Guide: Ferrari 159 Sport
Background
Ferrari’s first car, the 125 Sport, proved itself to be a top class competition machine. Of the ten races it contested between May and July of 1947, the 125 Sport won six.
The immediate post World War 2 era was a time of rapid development and Ferrari were among the firms that set the pace. Just 64 days after the 125 Sport had debuted, its 1.5-litre V12 was made obsolete by the arrival of a new 159 Sport with bigger 1.9-litre engine.
It was hoped the improved performance on offer would ease Ferrari clear of their opposition for the duration of 1947 until a full two-litre V12 was ready for 1948.
Ferrari’s pair of existing 125 Sports (01 C and 02 C) were both kitted out with the new 159 engine between August and September of 1947. A brand new 159 Sport was also completed in September (and confusingly given chassis number 002 C).
Chassis
The car’s Gilco-manufactured tubular steel ladder type frame was identical to that of the 125 Sport. It had a 2420mm wheelbase.
Independent front suspension was via double wishbones and a single transverse leaf spring. The back end used a live axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs and an anti-roll bar.
Hydraulic Houdaille shock absorbers were fitted all round along with single circuit drum brakes.
The 15 x 5-inch front and 15 x 6-inch rear wheels were supplied by Rudge Whitworth in England. At 1250mm, the rear track was 20mm narrower that the front.
Ferrari installed a fuel tank behind the rear axle underneath the spare wheel.
Engine & Gearbox
The 60° V12 that Gioacchino Colombo designed for Enzo Ferrari was eventually enlarged to over twice its original 1.5-litre displacement.
At this sage, the engine featured a light alloy block and head with hemispherical combustion chambers and a single chain-driven overhead camshaft for each bank of cylinders.
Ignition was by a single spark plug per cylinder and two Marelli magnetos.
In the transition from 125 to 159 specification, cubic capacity was increased by nearly 30%. The motor was bored from 55mm to 59mm and stroked from 52.5mm to 58mm. At 1903cc, the 159 motor had an additional 407cc over its predecessor.
A single Weber 32 DCF carburettor was retained. For improved reliability, the compression ratio was reduced from 9.5:1 to 8.5:1.
Peak output rose from 118bhp at 6800rpm to 125bhp at 7000rpm.
This extremely advanced little engine was mounted in unit with a Ferrari-designed five-speed manual gearbox complete with single dry-plate clutch.
Bodywork
The first Ferrari prepared to 159 specification was chassis 02 C.
02 C was one of the two 125 Sports that were given a 159 engine transplant. During its conversion, 02 C was also equipped with a new body. The car had originally been fitted with cycle-winged Spyder coachwork whereas the new body was largely a match for its sister car, 01 C.
This meant both 01 C and 02 C now wore fully-enveloped Spyder bodies manufactured by Peiretti.
The design featured integrated front wings, a soft profile and short rounded tail. The front half of the car was dominated by cooling solutions. A primary nose intake was flanked by brake ducts located under the semi-faired-in headlights. The small horseshoe-shaped intake above the main grille fed fresh air to the carburettors.
To assist with engine cooling, louvres were cut from the hood and flanks.
A detachable panel on the rear deck allowed access to the spare wheel, fuel tank and back axle.
Once in 159 trim, both 01 C and 02 C had their additional brake cooling ducts located either side of the main grille enlarged. Extra intakes were also added alongside the horseshoe-shaped carburettor feed.
The scratch-built 159 Sport (chassis 002 C) was completed with a new super lightweight cigar-type body and cycle wings.
It featured a more slender profile than the original cycle-winged 125 Sport but its subtly re-shaped nose was similarly dominated by a large main intake. The smaller duct above directed cool air to the carburettors via an aluminium snorkel.
Equipment like the cycle wings, headlights and spare wheel could be removed so the car could enter formula-type races for single seat machinery. To this end, a rigid detachable body-coloured tonneau was designed to cover the passenger side of the cockpit.
Interior
Interiors were extremely basic.
The gauges and a variety of toggle switches were housed in a simple aluminium dash fronted by a wood-rimmed three-spoke Nardi steering wheel.
Bucket seats were trimmed in leather but there was no sound insulation, carpet or other upholstery.
Weight / Performance
With a weight of around 750kg, the cycle-winged 159 Sport (002 C) would have had a top speed in the region of 140mph and a 0-62mph time of around seven seconds.
