conceptcarz.com

1954 Ferrari 375 MM

The Ferrari 375 MM was designed as a dual-purpose sport machine capable of enduring the rigors of endurance racing and further lifting the prancing horse banner. Production for the road cars lasted from 1953 to 1955 with approximately 26 examples constructed during that time (including four that were converted from 340 MM configuration). The '375' name represented the unitary displacement of one cylinder in the 4.5-liter V12 engine and the 'MM' was for the Mille Miglia road race.

1954 Ferrari 375 MM photo
Coupe
Chassis #: 0402 AM
View info and history
Ferrari S.p.A. was founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1939 after his involvement with the Alfa Romeo race division ended. The company constructed its first car in 1940, although its first Ferrari-badged car did not appear until 1947. It was called the 125 S and equipped with a 1.5-liter, twelve-cylinder engine designed by Gioacchino Colombo, who had worked with Enzo while at Alfa Romeo. It featured a single overhead camshaft design with three double-choke Weber 30DCF carburetors and two valves per cylinder. It was installed in a steel tube-frame chassis with a double-wishbone suspension with transverse leaf springs in the front and a live axle in the rear. Hydraulic power brakes were installed at all four corners and the transmission was a five-speed unit.

Grand Prix racing regulations of the era allowed for displacement sizes up to 4.5 liters for naturally aspirated engines or 1.5 liters for supercharged versions. Colombo had worked with superchargers while with Alfa Romeo, so thus the selection of the 1.5-liter size. This engine, in various sizes and configurations, would power Ferrari vehicles up to 1950 - the first year of Formula One. Alfa Romeo was very successful during the inaugural F1 season using an engine that had been designed by Colombo.

The supercharged Alfa Romeo 158 won all six championship Grand Prix races in 1950, prompting Enzo to replace his long-time friend, Colombo, with another engineer named Aurelio Lampredi. The Colombo-designed short-block V12 had been very instrumental in Ferrari's evolution and proved competitive in sports car models. In Grand Prix competition, the short-block engine was unable to keep pace with the finely tuned and highly developed Alfa Romes.

1954 Ferrari 375 MM photo
Spyder by Pininfarina
Chassis #: 0412AM
View info and history
Lampredi was given the monumental task of designing a completely new engine for the 1951 season. He proposed a naturally aspirated 4.5-liter motor with taller and longer architecture than the Colombo-designed unit, thus earning the nickname - 'long block.' It used twin ignition per cylinder and single intake porting, with displacement sizes that would eventually grow to 5 liters in the Grand Prix configuration.

By 1951, Alfa Romeo Grand Prix cars were nearing the end of their development potential, and Ferrari's new 4.5-liter naturally aspirated cars posed a real challenge to the Alfas. During the eight-race season, Ferrari won three times, BRM won once, and Alfa Romeo won four times with Juan Manuel Fangio being named the Drivers' Champion.

Alfa Romeo was unable to fund the development of a new and competitive car for the 1952 season, so they withdrew, leaving Ferrari with little competition. So the sports' governing body ran the 1952 and 1953 championships under Formula Two regulations, resulting in larger fields and a greater variety of cars. With racing regulations allowing two-liter naturally aspirated engines, the larger Lampredi engine became obsolete for Grand Prix racing. Instead, these large V12s were installed into a limited series of sports racers, including the 375 MM.

1954 Ferrari 375 MM photo
Spyder by Pininfarina
Chassis #: 0412AM
View info and history
The first 375 MM combined the chassis of the 340 MM and the Grand Prix version of the 4.5-liter V12 (Tipo 102) engine. Most of the 375 MMs that followed were given the Tipo 108 version which had a slightly altered bore and stroke, similar horsepower, less torque, and better reliability. The Tipo 102 were designed for factory race drivers while the Tipo 108 were better suited for customer cars. The Tipo 102 had the same total capacity of 4493.73cc from the same internal measurements as the 375 F1. The Tipo 108 had a capacity of 4522.68 cc due to its 84 x 68 mm bore and stroke (compared to 80 x 74.5 of the Tipo 102). Both versions received three Weber 40IF/4C or 42DCZ carburetors and produced 335 horsepower at 7,000 RPM. The four-speed fully synchronized gearbox was mounted to the engine, driven by a multi-plate clutch.

The chassis was derived from its predecessor, the 340 MM, but with a slightly longer wheelbase that now measured 102.4 inches. It was based on two parallel oval tubes in a welded ladder structure, and used a suspension inherited from the 340 MM, but with an addition of the Houdaille-type hydraulic shock absorbers in the front and rear. Front suspension was independent by parallel unequal-length A-arms with a transverse leaf spring, sway bar and Houdaille hydraulic shock absorbers. In the back was a solid axle with semi-elliptic springs, Houdaille shocks and parallel trailing arms (for location and taking braking and acceleration loads).

The first prototype wore Spyder coachwork by Vignale while the next three cars were clothed by Pinin Farina as Berlinettas. All of these were converted from the Ferrari 340 MM. The majority of the 26 examples of the 375 MM wore Pinin Farina coachwork, and most of those were Berlinettas and Spyders. Approximately 16 examples wore open coachwork by Pinin Farina. A coupe was created by Carrozzeria Ghia to a Giovanni Michelotti design and would be the last Ferrari to ever wear coachwork by this Turinese coachbuilder.

1954 Ferrari 375 MM photo
Spyder by Pininfarina
View info and history
Wearing Berlinetta coachwork by Pinin Farina, the 375 MM made its debut at the 1953 24 Hours of LeMans where it set a lap record before retiring. Later in the year, another 375 MM placed fourth overall in Mexico's Carrera Panamericana, sealing the first of Ferrari's many Manufacturers World Championships. Giuseppe Farina and Mike Hawthorn drove the 357 MM to overall victory at the Spa 24 Hours, Hawthorn and Umberto Maglioli scored another victory for the 375 MM at the 12 Hours of Pescara, and Farina and Piero Scotti won the 12 Hours of Casablanca. Giuseppe Farina and Alberto Ascari won the 1000 km Nürburgring race of 1953. Both Spa and the Nürburgring races counted towards the 1953 World Sportscar Championship.

