1956 Ferrari 290 MM

After the unfortunate disaster at the 1955 Le Mans 24 Hour Race, Mercedes-Benz withdrew from international motorsport competition. This greatly reduced Ferrari's competition aligned their path to the history books and set the stage for victory for Il Commendatore. But it wasn't that easy. The sports-prototype racing cars they produced were mechanically brilliant and reflected the passion of the Maranello team. Ferrari had won the inaugural World Sportscar Championship in 1953 and 1954. Mercedes-Benz won three of the six events in 1955 and claimed the World Championship in the process. In the wake of their departure, a new competitor appeared, the Maserati 300S. Ferrari knew they needed an equally brilliant weapon.

Following the design principles of Aurelio Lampredi, engineers Vittorio Jano and Andrea Fraschetti created a new engine, with an integral block and cylinder heads with screwed-in wet liners. Unlike the previous Lampredi design, it was wider and shorter and had improved inlet and exhaust valve function for the combustion chamber. With the help of two spark plugs per cylinder, the new engine offered a 40 brake horsepower improvement over the similarly sized 860 Monza. The 3.5-liter engine with three quad-choke Weber carburetors produced around 320 horsepower.

Four Works Ferrari 290 MM were built (with one being upgraded from an 860 Monza). They were driven by Juan Manuel Fangio, Luigi Musso, Eugenio Castellotti, and Peter Collins.

Following the tragedy in 1955, the 24 Heures du Mans had been removed from the championship but would return in 1957 following improvements to the track. Additionally, the Targa Florio and the RAC Tourist Trophy were also removed from the schedule due to safety concerns.

For the 1956 Championship season, Ferrari used four- and twelve-cylinder-engined machines - the 860 Monza and the 290 MM. Both had identical chassis with similar styling. One of the distinguishable feathers was the tall air inlet on the hood of the 290 MM to help cool the twin-cam engine. The 860 Monza had two smaller ones. Both designs were built by Carrozzeria Scaglietti using aluminum.

A Maserati 300S driven by Stirling Moss won at the 1000km of Buenos Aires. Fangio won at Sebring with a Ferrari 860 Monza. Castellotti won the 1956 Mille Miglia, followed by Collins and Musso in 860 Monzas, and Fangio in fourth with a 290 MM. Olivier Gendebien finished fifth in a 250 GT LWB. Phil Hill, Ken Wharton, Olivier Gendebien, and the Marquis de Portago took 3rd overall in the Nurburgring 1000 km. The winning car was a Maserati 300S driven by Piero Taruffi, Harry Schell, Jean Behra, and Stirling Moss. In third place was Phil Hill and Gendebien in a Ferrari 290 MM. Wolfgang (Taffy) von Trips and Peter Collins finished 2nd in the 1956 Swedish Grand Prix at Kristianstad, which secured the necessary points for Ferrari to win the Championship.

by Daniel Vaughan | Apr 2019