1951 Ferrari 212 Export

The Ferrari 166 was perfectly suited for use on the road and the track. Enzo Ferrari's relentless pursuit for perfection would lead to the 195 and then to the next model that made its debut in 1951 - the 212. Powering the 166 was a Colombo-designed V12 engine that first found use in 1946 and it too would naturally evolve throughout the years. The engine's original displacement of 1.5-liters would later increase to 2, and the result of the increase would lead to victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and in the Mille Miglia.

Road-going production for Ferrari was primarily to offset the racing program, and the customers who acquired these road-going vehicles would experience nearly the same kind of rush as the professionals.

Ferrari's emphasis was primarily on engine development so the 195 (apart from the engine) was similar to the 166, and the 212 would not be much different from the 195. The chassis of the 212 was comprised of a tubular framing similar to the 195 but with slightly smaller diameter tubing. The suspension in the front and rear remained unchanged, and even the Touring coachwork remained virtually the same, although Touring softened the lines of the nose, along with other minor detail improvements. The 2.3-liter Colombo V12 of the 195 grew to 2.6-liters in the 212. It had 2-valves per cylinder, single overhead camshafts, a bore of 68 mm and a stroke of 58.8 mm, 8.4:1 compression ratio, and developed 148 hp with three Weber 32DCF carburetors. With three Weber 36DCF carburetors, output rose to 163 hp. The ignition system used a single spark plug per cylinder served by two coils. The engine was backed by a non-synchronized five-speed manual gearbox.

Examples built for the road were known as the 'Inter' while the competition models were known as the 'Export' signifying Enzo's intent to expand into foreign markets. Ferrari had first used the 'Export' name on the 1966 Export Vignale Spyder (chassis number 0072E) and was adopted for the racing 212-series rather than the usual 'Sport' moniker.

Ferrari built twenty-seven examples of the 212 Export and most of them had a racing career and most wore bodies by Carrozzeria Touring. Eight examples had a Touring Barchetta shape while another four had a closed Berlinetta body style. Carrozzeria Vignale clothed ten examples and Giovanni Michelotti designed three open-top Spyders and seven closed Berlinetta's. Carrozzeria Motto bodied two examples of the 212 Export including a spyder (0094E) and a Berlinetta (0074E). Fontana clothed 0086E with spyder coachwork.

In comparison, Ferrari produced 82 examples of the 212 Inter and the first Ferrari bodied by Pinin Farina was 212 Inter Cabriolet, chassis number 0177E. The Inter rested on a 102.4-inch wheelbase while the Export's wheelbase measured 98.4-inches.

The successor to the 212 Export was the 225 S and the successor of the 212 Inter was the 250.

by Daniel Vaughan | Sep 2021