In 1954, Giuseppe Farina with Umberto Maglioli won the 1000 km Buenos Aires, earning Ferrari points toward the championship. Piero Scotti won the Coppa della Toscana, and various other victories were earned in North and South America, and Europe.

Further development of the Lampredi V12 resulted in the Tipo 113 version with a 4,954.34cc displacement. Called the 375 Plus, it competed in numerous international races, earning many victories, with the highlight being a victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1954, driven by José Froilán González and Maurice Trintignant.


by Daniel Vaughan | Sep 2021

Related Reading : Ferrari 375 MM History

Ferrari is the most successful constructor in Formula Ones history, but it all started rather humbly. Despite being an elite, high-profile automaker and racing team, Ferrari performed rather unobtrusively in Formula Ones first season. Success rarely comes overnight, but the waiting period is dramatically shortened when you have already designed a dominant product in which to take and build off.....
Continue Reading >>

Related Reading : Ferrari 375 History

The Ferrari 375 was introduced at the Paris Salon in 1953 and production lasted until May of 1954. The car was constructed for Ferraris clientele who had the means to afford one of these beautiful creations. Since they were produced in limited numbers, the production took far longer than volume models. Gioacchino Colombo started out being the primary builder of Ferraris engines in the late 1940s....
Continue Reading >>

1954 Ferrari 375 MM Vehicle Profiles

1954 Ferrari 375 MM vehicle information
Coupe

Designer: Scaglietti
Chassis #: 0402 AM
1954 Ferrari 375 MM vehicle information
Spyder

Coachwork: Pininfarina
1954 Ferrari 375 MM vehicle information
Spyder

Coachwork: Pininfarina
Chassis #: 0362
1954 Ferrari 375 MM vehicle information
Spyder

Coachwork: Pininfarina
Chassis #: 0412AM
1954 Ferrari 375 MM vehicle information
Aerodinamica Speciale

Coachwork: Pininfarina
Chassis #: 0456AM
1954 Ferrari 375 MM vehicle information
Berlinetta

Coachwork: Pininfarina
Chassis #: 0416AM
1954 Ferrari 375 MM vehicle information
Berlinetta

Coachwork: Pininfarina
Chassis #: 0472AM

Recent Vehicle Additions

Related Automotive News

Concours d'Elegance of America

Concours d'Elegance of America

The 41st Annual Concours dElegance displayed a diverse field of more than 300 spectacular contributions to automotive history on the lawn at the Inn at St. Johns. This years featured classes included Ferrari, Rolls-Royce, Bentley, the Rise and Fall...
1954 Ferrari 375 MM Spider To Be Offered At Auction By Mecum In Monterey

1954 Ferrari 375 MM Spider To Be Offered At Auction By Mecum In Monterey

0362AM Comes to Market Aug. 16 for the First Time in 46 Years Walworth, WI - July 3, 2014 -- A remarkable lineup of headliners including world-class vintage racers, European sports cars and more is set to rock the Mecum auction block...
1953 FERRARI 375 MM SPIDER LEADS LATEST HIGHLIGHTS FOR RM'S MULTI-MILLION-DOLLAR MONTEREY SALE

1953 FERRARI 375 MM SPIDER LEADS LATEST HIGHLIGHTS FOR RM'S MULTI-MILLION-DOLLAR MONTEREY SALE

RM Auctions secures a championship-winning 1953 Ferrari 375 MM Spider competition car for its flagship Monterey, California, sale, August 16–17, after single ownership for 45 years Also announced are a 1939 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster, a...
1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider to Lead Gooding & Company's Amelia Island Auctions Alongside Stable of the Finest Ferraris

1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider to Lead Gooding & Company's Amelia Island Auctions Alongside Stable of the Finest Ferraris

The star car of the auctions will be a one-off 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider, joined by a 250 GT Tour de France Berlinetta, a 250 MM Vignale Spider, and other examples of Maranellos finest models. Leading international auction...
Phenomenal Ferraris and Italian Thoroughbreds Offered at Gooding & Company's Pebble Beach Auctions

Phenomenal Ferraris and Italian Thoroughbreds Offered at Gooding & Company's Pebble Beach Auctions

The auction house announced a stable of Italian star cars, including a 1950 Ferrari 166 MM Berlinetta Le Mans, a 1961 Ferrari 400 Superamerica Series I Coupe Aerodinamico, and a 1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial Series I Spider. A stunning group of star...
Alfa Romeo Named Best of Show at the 68th Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance

Alfa Romeo Named Best of Show at the 68th Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance

Touring-Bodied Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Named Best of Show at the 68th Pebble Beach Concours dElegance PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (August 26, 2018) — After an intense competition that drew diverse cars from around the globe, the coveted gold Best of Show...
1954 Carrera Panamericana: Courage to Go On

1954 Carrera Panamericana: Courage to Go On

Suddenly the Ferrari 340 Mexico would break loose on Hill. Careening down over the ledge, the car would be battered and bruised, coming to a rest finally with its occupants none the worse for wear. It would be a scary moment and the mangled bodywork...
1956 24 Hours of Le Mans: The Rise of Two Counts

1956 24 Hours of Le Mans: The Rise of Two Counts

The 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans would end up being the darkest day in all of motorsport when Pierre Levegh launched off the back of Lance Macklins Austin-Healey and crashed into a barrier sending large portions of the car flying through the air acting...