VIN: the works / Scuderia Inter Ferrari 166 Spyder Corsa chassis 018 I
History of chassis 018 I
Chassis 018 I was one of ten 166 Spyder Corsas campaigned throughout the 1948 season. Seven were scratch built cars while the remaining three had been converted to this latest specification from Ferrari’s trio of machines that variously ran as 125 Sports and 159 Sports in 1947.
Of the ten 166 Spyder Corsas, five were retained by Scuderia Ferrari. Among this quintet was chassis 018 I which made its competition debut at the Bari GP Formula 2 race on May 30th where it was allocated to Tazio Nuvolari. However, because Nuvolari was feeling unwell (a situation made worse by the sweltering heat), Franco Cortese took the wheel mid-race and brought the car home in fourth position.
A couple of weeks later, Nuvolari was again too ill to go the distance and on this occasion 018 I was retired mid-way through the F2 race at Mantova.
For its third outing, 018 I was leased to Milanese industrialist Count Bruno Sterzi who, together with Parisian aristocrat Prince Igor Troubetskoy, had established the Scuderia Inter racing equipe. In addition to chassis 018 I, Scuderia Inter variously campaigned another brace of 166 Spyder Corsas during 1948 (chassis 006 I and 010 I) along with a 166 Sport (chassis 001 S).
During the remainder of 1948, Bruno Sterzi collected a pair of second place finishes in 018 I (at the Biella-Oropa Hillclimb and Garda F1 race) and posted a DNF at the Aosta-Gran San Bernardo Hillclimb.
For its other three outings in 1948, chassis 018 I was driven by works pilot Ferdinando Righetti who placed second in the F2 Coupe des Petites Cylindrees at Reims, fourth at the F1 Albi GP and failed to finish the F2 Firenze GP.
Chassis 018 I then went on to make one final appearance the following year. It contested the San Remo GP in early April of 1949 where Righetti retired with a blown head gasket. The car then disappeared from view.
Notable History
Scuderia Ferrari
30/05/1948 F2 GP Bari (T. Nuvolari / F. Cortese) 4th oa (#6)
13/06/1948 F2 Coppa Nuvolari, Mantova (T. Nuvolari) DNF (#2)
27/07/1948 Biella-Oropa Hillclimb (B. Sterzi) 2nd oa (#??)
18/07/1948 F2 Coupe des Petites Cylindrees, Reims (F. Righetti) 2nd oa (#28)
01/08/1948 Aosta-Gran San Bernardo Hillclimb (B. Sterzi) DNF (#46)
29/08/1948 F1 Albi GP (F. Righetti) 4th oa (#50)
26/09/1948 F2 Firenze GP (F. Righetti) DNF (#14)
24/10/1948 F1 Circuito di Garda (B. Sterzi) 2nd oa (#34)
03/04/1949 San Remo GP, Ospedaletti (F. Righetti) DNF (#44)
Disappeared
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: unattributed
