www.QV500.com - Ferrari 166 Part 1: 125 Sport

By the end of 1948, Ferrari’s 166 Sport and Spyder Corsa's had taken important victories in events like the Targa Florio and Mille Miglia, these cars also recording several international speed records to boot. Interest was growing from road and race drivers alike, all of them wanting to get their hands on a 166. Ferrari obliged and launched two new models, the 166 Mille Miglia and 166 Inter debuting during September of 1948 at the Turin Salon. The Mille Miglia used a short wheelbase chassis and was the competition version, the Inter a street version and the first Ferrari intended primarily for road use. Mille Miglia and Inter models were manufactured between 1948 and early 1951, a plethora of body styles being designed for these cars by some of Italy’s most famous carrozzeria'. Before considering the 166 though it's important to cover their immediate forerunners - not least because there is generally so much confusion surrounding these cars. The Tipo 125 Sport was Ferrari’s first race car and used a 1497cc, 72bhp, Colombo-designed V12 engine to contest the 1947 season. The Tipo 159 meanwhile was a simple development of the 125 constructed during autumn 1947 using a 1903cc, 125bhp V12. But back to the 125, this car used a tubular steel ladder type frame and set the tone for Ferrari chassis's throughout the fifties and beyond. Featuring transverse leaf sprung suspension and a 2489mm wheelbase, the 125 weighed in at a mere 750kg. Displacement of the front longitudinally-mounted V12 was 1496.7cc, this thanks to a bore and stroke of 55mm x 52.5mm respectively.

Ferrari developed two alternative road racing versions of the Gioacchino Colombo engine. They were referred to as Super Sport and Touring while there was also another unit for Grand Prix. The Super Sport was for competition use and provided 118bhp at 7000prm with a compression ratio of 9.0:1 and three downdraught Weber 28 DCF carbs. Touring spec saw the compression dropped to 8.0:1 and a single Weber 32 DCF carburettor fitted. It produced 72bhp at 5600rpm. Curiously, whereas the Super Sport was intended for use in competition cars, the Touring version was intended for use in a three-seat coupe.

The body of the first 125, chassis 01 C, was fabricated from sheet steel by Peiretti who are believed to have been working to a design by Touring of Milan. Although not stunningly pretty, the 125 Sport nevertheless had an elegant silhouette and a particularly attractive tapered tail, the chunky nose being dominated by a main grille flanked by three supplementary vents. With only the bare essentials required for competition driving, the 125's interior was little more than a of pair bucket seats. A second 125, chassis 02 C, was constructed very shortly afterwards and, whilst a Barchetta style was again used, this second example initially featured cycle wing bodywork fabricated by Ansoloni. Upgraded in early 1948, this time to full 166 Spyder Corsa specification, Ferrari altered the chassis number from 02 C to 020 I. Just one 125 exists today, but this is an exact replica constructed by Ferrari at vast expense during the mid 1980’s. Indeed, neither of the 125's are around today in their original form, 01 C having been heavily crashed in late 1947 and subsequently upgraded by Ferrari to 166 Spyder Corsa specification. Its chassis was re-numbered as 010 I and a new Spyder Corsa body fitted in 1948. The second 125 built, chassis 02 C, was originally fitted with a cycle fender body much like the later Spyder Corsa's. However, this shell was exchanged for a full width design during 1947, at which time Ferrari upgraded it to Tipo 159 specification. The 125 Sport chassis numbers are indexed below:

Ferrari 125 Chassis Index