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1950 Ferrari 166 MM LeMans

The Ferrari company's inception as an auto manufacturer is usually recognized in 1947, however, it was founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1939 as Auto Avio Costruzioni, and built its first car in 1940. Scuderia Ferrari, meaning 'Ferrari Stable' or 'Team Ferrari', was founded in 1929 and headquartered in Modena. The 'team' operated as the racing division of Alfa Romeo, buying, preparing, and fielding Alfa Romeo racing cars. After Alfa Romeo withdrew its in-house racing team in 1933, Scuderia Ferrari became its works team.

1950 Ferrari 166 MM LeMans photo
Berlinetta Coupe
Chassis #: 0026 M
View info and history
When Enzo Ferrari left Alfa Romeo in September of 1938, his contract dictated that he was unable to use the Ferrari name in association with races or racing cars for at least four years. Along with producing machine tools and aircraft accessories, the company built its first race car, called the Tipo 815 and based on a Fiat chassis, in 1940 and raced at the Mille Miglia.

The company moved to a factory in Maranello, only to have it bombed by the Allies during World War II. It was subsequently rebuilt and when peacetime resumed, so did vehicle production. The first Ferrari-badged car was the 125 S, built-in 1947 and powered by a 1.5-liter V12 engine. The water-cooled, 60-degree engine was designed by Gioacchino Colombo and would remain in production in numerous iterations until 1988. The bore centers were placed 90 mm apart, allowing for future expansion. The 1.5-liter displacement would later grow to nearly 5.0 liters in the 1985 412i grand tourer. In 1963, the engine received a redesigned block with wider, 94mm, bore spacing.

The Ferrari 1.5-liter 125 V12 proved to be successful but postwar racing regulations soon introduced a two-liter limit for Formula 2. Ferrari's long-term associate Luigi Bazzi increased the 125's 55x52.5mm bore and stroke to 59x58mm for the 1,902 cc 159 engine which appeared late in 1947. This modification brought an increase in horsepower, encouraging another increase in displacement to nearly two liters for the 1948 season. With a 60mm bore and 58mm stroke, its displacement measured 1,968cc. Increasing the stroke to 58.8mm brought nearly the optimum 2-liter displacement: 166.25cc per cylinder, 1,995cc in all, and the model designation 166.

Tipo 166
In 1948, the two-liter Tipo 166 was introduced as a replacement for the 125 S and would earn numerous victories with the cycle-winged 166 Corsa, including the Targa Florio, the Mille Miglia, and the Paris 12-hour race.

1950 Ferrari 166 MM LeMans photo
Berlinetta Coupe
Chassis #: 0026 M
View info and history
At the Turin Salon in September of 1948, Carrozeria Touring - based in Milan and headed by Carlo Felice Bianchi Anderloni - displayed a two-seat spider body with full fenders and unadorned beltlines. These updated models were called the 166 MM, in honor of the Mille Miglia victory. Eventually, Turin built 25 examples of the 166 in the open style that came to be known as the Barchetta (Italian for 'little boat') using the patented Superleggera technique. This body style would later be used on the succeeding 195, 212, and 340 series.

Enzo's relationship with Touring began in the pre-WWII era when Touring created bodies using the superleggera construction system of lightweight alloy panels supported by small diameter tubes for the Alfa Romeo competition and sports cars of Scuderia Ferrari. Touring had also bodied two Auto Avio Costruzione 815's which participated in the 1940 Mille Miglia.

At the 1949 Mille Miglia, Ferrari entered two long wheelbase (2620mm) 166 Sports barchettas. The car driven by Clemente Biondetti and Ettore Salani finished first and the other 166 MM driven by Felice Bonetto and Pierre-Louis Carpani placed second. Multiple victories followed during the remainder of the 1949 season, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 24 Hours of Spa, and events at Senigallia and Trieste.

1950 Ferrari 166 MM LeMans photo
Berlinetta Coupe
Chassis #: 0026 M
View info and history
The 166 MM models dominated sports car racing during the late 1940s and early 1950s and are the only postwar model to win all three of the great European sports car races: the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Targa Florio, and the Mille Miglia.

The chassis design was simple, reliable, and effective. The frame employed two oval tubes with cross members for torsion strength and outriggers to support the body. This setup allowed Ferrari to vary the wheelbase size to suit individual races and different passenger accommodations. The rear suspension used a simple live axle with semi-elliptical leaf springs, and trailing arms and Houdaille shocks to control torque and axle location. The front suspension was independent with parallel A-arms supported by a transverse leaf spring and aided by Houdaille lever-action hydraulic shock absorbers. Large drum brakes provided the stopping power and were concealed by wire wheels.

From its introduction in 1948 until the first series of 166 MM production ended early in 1951 twenty-six Touring Barchettas were built. They earned Ferrari its first of many victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1949 driven by Luigi Chinetti and Lord Selsdon. Chinetti and Jean Lucas scored an overall victory in the Spa 24 Hours in 1949.

1950 Ferrari 166 MM LeMans photo
Berlinetta Coupe
Chassis #: 0066M
Engine #: 0066M
View info and history
Auction entries : 2
Eleven 166 MMs were built in 1949 and thirteen in 1950. Six 166 MMs were used by Scuderia Ferrari as part of the Works fleet. The others were raced by privateers such as the Marzotto brothers, Inico Bernabei, and Franco Cornacchia.

Along with open bodied barchetta's, Touring created closed coupe 'Le Mans Berlinetta' bodies made from aluminum for the 1950s season. Resting on the same 166 chassis and although heavier than the open cars, the Berlinettas were quicker on high-speed tracks such as Le Mans.
166 MM Le Mans
The Berlinetta Le Mans was unveiled in 1950 at Geneva. The fastback design had styling cues sourced from the streamlined Alfa Romeo racing cars of the late 1930s. The interior was minimalistic and purposeful, and the exterior had leather tie-down straps, thin Plexiglas windows, and large external fuel fillers.

Five examples were ultimately built, the first was chassis number 0026 M, the Geneva show car, powered by a modified Type 195 engine tuned to produce around 170 horsepower. Giannino Marzotto drove it in April to Ferrari's second consecutive win in the Mille Miglia. A month later, it was displayed on the Touring stand at the Turin Motor Show. In June, Marzotto drove the car to a 1st place finish in the Notturne della Caracalla race in Rome, and then the car ran at LeMans.

1950 Ferrari 166 MM LeMans photo
Berlinetta Coupe
Chassis #: 0026 M
View info and history
At least two of the other four 166 MM Berlinettas were upgraded to the Type 195 specification by the factory, including chassis 0066M.

Ferrari would continue to race both open and closed sports cars in the years that followed. For the 1951 season, the Berlinetta bodies were created by Vignale, later Fantuzzi, and then Scaglietti.


by Daniel Vaughan | Mar 2020

Related Reading : Ferrari 166 History

Clemente Biondetti and Count Igor Troubetzkoy won the Targa Florio on April 3rd of 1948, marking Ferraris first major international win. The car was a closed Berlinetta Ferrari 166 and would later capture a victory at Italys 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....
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Related Reading : Ferrari 166 History

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....
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1950 Ferrari 166 MM LeMans Vehicle Profiles

1950 Ferrari 166 MM LeMans vehicle information
Berlinetta Coupe

Designer: Touring
Chassis #: 0060 M
Engine #: 0060 M
1950 Ferrari 166 MM LeMans vehicle information
Berlinetta Coupe

Designer: Touring
Chassis #: 0066M
Engine #: 0066M
1950 Ferrari 166 MM LeMans vehicle information
Berlinetta Coupe

Designer: Touring
Chassis #: 0026 M

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