Guide: Dual Purpose Mono-Sport Flyer - a Historical & Technical Appraisal of the Ferrari 166 Spyder Corsa
Background
Ferrari’s debut season as a manufacturer in its own right was a great success with seven outright wins from 14 races contested.
Initially the Maranello firm began that 1947 campaign with a brand new 1.5-litre V12-powered machine dubbed the 125 Sport which, in the hands of Franco Cortese and Tazio Nuvolari, proved enormously effective.
Ten races into the ‘47 season, Ferrari debuted an even more potent 1.9-litre ‘159’ V12 that was fitted to both existing 125 Sports (chassis 01 C and 02 C). A third brand new car was also built to 159 Sport trim (chassis 002 C) and it was driving this machine that Raymond Sommer won the season-ending Torino Grand Prix.
Thus far, all of the company’s competition outings had been in a works capacity, but its success was beginning to attract the attention of customers who wanted their own Ferraris to race for the 1948 season.
Over the winter of 1947-1948, orders came in from Scuderia Inter (the racing equipe of Count Bruno Sterzi and Prince Igor Troubetskoy), the Besana brothers (Gabriele and Soave) and Luigi Chinetti.
During this period, the finishing touches were being applied to a further enlarged iteration of the Gioacchino Colombo-designed V12 that had powered Ferrari’s cars to such impressive early performances. Now taken out to two-litres, it was dubbed 166 in line with Ferrari’s existing type number policy that referred to the engine’s unitary displacement (in this case 166.25cc).
Two 166 models were created for the 1948 season: the 166 Sport (which came with fully enveloped bodywork) and the 166 Spyder Corsa (which came with cycle-winged bodywork).
A batch of seven new Spyder Corsas was built up and Ferrari’s existing trio of cars from the 1947 season were updated with the latest engines. The initial pair of cars from 1947, chassis 01 C and 02 C were re-numbered 010 I and 020 I respectively. Chassis 010 I was also re-bodied in the latest style while 020 I retained the fully enveloped body it had finished the 1947 season with..
Thanks to their easily removable fenders and headlights, the 166 Spyder Corsas saw action in both sports and monoposto racing.
In addition to the Spyder Corsas, a brace of 166 Sports were constructed ahead of the ‘48 season. They were subsequently joined by a third 166 Sport much later in the year that served as the prototype for a new line of Ferrari road cars.
On top of all this, 1948 would see Ferrari’s first Formula 1 racing car break cover: the 1.5-litre supercharged 125 GPC (retrospectively dubbed the 125 F1) which debuted at the Italian Grand Prix in September.
Engine / Gearbox
For this latest application, the Gioacchino Colombo-designed 60° V12 was enlarged to just under two-litres.
These engines 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.
Compared to the outgoing 159 engine, the 166 motor had its cylinder bores enlarged by 1mm (from 59mm to 60mm) and the stroke extended by 0.8mm (from 58 to 58.8mm). This resulted in an overall displacement of 1995cc which represented a 92cc gain.
Ferrari also moved from one to three Weber 32 DCF carburettors with the even bigger 36 DCF type sometimes having been used.
The compression ratio was increased from 8.5:1 to between 10.0:1 and 11.0:1.
This resulted in a peak output of 130bhp at 6500rpm to 140bhp at 7000rpm.
For comparison, the 159 Sport’s engine had produced 125bhp at 7000rpm.
Perhaps more importantly, torque was much-improved although no precise figure was originally published.
The engine was mounted in unit with a Ferrari-designed five-speed manual gearbox complete with single dry-plate clutch.
Chassis
Like its predecessors, the 166 Spyder Corsa’s chassis was another Gilco-manufactured tubular steel ladder type frame. The majority of cars used a 2420mm wheelbase, but at least one works car was completed with a slightly shorter chassis.
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.
15 x 5-inch wheels were supplied by Rudge Whitworth in England. 6 and 6.5-inch wheels were sometimes used at the rear.
Ferrari installed a 75-litre fuel tank behind the rear axle underneath the spare wheel.
Bodywork
The 166 Spyder Corsa’s minimalist bodywork was just as rudimentary as on the early cycle-winged Ferraris of 1947. However, it now featured a rounder, more slender, more aerodynamic profile in line with the later 159 Sport (002 C) that had seen action from late September during that inaugural campaign.
At the leading edge of the cigar-shaped central fuselage was a large multi-bar grille to feed the engine radiator. Mounted on stalks alongside were easily detachable spot lights.
A large scoop was located on top of the monoposto-style hood, down each side of which were elegant banks of cooling vents.
In front of the driver was a small Perspex aero screen and one for the passenger could also be installed.
Each car was supplied with an aluminium tonneau that covered the passenger side of the cockpit thus making the Spyder Corsa eligible for single seat races.
Additionally, some cars came with a rear view mirror housed behind an aerodynamically profiled blister and a retractable scoop that fed fresh air into the cockpit ahead of the front scuttle.
The shape and size of the cycle wings varied from car to car.
At the back was a rounded tail which could act as a spare wheel mount for long distance road races.
A quick fuel filler cap was located atop the rear deck, in line with the rear axle.
In addition to the variations mentioned above, these cars were often quite different from one another in terms of fuselage profile, headlight shape and the size and location of the cooling solutions.
Interior
Spyder Corsa cockpits were extremely basic with the only upholstery having been a pair of padded leather-trimmed bucket seats. The rest of the cabin was left in predominantly unpainted aluminium.
