The Ferrari 250 S was a

sports racing car Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing that uses sports cars with two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be either purpose-built Sports prototype, sports prototypes, which are the highest level in sports car racing; or grand to ...

produced by

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

in 1952. It was the first in the long lineage of

Ferrari 250 The Ferrari 250 is a series of sports cars and grand tourers built by Ferrari from 1952 to 1964. The company's most successful early line, the 250 series includes many variants designed for road use or sports car racing. 250 series cars are chara ...

road and race cars powered by a ubiquitous 3.0-litre ''Colombo'' V12 engine. In 1952 the 250 S won the

Mille Miglia The Mille Miglia (, ''Thousand Miles'') was an open-road, motorsport Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race established in 1927 by the young Counts :it:Franco Mazzotti, Francesco Mazzotti and Aymo Maggi. It took place in Italy 24 times f ...

and

12 Hours of Pescara The Coppa Acerbo was an automobile race held in Italy, named after Tito Acerbo, the brother of Giacomo Acerbo, a prominent fascist politician. Following Italy's defeat in World War II, and the consequent demise of fascism, the race was renamed th ...

. At the Le Mans, the same year, it clocked the fastest race lap time. Only a single example was produced.

Development

The 250 S was created as an evolution over the preceding 225 S model. It shared the same tubular steel chassis of a ''Tuboscocca'' type as some of them. The new model retained the same wheelbase and track dimensions. New was the 3.0-litre ''

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

V12 engine A V12 engine is a twelve-Cylinder (engine), cylinder Internal combustion engine#Reciprocating engines, piston engine where two banks of six cylinders are arranged in a V engine, V configuration around a common crankshaft. V12 engines are more c ...

, developed by

Aurelio Lampredi Aurelio Lampredi (16 June 1917 – 1 June 1989) was an Italian automobile and aircraft engine designer. Early career Lampredi was born in Livorno, Tuscany. He studied mechanical engineering at the Institut Technique Supérieur in Fribourg. A cl ...

as a chief Ferrari engineer at that time. The 250 S had a closed

berlinetta A berlinetta (from ; ) is a sports coupé, typically with two seats but also including 2+2 cars. The original meaning for ''berlinetta'' in Italian is “little saloon”, derived from the Berlin carriage. Introduced in the 1930s, the term was ...

bodywork designed by

Giovanni Michelotti Giovanni Michelotti (6 October 1921 – 23 January 1980) was one of the most prolific designers of sports cars in the 20th century. His notable contributions were for Ferrari, Lancia, Maserati and Triumph Motor Company, Triumph marques. He was ...

and carried out by

Vignale Vignale is the luxury car sub-brand of Ford Motor Company used in automobiles sold in Europe. Front fenders had two portholes in them and the fuel filler cap was on the outside, mounted on the rear window. After the Mile Miglia, bonnet was modified with an air-scoop. Front windshield had three small wipers installed, one of them was on the roof. A single example was ever produced, s/n 0156ET. "ET" in its suffix represented 'Export-Tuboscocca'. The technical experience and racing capabilities of the 250 S over its career led Ferrari to develop a series produced race car, the 250 MM.

Specifications

Engine and transmission

The 250 S' engine was based on the 225 S unit with a bore stretched by . Now the internal measurements were at of bore and stroke. The resulting capacity was and would make the better use out of any 'Sport 3.0' category regulations. The power output benefited from an updated and innovative design of the intake and distribution, already introduced on the 225 S, and was now at at 7500 rpm. A compression ratio of 9:1 was higher than before. An

SOHC An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine in which the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combus ...

and two valve configuration was standard for Ferrari V12 at that time. Also unchanged were the three Weber 36DCF carburettors. The engine used a single spark plug per cylinder, served by two coils and had a wet sump lubrication. The 250 S still used a five-speed non-synchronised gearbox. Clutch was of a single-plate type.

Chassis and suspension

The chassis of the 250 S was one of the ''Tuboscocca'' type that used a smaller diameter steel tubes with additional cross members. The resulting trellis space frame was slightly lighter and more rigid than the standard tubular chassis. It was developed by Gilco, a chassis specialist company established by Gilberto Colombo, and first introduced on a late 212 Export. The front suspension was independent with unequal-length wishbones and transverse leaf springs, aided by hydraulic shock absorbers. At the rear was a live axle with semi-elliptical springs and hydraulic shock absorbers. Brakes were of a drum type.