The fully enveloped bodies of 01 C and 02 C were a little heavier but had a better aerodynamic profile.
1947 Coppa Acerbo, Pescara
The 159’s first competitive appearance came in the Coppa Acerbo on August 15th 1947.
This event comprised 20 laps of the 25.8km Circuito di Pescara - a gruelling 516km in total.
Scuderia Ferrari entered 02 C for number one driver, Franco Cortese.
02 C was one of the converted 125 Sports and arrived in Pescara with its new fully enveloped Peiretti Spyder body in place of the original cycle-winged configuration.
Chief opposition came from the featherweight Stanguellini S1100 of Vincenzo Auricchio, a Maserati A6 driven by Felice Bonetto, Giovanni Bracco’s three-litre Delage and the big Alfa Romeo 2500 SS Gran Turismo of Giampiero Bianchetti.
Bracco’s Delage led for most of the race until it ran out of fuel at which point Cortese took the lead. However, a late 20 minute pit delay cost Scuderia Ferrari any chance of victory.
After a frantic recovery, Cortese eventually finished second. He was seven minutes and 20 seconds behind Auricchio's winning Stanguellini.
Nevertheless, Cortese did manage to post the fastest lap of the race with a time of 12 minutes and 12.4 seconds at an average speed of 78.8mph.
1947 Circuito di Modena
Six weeks later, Scuderia Ferrari entered a brace of 159 Sports for a race at the Circuito di Modena (September 28th).
The event for over 750cc cars comprised 24 laps of the 3.2km track: a total race distance of 76.5km.
Chassis 01 C (an uprated 125 Sport) was on hand for Ferdinando Righetti who was a personal friend of Enzo Ferrari and had carried out much testing for il Commendatore.
Ferrari once again allocated the brand new scratch built 159 Sport (chassis 002 C) to Franco Cortese.
The event did not get off to a great start.
During practice, Righetti inflicted sufficient damage on 01 C that the car could not be repaired in time for the race. Fortunately, as the Modena Autodrome was just 20km from the Ferrari factory, chassis 02 C was brought in as a substitute.
The race marked the debut of Maserati’s new A6 GCS and two of these highly fancied cars were on hand for Luigi Villoresi and Alberto Ascari to drive. Another potent Maserati was the A6 1500 streamliner of Guido Barbieri that had already gone up against the 125 Sports earlier in the season.
Giovanni Bracco’s powerful Delage should also have been in the mix but went out of the race in tragic circumstances; five spectators were killed and scores more were injured when Bracco lost control of his car and ploughed into the crowd.
The race was stopped and the Maseratis of Villoresi and Ascari were awarded first and second places.
By this stage, Cortese had already retired while Righetti was lying a distant fifth, two laps down.
1947 Torino GP, Valentino Park
Scuderia Ferrari’s final outing of 1947 came at the Torino GP on October 12th.
Held on a 4.8km circuit around Turin’s beautiful Valentino Park, the 504km, 105 lap event for single seater cars attracted another strong field that included the A6 GCS Maseratis of Ascari and Villoresi.
Enzo Ferrari brought in wealthy French privateer and two-time Le Mans winner, Raymond Sommer, to drive 002 C.
Once the Maseratis of Ascari and Villoresi had dropped out of the race, Sommer was able to win in style. He finished a lap clear of Eugene Chaboud’s Delayahe 135 Special. A further lap down the road was the third=placed Talbot-Lago T26 of Charles Pozzi.
Close Season
The success of Ferrari’s cycle-winged cars in 1947 set the blueprint for a two-litre 1948 version: the 166 Spyder Corsa.
Seven of these new cars were assembled and all three of the 159 Sports were brought up to 166 Spyder Corsa trim over the winter of 1947-1948.
Chassis 01 C and 02 C were also fitted with new cycle-winged bodies and renumbered 010I and 020I respectively.
010I was sold to Scuderia Inter, the racing equipe of Count Bruno Sterzi and Prince Igor Troubetskoy.
020I was retained as a works car for the 1948 season.
The scratch built 159 Sport (chassis 002 C) was fitted with two-litre engine and sold to the Besana brothers along with a new 166 Spyder Corsa (004 C).
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Ferrari - https://www.ferrari.com
