Guide: Ferrari 166 Inter
Background
For Scuderia Ferrari to compete in Grand Prix and top flight sports car racing, a sizeable competition budget was required. To generate this money, from late 1948, Enzo Ferrari offered a line of road-going Gran Turismos that would sell alongside his racing models.
The first Ferrari built purely for road use was unveiled at the Turin Motor Show in September 1948. A light metallic blue five-window Coupe with coachwork by Touring of Milan, this prototype was built on the third of three 166 Sport chassis (005 S).
Like a good number of Enzo Ferrari’s earliest creations, chassis 005 S was purchased by Count Bruno Sterzi, a wealthy aristocrat from Milan.
Together with his friend, Prince Igor Troubetzkoy (a Russian exile who lived in Paris), the two men established Scuderia Inter and campaigned several Ferrari racing cars throughout 1948.
In addition to 005 S, the outfit comprised two 166 Spyder Corsas and a 166 Sport in which Troubetzkoy and Clemente Biondetti claimed victory at the 1948 Giro di Sicilia.
In honour of Sterzi and Troubetzkoy’s early patronage, Enzo Ferrari decided to name his first series of road cars Inter.
The 166 Inter was unveiled alongside the 166 Mille Miglia at the Paris Motor Show in October 1948. Both cars on display were bodied by Touring.
The 166 Inter (chassis 007 S) was a five-window Coupe-similar to 005 S. By contrast, the short wheelbase Mille Miglia was a lightweight two-seat Spyder designed for competition.
Going into 1949, Ferrari would therefore offer customers a choice of two production models: the 166 Mille Miglia racing car and the 166 Inter which was a comfortable road car practical enough for everyday use.
Whichever model was selected, buyers could equip their car with practically any type of coachwork from the myriad carrozzeria operating in Italy at the time.
Chassis
Whereas the 166 Mille Miglia used a short 2200mm wheelbase chassis, 166 Inters were built with a longer 2420mm wheelbase as frequently seen on the 166 Spyder Corsa.
All Ferrari chassis of this era were conventional tubular steel ladder type frames fabricated by Gilco Autotelai of Milan.
Similarly, the suspension layout was broadly the same from model to model: independent double wishbones with a transverse leaf spring at the front and a live rear axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs and an anti-roll bar. Hydraulic Houdaille shock absorbers were fitted all round.
Braking came courtesy of a single hydraulic circuit with drums to each corner.
The 15 x 5.5-inch wheels were typically Borrani wires but some early cars came with steel Gabo rims and chrome hub caps. At 1250mm front and 1200mm rear, track dimensions were the same as the 166 Sport and 166 Mille Miglia.
A 72-litre fuel tank mounted underneath the boot floor was the smallest of the Ferrari range but did allow for plenty of luggage space.
Engine & Gearbox
Like all Ferrari’s 166 variants, the Inter used a two-litre Gioacchino Colombo-designed engine that displaced 1995cc thanks to a bore and stroke of 60mm and 59mm respectively.
This all-alloy 60° V12 featured 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.
As usual, wet-sump lubrication was employed.
Given that longevity and tractability were of vital importance, compression was reduced to 8.0:1.
A solitary Weber 32 DCF carburettor was standard equipment.
In this configuration, peak output was 110bhp at 6000rpm and 120lb-ft at 5000rpm.
By contrast, the 166 Mille Miglia usually came with three 32 DCF carbs and a 10.0:1 compression ratio. This arrangement yielded 140bhp at 6600rpm and 117lb-ft at 5000rpm. Customers could request this racier Mille Miglia specification for their 166 Inter if desired, but most cars left the factory in standard tune.
Transmission was via Ferrari’s own five-speed gearbox and a single plate clutch.
Bodywork
Bodies were built to special order by a variety of Italian coachbuilders.
Of the 37 Inters made, 19 were completed by Touring, eight by Stabilimenti Farina and another eight by Vignale. Bertone and Ghia produced one unit apiece.
Touring
The designs by Touring of Milan fell into two categories: notchback Coupes and fastback Coupes.
