1949 Ferrari 166MM news, pictures, and information

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Barchetta
Coachwork: Touring
Chassis Num: 0010M

Ferrari 166MM Touring Barchetta with chassis number 0010M and engine number 0008M has had a brilliant racing and show-car career. It was first brought to the Mille Miglia in 1949 where it was piloted by Piero Taruffi and Serio Nicolini who were driving for the factory. The car failed to finish the race. A short time later it made an appearance at the 24 Hours of LeMans where it was driven by Jean Lucas. It was involved in an accident and failed to finish the race. A month later it was raced at the 24 Hour Spa race with Luigi Chinetti as the driver and Jean Lucas as the backup driver. It finally was able to prove its potential by finishing the race ahead of the competition. Chinetti raced the car once more before the car was sold to James Kimberly of the US. Kimberly continued the vehicles racing career by racing it throughout the US at venues such as Elkhart Lake, Watkins Glen, Palm Springs, Bridgehampton, and more. The car was driven to many podium finishes in 1950 and 1951. It was sold to James Simpson in 1952 who had the car painted yellow. Simpson entered the car in the 12 Hours of Sebring. It was driven by James Simpson and George Colby. During the race, the car ran dry of fuel and failed to finish the race. Officially, it finished 28th.

At the conclusion of the 1952 season, the car passed through many owners, all of the US. During the 1980s it was purchased by Warren Sankey who entered the vehicle in many prestigious shows. The car was awarded a First in Class at the Hillsborough Concours in 1984, and First at the International Ferrari Concours at Monterey, CA. It was entered in the Monterey Historic Races and driven by Sankey who navigated the car to a fifth place finish. At the 1984 Pebble Beach Concours, the car finished First in Class.

The car was sold in 1986 to George Jewett who entered the car in historic competition. It was raced in the Mille Miglia in 1986, 1987, and 1988. In 1987 the car was entered in the Monterey Historic Races.

The car is now owned by Jon Shirley. Under his care, the car has continued to make public appearances. At the 2004 Meadow Brook Concours it was awarded Best Race Ferrari. It has come to the Cavallino Concours in 2006 and 2007.

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Barchetta
Coachwork: Touring
Chassis Num: 0052M

Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta Speciale with chassis number 0052 M is stirring excitement and interest where ever it travels. It is a recent 'barn find' and has been out of the publics eye for nearly fifty years. 'Barn find' is always an exciting term and one that usually means the car has been hidden away in a barn without the owners knowledge of the gem that they possess. This was not the case in this situation; the current owner and the help of Ferrari expert Marcel Massini were able to ascertain the car from the late owner's estate. The car was residing in Arizona and is in very original condition. Since that time the car has been treated to a mechanical rebuild and has been the feature in the September edition of the Cavallino Magazine, issue number 154. It made its first public appearance at the Cavallino Classic in Palm Beach, Florida in 2007 where it was driven a few laps around the Moroso Motorsports Track before being shown on the Breakers Hotel lawn. It was awarded the 'Vintage Preservation Cup' at the event.

During the rebuilt of the engine, important and startling discoveries were made. The engine was actually a Formula 2 unit rather than the regular 166 MM engine. The car had been raced extensively during its early existence. It was driven by Luigi Chinetti, Lord Selsdon, Jean Lucas, Dorino Serafini, and Giovanni Bracco at venues such as the 24 Hours of LeMans, Nuerburgring, and the 12 Hours of Paris. The large hood scoop gave the engine better breathing abilities and the large red brake drums provided superior stopping power.

Based on the findings of the engine, it is believed that the car was a factory experimental machine and the first 166 MM to feature the F2 two-liter engine.

The car was raced with much success in Europe until 1955. It passed through ownership for the next few years before settling in the care of a US citizen of California, in 1959. The car was stored in Arizona and driven on rare occasions. After forty-five years, it was passed to its next, and present owner. Though the engine has been given new life, the rest of the vehicle is still highly original. It is considered the most original Ferrari racing car in existence. Examining the car carefully, one will find the paint to be chipping, the instrumentation fading, and the seats being worn with age.

