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1950 Ferrari 166MM news, pictures, and information

Barchetta
Coachwork: Touring
Chassis Num: 0050M
 
High bid of $1,100,000 at 2009 RM Auctions. (did not sell)
The 166 MM Touring Barchetta, a Ferrari masterpiece, still increase pulse rates fifty-five years later. It is the first Ferrari sports car; all previous cars were strictly for racing. Craftsmen welded a tubular frame with a 2,200 mm wheelbase to hand-formed body panels. Beneath the hood resides a Colombo designed 1,995 cc 60-degree V-12, with a 10:1 compression ratio and triple Weber carburetors, producing 140 horsepower at 6,600 rpm's. The front suspension features independent A-arms on a single transverse leaf trailing arms. The interior has hand stitched leather upholstery and trim.

The 166 MM was arguably the world's fastest sports car. In the heyday, it recorded more than eighty overall or class victories between 1948 and 1953.

This car, chassis #0050M, was purchased by Porfirio Rusirosa to race at the 24 Hours of LeMans, in 1950. After running as high as eighth, it was forced out in the eighth hour by a clutch failure. The Barchetta was traded back to the factory in 1953. It was purchased by Bill Devin of Fontana, California. In 1975, three Californians later, the current owner purchased it. It has been refinished and the engine rebuilt, otherwise it remains the magnificent example of the gentleman's sports racer that departed the factory in 1953.
Barchetta
Coachwork: Touring
Chassis Num: 0054M
Gearbox Num: 20
Build Num: 3450
 
Sold for $1,760,000 at 2005 RM Auctions.
Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta Lusso with chassis number 0054M is a right hand drive vehicle which spent its early life being raced extensively. It was driven by Carlos Menditeguy at the Circuito de Playa Grande and Buenos Aires before being sent to the United States. The vehicles next owner entered the car in competition from late 1950 through 1952. It made appearances at Watkins Glen, Elkhart Lake, 6 hours of Sebring, 12 Hours of Sebring, and more. Spears drove the car in most of the events and was awarded with many podium finishes.

The vehicles next owner, Edmund Lunken, continued the cars racing resume. Lunken drove the car and at times, during endurance competition, enlisted the help of a backup driver. Herbert Swan became the vehicles next owner in 1958. In 1959 he had the engine replace and an Offenhauser unit placed in the engine bay. The car continued to be raced during the late 1950s. The car placed through the ownership of a few owners before coming into the care of Eleanore Haga in 1969. Haga kept the car for over twenty years. In 1991 the car was shown at the Pebble Beach Concours where it was awarded a Second in Class.

The car was sold to Ed Davies in 1994. Davies has shown the car extensively before selling to Lawrence Auriana. It has made appearances at the Cavallino Classic, Meadow Brook Concours d'Elegance, Pebble Beach, and the Ferrari Club of America National Concours under the care of Davies.

Auriana has shown the car at the New York Concours in 2005 and the Cavallino Classic in 2007.

By Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2007
Barchetta
Coachwork: Touring
Chassis Num: 0058M
 
The 23rd Barchetta (0058M) was completed in June 1950 with one carburetor and a hood scoop. It was sold to the rising Italian racing great Eugenio Castellotti, who raced it in the 1951 Mille Miglia where he finished 6th in class and fiftieth overall. The engine was converted to three carburetors and the car was then given a smooth hood. Castellotti raced the car eight times in Italy, Monaco and Portugal in 1951 and 1952, then loaned the car to a friend for the 1953 Mille Miglia where it failed to finish.

Ferrari 166MM Touring Barchetta lusso with chassis number 0058 was constructed in June of 1950. Eugenio Castellotti raced it extensively from 1950 through 1953 before it was sold to Charles Rezzaghi. Eugenio entered the car in the 1951 and 1953 Mille Miglia. It was raced in Grand Prix events and provided many podium finishes. It crossed the finish line in First place on three occasions under Castellotti's care.

Rezzaghi continued the cars racing career, mostly in the United States. The car was sold in 1966 and again in 1977. It was shown at the Pebble Beach Concours by its owner, Ed Gilbertson, where it was the Hans Thanner Trophy. Since that time it has been shown at the 166MM Barchetta Reunion in Monterey, Pebble Beach Concours, and the Colorado Grand. It was sold in 1998 to Lorenzo Zambrano who brought the car to the 2007 Cavallino Classic where it was awarded 'Outstanding 166.'

It is one of the few 166MM Barchetta that does not have a hood scoop.

By Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2009
Barchetta
Coachwork: Touring
Chassis Num: 0068M
 
This is the last 166 MM Barchetta built (serial 0068M). It is also the first to have the rear 'moustaches' and brake lights moved to the tips of the rear fenders. It was completed in June 1950 and sent to Le Mans as a backup by the Ferrari time but was not used. Nothing further is known about its activates until April 1951 when it was sold to the Italian racing team Scuderia Guastalla and passed on to Lucian Farnaud. He raced it in France, Belgium, Monte Carlo and Germany, including endurance races at Le Mans and Nurburgring over the next two years, winning two second place finishes, a third and five first-in-class positions. In 1953 it raced at Monza and then was sold to a new owner who raced it in one Swiss hill climb.
Barchetta
Coachwork: Touring
Chassis Num: 0044M
 
This Ferrari (serial number 0044M) was the 17th Barchetta completed in 1950, and it has the corsa interior. Nothing is known about the activities of this Barchetta in 1950, but it is known to have raced in the Mille Miglia in 1951 and 1952 and in several races in Sicily until 1957. Early in its career a more powerful Formula 2 Ferrari 166 engine was installed, but the original engine has now been reunited with its chassis.
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.

By Daniel Vaughan | Mar 2009
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.

By Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2007
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