Behind the wood-rimmed Nardi steering wheel with its three highly polished aluminium spokes was a bank of five instruments typically housed on a simple unpainted full-width aluminium fascia. The dials normally comprised a large 8000rpm rev counter plus four smaller read outs (a 240kmh speedometer, an oil pressure gauge, an oil temperature gauge and a water temperature gauge).
Weight / Performance
Weight was around the 750kg mark.
Depending on gearing, the 166 Spyder Corsa could reach around 140mph and sprint from 0-62mph in a little over six seconds.
Montlhery Speed Records
On November 3rd 1948, Luigi Chinetti took his 166 Spyder Corsa (chassis 016 I) to the Montlhery circuit on the outskirts of Paris where he set new under two-litre speed records for 100 miles, 200km and one hour, all at in excess of 124mph.
Production Run
Ferrari initially built a batch of seven new 166 Spyder Corsa for the 1948 season: chassis 004 C, 006 I, 008 I, 012 I, 014 I, 016 I and 018 I.
The two cars that started life as 125 Sports were rebuilt with the latest engines and bodywork, after which they were renumbered (01 C became 010 I and 02 C became 020 I).
The third car from 1947 that started life as a 159 Sport (chassis 002 C) was equipped with the latest 166 engine.
This resulted in a pool of ten cycle-winged cars with 166 engines for the 1948 season.
Of these, five were retained for use by Scuderia Ferrari: chassis 008 I, 012 I, 014 I, 018 I and 020 I.
Two were sold to Scuderia Inter: chassis 006 I and 010 I.
Two were sold to the Besana brothers: chassis 002 C and 004 C.
One was sold to Luigi Chinetti: chassis 016 I. Chinetti subsequently went on to open a Ferrari dealership in Paris and later became the marque’s US distributor.
Competition History
The 166 Spyder Corsa made its competition debut in the Argentine Temporada F1 race at Palermo Park in Buenos Aires on February 14th 1948 where Gabriele Besana failed to finish in chassis 002 C. He then posted another DNF driving the same car five weeks later at the Interlagos F1 race in Brazil.
During the remainder of 1948, the 166 Spyder Corsa went on to achieve an impressive selection of results in monoposto trim, even though it was frequently up against purpose-built single seaters,
Highlights included victories in the Coupes des Petites Cylindrees Formula 2 race at Reims (Raymond Sommer for Scuderia Ferrari in either 008 I or 014 I) and at the Bari Formula 2 Grand Prix (Chico Landi for the Besana brothers in 002 C).
There were half a dozen second place finishes too: at the Apertura Formula 2 Grand Prix in Vercelli (Bruno Sterzi for Scuderia Inter in 010 I), the Stockholm Formula 2 Grand Prix (Clemente Biondetti for Scuderia Ferrari in 006 I), the Coppa Nuvolari Formula 2 race at Mantova (Franco Cortese for Scuderia Ferrari, probably in 008 I), the Napoli Formula 2 Grand Prix (Soave Besana in 002 C), the Firenze Formula 2 Grand Prix (Clemente Biondetti for Scuderia Ferrari, probably in 008 I) and the Circuito di Garda Formula 1 race (Bruno Sterzi in 018 I for Scuderia Inter).
The 166 Spyder Corsa also claimed a brace of third place finishes in monoposto events. These came at Roussillon Formula 2 Grand Prix and the Grand Prix de Nations Formula 1 race in Geneva (on both occasions with Raymond Sommer driving chassis 010 I for Scuderia Ferrari).
In sports car racing, the undoubted highlight of 1948 was victory in the Paris 12 Hours at Montlhery for Luigi Chinetti and Peter Mitchell-Thompson (Lord Selsdon) in 016 I.
Other notable podium finishes included second at the Circuiti di Pescara (Bruno Sterzi for Scuderia Inter in 012 I) and third at the Coppa d’Oro delle Dolomiti (Soave and Gabriele Bessana in 004 I).
Outside of circuit and road races, the 166 Spyder Corsa took a memorable 1-2 finish at the Vernicino-Rocco di Papa Hillclimb (the Coppa Galenga). Giovanni Bracco secured the top spot for Scuderia Ferrari in 012 I followed by team-mate Roberto Vallone in 008 I.
After the highs of 1947, 1948 had proven another excellent year for Ferrari’s cars with 166 Sports winning the Giro di Sicilia and Mille Miglia and the supercharged 125 GPC single seater winning the Firenze Formula 2 Grand Prix.
By 1949, the latest monoposto and sports racing cars were becoming increasingly specialised. Nevertheless, the 166 Spyder Corsa was still a capable machine in the right hands as evidenced by Giovanni Bracco’s title-winning Italian Hillclimb Championship campaign with the ex-Scuderia Inter chassis 012 I. Bracco took victories at the Varese-Brinzio, Como-Lieto, Varese-Campo dei Fiori and Pontedecimo-Giovi Hillclimbs plus podium finishes in three other events.
Bracco also scored another couple of hillclimb wins with 012 I in 1950, but by this time the car had been rebodied and fitted with a 195 engine.
Elsewhere in 1949, Dudley Folland took Ferrari's first victory at Goodwood when he won the Lavant Cup in the ex-Scuderia Inter chassis 10 I.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Ferrari - https://www.ferrari.com & The Revs Institute - https://revsinstitute.org/
