Guide: Ferrari 195 Inter

Ferrari - Ferrari 195 - Ferrari Inter - 1950s Italian Cars - 1950s Supercars - Touring - Vignale - Ghia - Motto

Background

As soon as the first Ferrari took to the track in May 1947, the company from Maranello began a rapid ascent to the pinnacle of sports car racing. Similar domination ultimately followed in Formula 1.

Ferrari’s original 1.5-litre V12, as used in the 125 Sport, was replaced by a 1.9-litre 159 version in August 1947.

From the start of 1948, a two-litre 166 motor was ready.

To fund his expensive addiction to competition, Enzo Ferrari knew he would have to sell more than just the odd racing car.

With this in mind, il Commendatore commissioned a road car prototype in the spring of 1948. The resultant Touring-bodied 166 Sport Coupe, built on chassis 005 S, was presented at the Turin Motor Show that September.

Despite its conservative styling, chassis 005 S was well received. A production version, the 166 Inter, arrived soon afterwards.

The new model was named in honour of Scuderia Inter, the racing team owned by two of Ferrari’s earliest patrons: Prince Igor Troubetzkoy and Count Bruno Sterzi.

Between late 1948 and mid 1951, 37 166 Inters were produced. As was the norm at the time, cars were sent to the customer’s coachbuilder of choice for a body and interior.

To keep Scuderia Ferrari ahead on track, two new engines came on stream in 1950.

The first was a big-block 60° V12 designed by Aurelio Lampredi. The Lampredi engine started life with a 3.3-litre displacement. Within a couple of years, it had been stretched to five-litres.

In addition to the new big block engine, Gioacchino Colombo enlarged his original small-block 60° V12 to 2.4-litre 195 trim.

While the Lampredi engine still needed much development, the 195 motor proved highly effective during the 1950 season. These 2.4-litre engines were plumbed into four 195 Sports that were campaigned by Scuderia Ferrari and the works-supported Scuderia Marzotto.

1950 saw the 195 Sport pick up wins at the Mille Miglia, Rome 3 Hour Night Race and Giro delle Calabria. Giovanni Bracco also took a quintet of victories on his way to becoming the Italian Hillclimb Champion.

On the back of this success, Ferrari decided to drop a de-tuned version of the 2.4-litre engine into an improved road-going model: the 195 Inter.

The first 195 Inters were completed in October 1950. This coincided with the earliest deliveries of Aston Martin’s impressive new DB2 which was powered by a dual overhead camshaft straight six engine.

The 195 Inter would face further British opposition in the shape of Jaguar’s XK120 which, like the DB2, ran a twin cam inline six. The XK120 was officially the fastest production car in the world at the time.

On the domestic front, Maserati were offering the A6G 2000 with its single overhead camshaft straight six.

Chassis

As per every other Ferrari of the period, the 195 Inter used a tubular steel ladder-type chassis manufactured by Gilco Autotelai in Milan.

Broadly similar to that of the 166 Inter, it most notably featured a 2500mm instead of 2420mm wheelbase. The extra length enabled Ferrari to free up additional cockpit space.

The suspension layout was unchanged. Independent double wishbones with a transverse leaf spring were fitted at the front. The back end incorporated a live axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs and an anti-roll bar. Hydraulic shock absorbers were fitted all round.

Drum brakes that ran off a single hydraulic circuit were imported from the 166 Inter.

The 15-inch diameter Borrani wire wheels were widened from 5.5 to 5.9-inches. Track was also 20mm wider at both ends.

The fuel tank, once again situated underneath the boot floor, was enlarged from 72 to 82-litres.

Engine & Gearbox

Gioacchino Colombo’s small-block 60° V12 was a jewel of an engine. It employed an all-alloy construction, 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.

Displacement was taken out from 1995cc to 2341cc thanks to a 5mm bore increase. Stroke stayed at 58.8mm for a 346cc gain.

The compression ratio was dropped from 8.0:1 to 7.5:1.

As before, a single Weber 32 DCF carburettor was standard equipment.

In this configuration, peak output was 130bhp at 6000rpm and 114lb-ft at 5000rpm.

For comparison, the outgoing 166 Inter developed 110bhp at 6000rpm and 120lb-ft at 5000rpm.

At special request, triple 32 DCF carbs and a higher compression ratio could take the 195 Inter closer to the 170bhp Sport specification.

Transmission was via Ferrari’s own five-speed gearbox and a single plate clutch.

Bodywork

Although Carrozzeria Touring was still the most prolific body builder of competition Ferraris, the Milan firm were increasingly losing out to their rivals when it came to road car commissions.

The bulk of 195 Inter production was split between Turin coachbuilders, Vignale and Ghia. Each bodied ten cars while the remaining four were split between Touring (three) and Motto (one).

Vignale

The ten 195 Inters by Vignale comprised nine Coupes (as depicted above) and a Berlinetta.

These modern-looking designs frequently differed from one another with regard to their lighting, fender treatment and intake apertures.

Two-tone paint schemes were often applied to add further personalisation.

The 195 Inters were produced before Vignale’s switch to pontoon fenders, inboard headlights and fins.

