1955 Ferrari 750 Monza

Although a new company, the Ferrari marque quickly established itself at the very top of international competition. The cars carrying the yellow shield became the weapon of choice for both professional and privateers in either open-wheel Grand Prix or sports car racing. Leading the way for Ferrari was Alberto Ascari who won the Formula One World Championship title two years in a row, in 1952 and 1953. His winning car was the Ferrari 500, powered by a Lampredi-designed four-cylinder twin overhead camshaft engine. This engine was later installed in their next sports racing cars, the Ferrari 625 and the larger displacement 725. A choice of displacements was offered to customers to best suit the competition situation, leading to the two-liter 500 and a three-liter 750. The chassis used to house the engines became the 500 Mondial and 750 Monza. Adding to the performance were the lightweight frames and bodies which weighed approximately 1,700 pounds.

The Monza models gained a reputation for engineering innovations. They had a five-speed transaxle paired with a de Dion independent rear axle assembly, resulting in more advantageous weight distribution and better traction, both of which were key to extracting maximum performance on rough road surfaces.

Ferrari's 2-liter V12 engines had been used to dominate the Formula 2 class in 1949. When the sport's governing body announced plans to run the World Championship under Formula 2 regulations, Ferrari set his sights on a new engine. The V12 engine had power and tuneability, but compared to the four-cylinder engines used by some competitors, it lacked fuel efficiency. Aurelio Lampredi, Ferrari's new chief engineer, began work on designing a four-cylinder replacement for the Gioacchino Colombo-designed V12.

A 2- and 2.5-liter version was built using many interchangeable parts, with the 2-liter version making its debut in 1952 in the 500 F2. Constructed from light alloy, the double camshaft head engine was driven by Ascari to victory in six of the seven championship races, earning the World Championship. This was followed by another championship a year later. Over the two-year period won nearly every race it entered with 17 victories of the 19 races it contested.

With proven performance, the Grand Prix engine was used to power a line of Ferrari sportscar chassis. 2.5-liter 625 TF and 3 liter 735 S experimental models were built, with the 625 S tested in an F2 car at Bari in September 1951. Juan Manuel Fangio won in a 159 Alfetta, but the 625 was a surprising 3rd, driven by Piero Taruffi. The three-liter, four-cylinder 735 S was based on the 625, having a narrow-angle and DOHC setup. In 1953 it was driven by Mike Hawthorn and Alberto Ascari at Monza, in the Dolomite Cup, and at Senigallia, with performances that convinced Ferrari he was on the right track, and Lampredi made some major improvements.

Two four-cylinder 'production' sports cars followed in 1954. The first was the 3-liter model, dubbed the 750 Monza, introduced at the Gran Premio Supercortemaggiore at Monza. It wore a Dino Ferrari-designed body and its engine bore increased to 103 mm. The narrow-valve angle cylinder head was replaced with a wide-angle 80-degree head, with bigger valves and larger 58 DCOA/3 Weber carburetors. The engine was installed in a wider Tipo 501 GP chassis, and the 750 appeared at the Monza Supercortemaggiore 100-km race on 27 June 1954. Umberto Maglioli and Mike Hawthorn won, and Froilan Gonzalez and Maurice Trintignant took second. This impressive result earned the new Ferrari a name—the Monza. Throughout the 1954 and 1955 season, the 750 Monza managed a 2nd at the Mille Miglia in 1954 and 6th in 1955, against the Mercedes-Benz team of 300 SLRs, including Stirling Moss in his record-setting ride with Dennis Jenkinson, and Juan Manuel Fangio. In experienced hands, the three-liter, four-cylinder Monzas were nearly as fast as the V-12 cars and became the favorite of a number of privateers.

Starting with chassis number 0440M, the 2nd place finisher at Monza, 31 examples of the 750 Monza Scaglietti Spider were produced.

The Ferrari Monza (1953 to 1957)
Nearly all of the Ferrari Monza models rested on an 88.6-inch wheelbase.

1953
A single four-cylinder, closed-wheel 625 TF sports racer was designed and built by Vignale. Its straight-4 engine was sourced from the 625 F1 car and displaced 2,498c, offering approximately 220 horsepower at 7,000 RPM. The sole 625 TF Berlinetta was destroyed in a fire.

A single 735 S barchetta with coachwork by Carrozzeria Autodromo was fielded for Alberto Ascari, who was leading the race at Monza when it collided with a 250 MM. Scaglietti and Pinin Farina also bodied an example. The 735 S was powered by a Lampredi-designed four-cylinder engine displacing 2,941.66cc.

Between 1953 and 1955, twenty-nine examples of the 500 Mondial were built. Pininfarina clothed 13 spiders and two berlinettas; the examples clothed by Scaglietti were barchettas. The 1,984.86cc engine was sourced from the 500 F2 and produced approximately 170 horsepower.

1954
The 750 Monza was powered by a 2,999.62cc Lampredi inline-4 cylinder engine and built in 1954. The styling was courtesy of Pinin Farina and featured a droop-nose and faired-in headrest.

1955
The Ferrari 857 S used a 3,431.94cc Lampredi four-cylinder engine with approximately 280 horsepower.

1956
Sixteen examples of the 500 TR were built in 1956, serving as a replacement for the 500 Mondial. This was the first Ferrari model to be bestowed with the famed Testa Rossa name. Its 1,984.86cc Lampredi engine produced 180 horsepower.

Three examples of the 860 Monza were constructed and its 3,431.93cc engine produced around 280 horsepower. Its wheelbase measured 93 inches and it used the coil spring suspension from the 500 TR.

The 625 LM relied on a 2,498.32cc Lampredi engine with 9:1 compression and two Weber 42DCO/A carburetors. Four examples were built and three were modified examples of the 500 TR barchettas with the larger 2.5-liter engine. Three examples were bodied by Touring.

1957
Nineteen examples of the 500 TRC were built (1,984.86cc Lampredi Inline 4) and these were the last of the four-cylinder racing Ferrari models. They rested on a 93-inch wheelbase derived from the 860 Monza with its suspension comprised of coil springs and a live rear axle. Two examples of the 500 TRC were later upgraded by the factory to 2.5-liter specifications, creating the 625 TRC. Chassis number 0672MDTR was later upgraded again with a 3.4-liter 860 Monza engine; in 1958, it received a 3.0-liter 250 Testa Rossa engine.

Ferrari revived the Monza name in 2018 for its limited production sports cars, the SP1 and SP2.

by Daniel Vaughan | Apr 2020