Touring’s notchback Coupes followed a similar theme to the prototype 166 Sport road car unveiled in August 1948 (chassis 005 S). These machines as depicted in photos one, two and three had more elaborately sculpted fenders, bigger windows and were generally more conservatively styled than Touring’s racier fastback designs. Full width bumpers were the norm.
Touring’s 166 Inter Coupes with fastback coachwork (bottom photo) had a lower profile nose and more streamlined appearance. Wings were more neatly integrated with the rest of the body which lent these cars a contemporary look.
Unlike Touring’s notchback Coupes, the sportier fastback rear end swept down to a shortened tail in one continuous line.
Stabilimenti Farina
Eight 166 Inters received coachwork by Stabilimenti Farina of Turin. This figure comprised five Coupes (above) and three Cabriolets, all of which were quite conservatively styled.
Fully integrated front wings gave a modern look while the rear fenders were usually quite heavily contoured. Overhangs at either end were generally kept short.
Most Stabilimenti Farina bodies came with distinctive delta-shaped hoods and big bumpers (sometimes with overriders).
Cabriolet tops folded manually and, when lowered, were stowed under a neat cover.
Vignale
Arguably the prettiest designs applied to the 166 Inter came from Carrozzeria Vignale of Turin.
Vignale bodied eight 166 Inters, all as fastback Coupes.
One key aspect of these car’s fresh appearance was their continuous waist line from headlight to tail. In stark contrast to some later Vignale-bodied Ferraris, the firm’s 166 Inters were comparatively restrained.
An additional swage line from the top of the front wheelarch was often adopted to break up the side profile. Rear fenders were usually given discrete fins.
Some examples came with inlets to feed air into the engine bay and others were equipped with spot lights.
Like most 166 Inters, full width bumpers were usually installed at either end.
Ghia
Operating from Turin, Carrozzeria Ghia created a solitary handsome Coupe to a design that would prove popular on subsequent 195 and 212 Inters.
The Ghia front end was dominated by a distinctive grille, the upper centre of which was unusually contoured to match the raised hood line.
Chrome engine cooling vents were located behind each front wheelarch. A matching trim piece along each sill gave the car a slender side profile.
Muscular rear fenders were neatly integrated with the rest of the body and elegant bumpers were fitted front and back.
Ghia’s creation was undoubtedly one of the most successful to grace a 166 Inter. Unsurprisingly, the firm’s designs proved very popular going forward.
Bertone
Bertone’s one-off Cabriolet was a definite improvement on the open top efforts of Stabilimenti Farina.
Well proportioned and elegant, this two-seat drop head featured a large front intake embellished with a thick chrome rim. Distinctive stainless sills were mounted down each flank.
Air was fed into the engine by way of a discrete inlet at the leading edge of the bonnet while chrome-plated vents on each front fender allowed hot gasses to escape.
Ghia-style bumpers were mounted front and rear.
Interiors
Like the exteriors, cockpits were also highly individual, particularly dash layouts which could be tailored to a customer’s requirements.
At this stage, practically all Ferraris were built with a metal body coloured dash and Jaeger instrumentation.
Well-padded seats were comfortable enough for long distance travel.
Leather was routinely used to upholster the seats and side panels. The rear quarters were often trimmed with a mix of carpet and the same soft fabric used for the headliner.
A small number of Touring Coupes also came with fold down rear bench seats.
Front windows wound down manually while the rear quarter windows were sometimes hinged at the leading edge to further improve ventilation.
Weight / Performance
Thanks to their lightweight aluminium bodies and competition-inspired design, 166 Inters typically weighed in at around the 900kg mark.
Ferrari quoted a top speed of 95mph. 0-62mph took around ten seconds.
Production
Most 166 Inters were built between February 1949 and October 1950, but a handful weren't finished until mid 1951.
All 37 were built in right-hand drive.
The 166 Inter was ultimately replaced by the short-lived 2.4-litre 195 Inter which was in turn followed by the 2.6-litre 212 Inter very soon after.
Competition History
As the 166 Mille Miglia was available, few Inters were seriously raced.
The model’s best result in 1949 came at the Monza Coppa Inter-Europa where Franco Cornacchia placed third overall in chassis 009 S. Cornacchia also entered the same car in the 1950 Mille Miglia but failed to finish.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Ferrari - https://www.ferrari.com