Full width bumpers were normally fitted.

Ghia

Ghia’s batch of ten cars were handsome Coupes, several of which were completed with a 2+2 cockpit layout.

The Ghia design (photos 1 to 4) was dominated by a distinctive grille, the upper centre of which was contoured to match the raised hood line.

Slim chrome trims 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.

These were handsome cars and it was easy to see why they were so popular at the time.

Touring

Touring had been commissioned to clothe more than half the 166 Inters, but just one eighth of the new 195 variants were bodied in Milan. This was most likely a result of Touring’s long-standing design now looking rather old fashioned.

The first Touring-bodied 195 Inter was a Notchback Coupe. It featured classically styled fenders, big windows and more conservative styling than Touring’s racier Fastback Coupe of which two examples were subsequently created.

These Fastback-bodied cars (above) had a lower profile nose and more streamlined appearance.

Unlike Touring’s Notchback Coupes, the Fastback’s sportier rear end swept down to a shortened tail in one continuous line.

Motto

The only other coachbuilder to produce bodywork for a 195 Inter was Carrozzeria Motto from Turin.

Motto were best known for clothing racing cars and their solitary 195 Inter (depicted below) was equipped with a lightweight Berlinetta body.

Front and rear overhangs were extremely short and minimal ornamentation was added. Spot lights were mounted behind the oversize egg-crate grille, under which was a staggered full width front bumper. Simple vertical overriders were installed at the back.

Interior

Cockpits could be tailored precisely to a customers requirements.

At this stage, practically all Ferraris were built with a metal body coloured dash and Jaeger instrumentation.

Well-padded seats comfortable enough for long distance travel were normally installed.

Leather was routinely used to upholster the seats, dash top and side panels. The rear quarters were often trimmed with a mix of carpet and the same soft fabric used for the headliner.

Front windows wound down manually while the rear quarter windows were sometimes hinged at the leading edge.

Weight / Performance

Because of the bigger chassis, 195 Inters typically weighed in at around 950kg which was 50kg more than the outgoing 166 Inter. However, the additional 20bhp on offer from the 2.4-litre engine meant top speed went from circa 95mph to 112mph.

Production

In total, 24 195 Inters were built.

Production began in late 1950 and ended in late 1951, by which time the 2.6-litre 212 Inter was already available.

All 24 cars were right-hand drive.

Competition History

Although Ferrari offered more suitable cars for their customers to take racing, a couple of 195 Inters were used for competition.

The most successful was chassis 0117 S, the Motto-bodied example constructed for Salvatore Ammendola of Turin. Ammendola commissioned 0117 S to replace his Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS and ran the Ferrari at several of Italy’s biggest events in 1951.

1951 Mille Miglia

The debut outing for 0117 S was at the Giro di Scilia held over March 31st and April 1st.

182 entrants started the 1080km single lap around Sicily, but only 75 runners were classified at the end.

Ammendola and his navigator, Guglielmo Pinzero, were one of the teams that failed to finish.

Victory went to the lightweight Ferrari 212 Export of Vittorio Marzotto / Paolo Fontana who finished in a time of ten hours and 45 minutes.

1951 Monza Coppa Inter Europa

Two weeks later, Monza hosted the Coppa Inter Europa which was a two hour race notionally organised for production cars.

Ammendola entered 0117 S for the over two litre class. Ferrari dealer Franco Cornacchia also attended with chassis 0083 S (a Vignale Coupe). Another 2.4-litre Ferrari was the uprated 166 Inter driven by Federico Munz (0065 S).

Cornacchia failed to finish while Munz placed fourth behind the Delayahe 175 S of Louis Chiron.

Ammendola was second in his Motto Berlinetta.

Victory went to the works Ferrari 212 Mille Miglia driven by Luigi Villoresi.

1951 Mille Miglia

Another two weeks then elapsed before Ammendola joined up with Pinzero for the Mille Miglia which took place over April 28th and 29th.

The 1000 mile loop from Brescia down to Rome and back again was a daunting proposition in fine conditions and downright treacherous in the kind of wet weather seen in 1951. Nevertheless, Ammendola and Pinzero finished 15th overall and claimed fifth in the over two-litre Sports / GT class.

They completed the course in a time of 14 hours and 13 minutes.

Victors, Luigi Villoresi and Piero Cassani, were 83 minutes up the road in their works Ferrari 340 America.

During the summer, Salvatore Ammendola chose to contest the Coppa d’Oro della Dolomiti and Pescara 6 Hours in his Lancia Aurelia. He finished fourth in both events.

1951 Stella Alpina Rallye

Ammendola then wheeled 0117 S out for one final event: the Stella Alpina Rallye held from August 23rd to 28th.

The gruelling event comprised myriad Alpine hillclimbs and special stage. It was held on mostly gravel roads.

Ammendola was a local expert and set a total time of one hour 44 minutes and 45 seconds. After four days of competition, he finished just 57 seconds ahead of Gino Valenzano’s Lancia Aurelia to claim the 195 Inter’s most famous win.

Thereafter, 0117 S was retired from competition duty as Ammendola switched attention to his Lancia Aurelia.

Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Ferrari - https://www.ferrari.com