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Barchetta
Coachwork: Touring
Chassis Num: 0052M

This is the only unrestored example of Ferrari's rare 166 Mille Miglia Touring Barchetta, or 'little boat.' Just 25 Barchettas were built with the 2-liter V12 engine, and they were very successful, winning at the Mille Miglia and LeMans in 1949. The winning driver at LeMans was Luigi Chinetti was also happens to be a previous owner of this particular little Ferrari. This car with chassis number 0052M spent most of the last 40 years resting untouched in the Arizona desert. It has since been disassembled and cleaned in the process of being returned to running order, but every effort has been made to rebuild it exactly as found. With the engine refreshed and revitalized, this Ferrar has again taken to the tracks in the hands of its proud new owner.

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Barchetta
Coachwork: Touring
Chassis Num: 0020M
Engine Num: 0018M

The eighth Barchetta (serial 0020M, engine 0018M) has a 'lusso' or luxury interior and was completed in May 1949. This Barchetta has an early, but not fully documented racing history. It raced in the Targa Florio in Sicily in April 1950, but did not finish. It raced at Palermo in June 1951 and again failed to finish. It is also believed to have raced in the Giro di Calabria and the Pescara 12 hours in 1953. It was found in June 1958 in Trieste by Adolf 'Ace' Rosner who was in the US diplomatic corps in Vienna. Rosner sold this car to John and Elaine Bond, the publishers of Road & Track magazine, in September 1959 and it was featured in the December 1959 issue of that publication.

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Barchetta
Coachwork: Touring
Chassis Num: 0022M
Engine Num: 0020M

This Barchetta (serial 0022M, engine 0020M) was completed in May 1949. Sold in August it became the first Ferrari shown at a concours; this lusso Barchetta appeared at the concours d'Elegance lido in Venice in September 1949 and it won first place in Group 18. It is the next to last 1949 'short hood' Barchetta, and it is know to have raced in eleven events in Italy, Monte Carlo and Portugal. In 1951 Elio Checcacci and Gianfranco Bardazzi finished tenth overall and third in class in the Targa Florio. Clemente Biondetti, four-time winner of the Mille Miglia, raced this car five or six times in 1952 taking third overall and two firsts in class.

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Barchetta
Coachwork: Touring
Chassis Num: 0008M
Engine Num: 0006M

The fourth Barchetta (serial 0008M, engine 0006M) is the most celebrated. It was completed in April 1949 and won the first race the Barchettas participated in, the 1949 Mille Miglia, driven by Clemente Biondetti and Ettore Salani. That June Luigi Chinetti and Lord Peter Selsdon won the 24 Hours of Le Mans with this car. These two wins made Ferrari a household name worldwide. Chinetti raced the car once more at St. Gaudens in France, and then it was sold in April 1950 to a new owner in Switzerland, who raced it at least five times. This Barchetta has the 'corsa' interior, which means the dash and top of the cockpit have no leather covering and it has no carpets.

Clemente Biondetti and Count Igor Troubetzkoy won the Targa Florio on April 3rd of 1948, marking Ferrari's first major international win. The car was a closed Berlinetta Ferrari 166 and would later capture a victory at Italy's most important race, the Mille Miglia in 1948.

The Ferrari 166 was officially introduced at the Turin Salon in September of 1948. The body was courtesy of Touring utilizing the patented 'superleggera' technique. The alloy coachwork was well proportioned, covering the narrow tube skeleton structure. The frame consisted of an oval tube cross-section ladder with an X-shaped cross member. The short wheelbase car was given a Giacchino Colombo-designed V12, which would become the basic structure that would serve Ferrari road and race car for the next two decades.

In total, there were a mere 33 examples of the 166 MM produced between 1949 and 1951. Most of the 166 models were given Carrozzeria Touring coachwork in either Barchetta or Berlinetta forms. 26 were Barchettas and 7 were Berlinetta models. Of the seven Touring-bodied Berlinettas, only five were the Le Mans Berlinettas, named for Ferrari's victory at the 1949 24 Hours of Lemans in a 166MM.

