Motoring Memories

Motoring Memories: Ferrari Type 166 MM, 1949-1953

June 2, 2006

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Story and photo by Bill Vance

It sits all hunkered down, looking small on its less than 2,286 mm (90 in.) wheelbase, 3,658 mm (144 in.) length, and 927 mm (36.5 in.) height at the cowl. The eggcrate grille is a simple yet classic shape. The minimal windshield is almost nautical, not surprising since the roadster is nicknamed the barchetta, or little boat. It’s a Ferrari 166 MM, the car that launched the Ferrari mystique close to 60 years ago.

The first few Ferraris from 1947 and ’48 were built for competition, but it was the sports/competition 1949 Type 166 MM that really established the Ferrari magic. The 166 designation came from the cubic centimetre displacement of one engine cylinder, a model nomenclature long retained by Ferrari. MM stood for Mille Miglia, an annual Italian 1,000 mile (1,610 km) open road race in which Ferraris triumphed eight times.

The father of this little machine was Enzo Ferrari, born in the Northern Italian city of Modena in 1898. His father introduced Enzo to auto racing at age 10, leaving an impression so indelible he pursued it until his death in 1988.

Enzo began race driving in the 1920s, and scored some significant victories. After his son Dino arrived in 1932 he largely discontinued driving and began the less risky pursuit of managing an Alfa Romeo factory team, and then Alfa Romeos under his own Scuderia (stable) Ferrari. His teams scored impressive victories during the 1920s and ’30s.

But it was neither his driving nor his team management that would earn Enzo an almost God-like reputation, one that would see him dubbed “The Pope of the North.” It was as a constructor of racing and road cars, starting especially with the Ferrari Type 166 MM.

After the first somewhat chunky looking road/racing cars that Ferrari’s Maranello factory had produced, Ferrari’s 1949 166 looked smooth, svelte and sculpted. The superleggera (superlight) aluminum bodies were usually fashioned by the skilled panel beaters of Milan-based Carrozzeria (coachbuilder) Touring, using wooden body bucks. They were fitted to a small-diameter tubular metal framework attached to the chassis.

The chassis was constructed of oval and round tubes, and suspension was independent in front via A-arms and a transverse leaf spring. The solid rear axle was carried by two leaf springs.

While the 166 was aesthetically pleasing, its piece de resistance, a V12 engine, lay under its bulged hood. Ferrari and his engine design engineer Gioacchino Colombo believed the greatest power potential for a given displacement lay in using many cylinders with lots of piston area. Besides, Ferrari had been inspired by the Packard V12 engine. In 1946 Colombo designed a 60-degree, 1-1/2 litre V12 for the Type 125 Ferrari. This was enlarged to two litres for the Type 166.

Its cylinder heads, block and sump were cast aluminum alloy. The crankshaft rotated in seven main bearings and the 12 tiny (60 mm; 2.36 in.) pistons slid in cast iron sleeves. A single chain-driven camshaft in each head actuated two valves per cylinder via rocker arms. The valves were not closed by conventional coil springs, but by two lightweight hairpin type springs, which allowed shorter, lighter, low-inertia valves.

The V12 developed 105 to 125 horsepower, depending on carburation and fuel. While not sounding high by today’s standards, it was very respectable for its era, and the 166 weighed only some 726 kg (1,600 lb). Power went to the rear wheels through a five-speed manual transmission with direct fourth and overdrive fifth.

Production of the 166 MM started in 1949, and it established instant credibility by winning the famed LeMans, France 24-hour endurance race in June, 1949 driven by Luigi Chinetti, who later became Ferrari’s U.S. distributor, and Lord Seldson. Chinetti, the better driver, demonstrated iron-man endurance by driving 23-1/2 hours to win at an average of 82.27 mph. The 166 also won that year’s gruelling Belgian Spa-Francorchamps race and the Mille Miglia.

The 166 MM posted many more racing victories in Europe, and in North America when it began arriving in limited quantities in late 1950. Its approximately $10,000 price (that would buy a house then), limited early ownership to millionaire sportsmen like Briggs Cunningham whose father had helped fund Proctor and Gamble, and James Kimberly of the Kimberly-Clark paper company.

Less than 80 Type 166s were built from 1949 to ’53. In search of more power the V12 was soon bored out to 2,341 cc for the Type 195, and to 2,562 cc for the Type 212. Despite the design of a larger V12 by Aurelio Lampredi in 1949, the “Colombo” engine, ultimately reaching three litres, was used into the 1960s.

Others have tried to match Ferrari’s mystique in building exotic, high performance cars, but none has quite succeeded. Over the years Ferraris have come in a dizzying array of models, and in several engine configurations. They all owe their roots to that little Type 166 MM with its jewel-like V12 and sultry Italian shape. It launched the almost mythical Ferrari marque.