| F1 racing of
the late 40ties saw Ferrari’s small-block Colombo V12 engine in its 1.5liter
supercharged form. That was Scuderia’s top gun, but still came some 70Hp short of
Alfa Romeos 158,159 Alfettas. Enzo Ferrari ordered Colombo block to be enlarged to fit
bores and strokes up to 5.0liters,which was not possible with the original design. Crafty
old devil Enzo took another path to glory in F1 racing, through a large 4.5liter normally
aspirated engine, which FIA's formula rules allowed at that time. New engine was
designed by Aurelio Lampredi, and its block came out 10cm longer then original Colombo,
and that engine would be used in most of Ferrari road going cars well into the 70ties.The
original small block was an engineering masterpiece, well ahead of its time but displayed
its edgy temper in traffic conditions and was prone to overheating when not in full burst
well over 5000rpm. F1 cars of that time used alcohol-based fuels and compression ratio of
the new F1 Cavallino went as high as 12.8-1, with dual ignition heads engine poked out
some 405horses. In July of 1951 at Donnington Park Scuderia’s new rocket scored its
maiden victory, the one which Enzo commented as "killing my own mother", Alfa
Romeo. Alberto Ascari drove 4.5 litre Lampredi powered Ferrari at 1952 Indy's 500, and was
moving up the order when his right rear wheel collapsed, thus ending the only Scuderia
outing at that event. Enzos mind was always set on racing and Lampredi engine has shown
Scuderia at its finest in the events such as Carrera Panamericana, gruelling road race in
the US and Mexico.
This powerplant was plugged in the fastest road going cars of that time, Ferrari’s
400, 412 America and SuperAmerica (built in 60ties) Racing and test drivers actually
preferred racing the original small block, and complained about the Lampredi "being
too powerful, too brutal with the sound that begged for more throttle". What usually
happened next was that Ferrari suspension cried out "I cant take it anymore", or
events such as testers from the US sports car mag, hopping from a MG in an unsuspecting
412 America, flooring it only to blow the rear axle assembly. The mighty V12 was just too
much an engine for that. Enzo waved his hand on these complaints and always said that one
must never lose respect for the machinery it commands, and was not a sort of man that
liked criticism anyway.
Toward the end of the 60ties racing tech advancements created enormous costs and a huge
gap between sports cars and racing cars was created. No one in their right mind at time
would build a road going car and expect it to win races such as Le Mans, Daytona, Sebring
etc.
Well no one but Enzo, and in 1969 he unveiled the 365GTB(gran turismo
berlinetta)..................
:: Part Four
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