Wouter Melissen
11-02-2009, 02:14 AM
During the mid-1950s Ferrari experimented with a wide variety of engines in the company's sports racer, including straight fours and sixes. For the Italian manufacturer's assault on the 1956 World Championship, Ferrari settled on using virtually identical four and twelve cylinder engined machines. Both cars shared the exact same chassis and a similarly styled, Scaglietti built aluminium body.
The more successful of the two was the V12-engined 290 MM, which was driven to a debut victory in the Mille Miglia by Eugenio Castellotti. The great Juan Manuel Fangio finished fourth behind two of the four cylinder engined cars in another 290 MM. Later in the year Phil Hill and Maurice Trintignant added a second win to the 290 MM's tally in only its third major race. The final World Championship win for the 3.5 litre sports racer came early in 1957 during the Buenos Aires 1000 km race. Three examples were originally built and one of the four cylinder engined cars was later converted to V12 specification. All three cars that have survived are featured in our detailed article. Among them are the cars driven to victory in the Mille Miglia and the Buenos Aires 1000 km.
The sister 860 Monza had an equally impressive first outing, with a one-two victory in the 1956 Sebring 12 Hours. During the remainder of the season, the big fours supported Ferrari's chase for the championship with valuable podium finishes. With three very convincing wins in the five rounds, Ferrari was deservedly crowned World Champion at the end of the 1956 season. We caught up with the Sebring winning example some years ago at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este where we snapped this 12-shot gallery.
Enjoy the links:
1956 Ferrari 860 Monza - Images, Specifications and Information (http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/3242/Ferrari-860-Monza.html)
1956 Ferrari 290 MM Scaglietti Spyder - Images, Specifications and Information (http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/1400/Ferrari-290-MM-Scaglietti-Spyder.html)
The more successful of the two was the V12-engined 290 MM, which was driven to a debut victory in the Mille Miglia by Eugenio Castellotti. The great Juan Manuel Fangio finished fourth behind two of the four cylinder engined cars in another 290 MM. Later in the year Phil Hill and Maurice Trintignant added a second win to the 290 MM's tally in only its third major race. The final World Championship win for the 3.5 litre sports racer came early in 1957 during the Buenos Aires 1000 km race. Three examples were originally built and one of the four cylinder engined cars was later converted to V12 specification. All three cars that have survived are featured in our detailed article. Among them are the cars driven to victory in the Mille Miglia and the Buenos Aires 1000 km.
The sister 860 Monza had an equally impressive first outing, with a one-two victory in the 1956 Sebring 12 Hours. During the remainder of the season, the big fours supported Ferrari's chase for the championship with valuable podium finishes. With three very convincing wins in the five rounds, Ferrari was deservedly crowned World Champion at the end of the 1956 season. We caught up with the Sebring winning example some years ago at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este where we snapped this 12-shot gallery.
Enjoy the links:
1956 Ferrari 860 Monza - Images, Specifications and Information (http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/3242/Ferrari-860-Monza.html)
1956 Ferrari 290 MM Scaglietti Spyder - Images, Specifications and Information (http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/1400/Ferrari-290-MM-Scaglietti-Spyder.html)