motor cars

MOTOR CARS | 197

4

Enzo Ferrari had begun planning his new car during the war and

in 1946 commissioned Gioacchino Colombo to design a small-

capacity V12 engine for it. The 1.5-litre Tipo 125 unit took its

designation from the capacity of an individual cylinder (125cc),

thus instigating a system of nomenclature that would characterise

Ferraris for many years to some. Ferrari’s Tipo 125 sports-racer

made its competition debut in 1947 and by mid season had been

re-designated Tipo 159, its engine having been enlarged to 1.9

litres. Later in the year the first Tipo 166 (2.0-litre) unit appeared. In

race tune up to 150bhp was available - the Inter road car with its

single twin-choke Weber carburettor produced 100bhp - which was

transmitted via a five-speed gearbox, an unusual feature in those

days, even on a competition car. The twin-tube chassis employed

transverse leaf and double wishbone front suspension and a semi-

elliptically sprung live rear axle located by torsional stabilising bars.

Houdaille hydraulic shock absorbers were fitted all round.

Before long Ferrari had become the dominant force in international

sports car racing, 1949 proving to be a phenomenal year for

the Tipo 166, which claimed victory in three of the world’s most

prestigious events: the Mille Miglia, Targa Florio and Le Mans 24-

Hour Race, a quite outstanding achievement.

This car is one of fewer than 40 Tipo 166 Inters made. (Sources

differ with regard to the exact number produced, but Stanley

Nowak in his highly regarded work ‘Ferrari On The Road’ states that

36 were completed). In keeping with tradition, the car was built with

right-hand drive - it being deemed safer to sit on the right when

driving across the Alps, which at that time were cursed with poor

roads lacking in safety barriers. Ferrari’s road cars were allocated

odd numbers at this time (the competition cars had even numbers)

making ‘017S’ only the ninth road-going Ferrari completed and the

sixth Tipo 166 Inter (the first three cars were Tipo 166 Sport).

The Tipo 166 was bodied by several of Italy’s foremost carrozzeria,

Vignale and Touring being responsible for the bulk of production.

Chassis number ‘017S’ is clothed in the latter’s distinctive

Superleggera coupé coachwork, its grace and elegance recalling

the lines of the immortal Barchetta. Only 5 cars were bodied by

Carrozzeria Touring in this style, 017S being the last. ‘017S’ was

sold new to the official dealer Franco Cornacchia in Milan, Italy

and resold by him to Cerana Bros of Busto Arsizo, Italy. In June

1958 the Inter was imported into Switzerland where it was owned

for the next 30 years by a Mr Stemmler of Kilchberg, and while in

his care was restored by Autofficina Franco Toni in Maranello, the

work being undertaken in 1983( Sholto, I am not sure of this. Marcel

showed me a photo of what was aledged to be 017S at Toni body

works but this was a later design by Touring. I pointed this out to

him by email. He may not have updated his file or may have further

evidence to support this.)

1
Mille Miglia retrospective, 2011