It was in 1948 when the newly formed Italian automobile company named Ferrari began selling a promising sports car named the 166. The two seater sports car featured a 12-cylinder engine mounted in the front and supplying over 100 horsepower to the rear wheels. The engine was just under two-liters in size and had a unitary displacement of 166 cc, thus, the evolution of the model name. Production would last until 1953 with only 38 examples being produced. Even though production was low, its accomplishments are large, with wins at LeMans, Mille Miglia, and the Targa Florio.

The 166 was a continuation of the 125, introduced a year earlier. The 125's size of 1497 cc was later enlarged to 1902cc, bringing about the Tipo 159. In 1948, it was enlarged to 1995 cc and became the 166.

As was customary at the time, a rolling chassis was supplied to custom coachbuilders to outfit the vehicles according to customer specifications and their intended purposes. The 166 MM was named after its historic victories at the Mille Miglia. The 166 MM versions were given even chassis numbers and built with racing intentions. The 166 Inter, named after victories at the Coppa Intereuropa at Monza, were given odd chassis numbers and became Ferrari's first road car.

The 166 Inter road cars featured a 2 liter, 12-cylinder Colombo engine producing about 115 horsepower. The engines were mounted longitudinally and given one Weber 32 DCF Carburetor. A five-speed manual gearbox provided power to the rear wheels while drum brakes provided the stopping power. Top speed was achieved at just over 105 mph. Zero-to-sixty took about ten seconds. The tubular frame was given a live-rear axle and a front wishbone suspension. When production began, Carrozzeria Touring was the primary coachbuilder, outfitting the cars in both Berlinetta and Coupe bodies. Later, other coachbuilders such as Pinin Farina, Ghia, Vignale, and others, produced bodies for the 166 Inter.

The phenomenal accomplishments achieved on the race track did much to stir enthusiasm for the cars. To generate even more publicity, in November of 1948, Ferrari displayed examples of his 166 MM and 166 Inter Coupe at the Turin Motor Show. Other shows included the Paris salon in October of 1950 and the Geneva Salons in March of 1951.

With just 38 examples created, the 166 Inter was replaced in 1950 by the 195 Inter. The 195 Inter came into existence by the enlargement of the engine to 2.3 liters. A year later the engine was enlarged to 212 cc and the name changed to 212 Inter. In 1952, after 142 examples were created, production ceased.

166 MM

The 166 MM was a competition version of the 166 Inter. It featured the same 12-cylinder engine, but modified to produce 135 horsepower. The suspension and chassis were similar to the 166 Inter. The bodies were lightweight, small, and built to endure the grueling requirements that racing requires. Initially, Ferrari intended the 166 MM to be a customer racing car. After a number of 166 MM models captured a large number of class and overall victories against stiff competition such as Maserati, Cistiralia, and Alfa Romeo, Ferrari commissioned the creation of the 166 MM as factory works cars.

Touring of Italy was commissioned to provide the coachwork for most of the 166 MM, and many were given Barchetta bodies. The name 'Barchetta' came about because of the size and design of the car. Barchetta in Italian means little boat.

Clemente Biondetti and Giuseppe Navone drove a 166 MM to overall victory at the Mille Miglia in 1948. A year later, Biondetti and Ettore Salani captured the victory at Mille Miglia in a 166 MM. Giannino Marzotto and Marco Crosara capture victory at Mille Miglia in 1950, driving a 166 chassis with a bigger 195 engine. In 1949 a Ferrari 166 MM, entered by Lord Selsdon and mostly driven by Luigi Chinetti, captured overall victory at Le Mans.

The 166 MM's were a powerful, reliable and competitive automobile. Their historic accomplishments are legendary and their designs are elegant, beautiful and breathtaking. VIN #002C, a 166 Spyder Corsa, is the oldest Ferrari car still in existence.

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