This car was part of the Scuderia Ferrari effort at the 1957 Mille Miglia. Driven by Peter Collins and Lewis Klemantaski, the car dropped out while leading the race at a record pace. It finished in second place at the 1957 1000km of Nurburgring, again with Peter Collins at the wheels, assisted by Olivier Gendebien. It was a DNF at the 1957 24 Hours of LeMans with Phil Hill and Peter Collins, and placed second at the 1957 Grand Prix of Sweden driven by Hill and Collins. The car took third at the 1957 1000 km of Spa / Francorchamps with Olivier Gendebien driving, and Hill and Collins piloted it to a first place at the 1957 Grand Prix of Venezuela. Phil Hill finished first, first and third in three races at the 1957 Nassau Speed Week, and the car was a DNF at the Grand Prix of Cuba in 1958 with Hill driving. From 1958 to 1960, the car raced at many venues in California with John von Neumann, Richie Ginther, Skip Hudson and others behind the wheel.
Enzo Ferrari powered many of his early racing vehicles with V-12 engines placed into small and sturdy chassis. Aluminum bodies were a favorite, due to its rigidity and light weight characteristics. Mounted in the front and powering the rear wheels, this satisfied Enzo's basic philosophy that the 'horse came before the cart.'
In 1955 the Championship was won by Mercedes with drivers such as Fangio and Stirling Moss. After a tragic and deadly accident at the 1955 LeMans race, Mercedes Factory Racing canceled its racing endeavors.
The first race of the 1956 season was won by Stirling Moss driving a Maserati 300 S at the Buenos Aires 1000km. At the 12 Hours of Sebring it a pair of Ferrari 860 Monza's beating Maserati. At the Mille Miglia it was two Ferrari 290 MM model's and two Ferrari 860 Monzas in the top four positions. The Maserati 300 S was the quicker car at the 1000 KMs of Nurburgring. At Le Mans Ferrari came in third behind a Jaguar D-Type and an Aston Martin DB3S. Next was the Swedish GP which a pair of Ferrari 290 MMs dominated, capturing the first and second place. At the close of the season, Ferrari had twice as many points as Maserati and easily won the World Title.
In 1957, Phil Hill, Eugenio Castellotti, Oliver Gendebien, Peter Collins, Luigi Musso, Alfonso de Portago, and Wolfgang von Trips signed with Ferrari as their drivers. The brilliant engineer Aurelio Lampredi left Ferrari for Fiat. This meant a comeback for the V-12 engine, though the tipo 130 engine, or 290 MM, retained some Lampredi characteristics but with a shorter block and a new design. With Lampredi's departure, this left Vittorio Jano, Luigi Bazzi, Alberto Massimino, Vittorio Bellantani and Adrea Fraschetti responsible for the Ferrari engineering and chassis development.
The Ferrari vehicles had twelve cylinders engines, including the 290 S, 315 S, 335 S and the 412 S. The tipo 130 engine produced 320 horsepower and was powerful enough to combat the Maserati 300 S. It was not enough to battle the Maserati 450 S which was powered by an eight-cylinder 4.5 liter engine that produced 400 horsepower.
Maserati was determined to have a better season in 1957 and their hopes lay with the potent 450 S. The inaugural race for the 450 S in 1957 was at the Argentinean 1000 km race where it was piloted by Stirling Moss and Juan Manuel Fangio. The 450S immediately proved to be the top contender and easily lead the race for many laps. Unfortunately, due to a clutch problem the transmission seized and the 450 S was forced to retire from the race. Shortly thereafter, the 450 S made an appearance at Sebring where it was driven by Juan Manuel Fangio and Jean Behra. In the hands of these capable drivers, the Maserati 450 S easily captured its first victory. The 450S was the quickest vehicle on the track. Its shortcomings that would continue to plaque the 450S would prove to be its mechanical failures and poor luck.
At the mille Miglia, Ferrari swept the first three positions with a 315 S (0684) piloted by Piero Taruffi in first place. In second was a Ferrari 335 S (0674) driven by Wolfgang von Trips and in third was a Tour de France Berlinetta (0677) driven by Olivier Gendebien.
Aston Martin took top honors with their DBR1 at the 1000 km of Nurburgring and at Le mans. Ferrari 315 S (0684) finished in fifth place. At the Swedish Grand Prix Behra and Moss piloted their Maserati 450 S to a first place finished and put Maserati back in the running for the Championship. At Venezuela, Maserati's endeavors were halted due to a string of bad luck and a series of accidents. Ferrari 335 S s/n 0700 and 0674 captured the first two places. At the conclusion of the season, Ferrari had won the World Constructors' Championship and Maserati retired from racing.
New regulations for the 1958 season left the 450 S and the Ferrari 335 S obsolete.
By Daniel Vaughan | Jun 2018
