of the iconic Ferrari 156 “Sharknose” that propelled Phil Hill to the World Championship in 1961.

Several people have attempted in recent years to create accurate replicas of the legendary Ferrari Formula 1 car. This past weekend at the Goodwood Revival, Jan Biekens presented his Ferrari 156 Sharknose that is inspired by the car used by Olivier Gendebien in the 1961 Belgian Grand Prix.

Biekens’ car was constructed over the past five years by Jim Stokes around an original engine and transmission. The end result is absolutely stunning and despite being a replica, it was definitely one of the highlights at Goodwood. This 156 is probably the closest we will ever come to experiencing a Sharknose.

The mid-engine Formula 1 car was created with an existing front-engine chassis. (Photo: Wouter Melissen)

Ferrari's racing-car development program was based on evolution rather than revolution. This resulted in some of the greatest racers ever built, but it also meant that drastic rule changes often left the Italian manufacturer trailing well behind the competition.

But this was hardly the case in 1961 when Formula 1 switched from a displacement limit of 2.5 liters to 1.5 liters. That limit had previously been used for Formula 2 for which Ferrari had already developed a state-of-the-art V6 engine. The (British) competition fought long to prevent the rule changes and as a result, they were poorly prepared for the new season.

The twin-cam V6 engine bore close resemblance to the 2.5 liter that had been successfully raced in Formula 1 since 1958. It was first raced in a front-engine chassis and in 1960 appeared in Ferrari's first mid-engine single-seat chassis.

At first sight, the mid-engine car that appeared in 1960 was brand new, but that would have gone against Ferrari's design principles. Closer inspection revealed that it was in fact the familiar F1/F2 chassis with the engine moved to the rear of the driver. The relocation of the engine did necessitate the development of a new gearbox, however.

Known as the 246P, the mid-engine Ferrari debuted at the 1960 Monaco Grand Prix powered by the larger of the two V6 engines. Richie Ginther drove the new car and finished a credible sixth at a track where the much nimbler British Coopers and Lotuses felt much more at home.

After its Monaco debut, the Formula 1 engine was replaced by the smaller Formula 2 engine. One of Ferrari's other works drivers, Wolfgang von Trips. humiliated the competition at the 156P's only Formula 2 race. He won the Solitude Grand Prix with great ease.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Wouter Melissen

UltimateCarPage.com

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