Racing

1953-04-12 Giro Sicilia Ferrari 250 0156ET Cornacchia Bronzoni

1953-07-12 Coppa Dolomiti Ferrari 250 0156ET Bonomi

The 250 S had its first outing at the 1952

. Entered by

Scuderia Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari (; ), currently racing under Scuderia Ferrari HP, is the racing division of luxury Italian auto manufacturer Ferrari and the racing team that competes in Formula One racing. The team is also known by the nickname "the Pranc ...

, the car was driven by

Giovanni Bracco Giovanni Bracco (6 June 1908 at Biella – 7 August 1968 at Biella) was an Italian racing car driver. He lived in Biella, home hometown of other racing aces such as Umberto Maglioli, Mario Porrino and Lamberto Grolla. Before and after World War ...

and Alfonso Rolfo. After a magnificent performance on the Futa and Raticosa passes, they managed to finish first overall, continuing Ferrari's dominance in this road marathon.

Alberto Ascari Alberto Ascari (13 July 1918 – 26 May 1955) was an Italian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Ascari won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in and with Ferrari, and won 13 Grands Prix across ...

and

Luigi Villoresi Luigi "Gigi" Villoresi (16 May 1909 – 24 August 1997) was an Italian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Villoresi contested 34 Formula One Grands Prix across seven seasons for Italian teams Ferrari, Maserati, Lancia, and C ...

were chosen by Scuderia Ferrari to compete in the

1952 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1952 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 20th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 14–15 June 1952 at Circuit de la Sarthe. After 22 years away, Mercedes-Benz returned in triumph, scoring a 1–2 victory with their new gull-wing Mercedes-Be ...

in the 'Sport 3.0' category. The 250 S, driven by Ascari, recorded the fastest race lap at 4min 40.5sec at an average speed of 173.16 km/h. The car retired with a broken clutch. At the 1952 Circuito di Senigallia race, the 250 S was entered in the 'Sport +2.0' class. Luigi Villoresi managed a third place overall. Later the same year, at the

Coppa Acerbo The Coppa Acerbo was an automobile race held in Italy, named after Tito Acerbo, the brother of Giacomo Acerbo, a prominent fascist politician. Following Italy's defeat in World War II, and the consequent demise of fascism, the race was renamed t ...

for sports cars, renamed as the 12 Hours of Pescara, yielded another success for Ferrari. Giovanni Bracco and Paolo Marzotto won the race in the 250 S. The 1952

Carrera Panamericana The Carrera Panamericana was a border-to-border sedan (stock and touring and sports car) rally racing event on open roads in Mexico similar to the Mille Miglia and Targa Florio in Italy. Running for five consecutive years from 1950 to 1954, i ...

race was contested by Giovanni Bracco and Gino Bronzoni duo. Their car did not finish the grueling marathon due to clutch and engine problems. Still in 1953, at the Giro di Sicilia, Franco Cornacchia and Gino Bronzoni finished the race prematurely with a broken differential. In 1953 the 250 S was acquired by an Argentinian

Roberto Bonomi Roberto Wenceslao Bonomi Oliva (30 September 1919 in Buenos Aires, Argentina – 10 January 1992) was a racing driver who took part in one Formula One World Championship Grand Prix driving a Cooper for the Scuderia Centro Sud Scuderia Ce ...

. Later the same year, he had entered it in the

Targa Florio The Targa Florio was a public road Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near the island's capital of Palermo, Sicily, Palermo. Founded in 1906 Targa Florio, 1906, it was the oldest sports car ra ...

race. He finished eighth overall and, because of the popular 'S+750' category, eighth in class also. The car competed in the GP Monza, entered by Scuderia Guastalla, finishing at an eighth place. Later, Bonomi entered the

Coppa d'Oro delle Dolomiti The Dolomites Gold Cup Race (translation: ''Coppa d' Oro delle Dolomiti'') was a motor racing, car race on public roads open to traffic, which was run in the Dolomite Mountains of northern Italy for ten years from 1947 to 1956. It took place alo ...

race but to no avail. The last race of the 250 S was the 1954 Supercortemaggiore at Monza. Entered by Scuderia Guastella and driven by Musitelli and Pezzoli the car did not finish the race.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{Scuderia Ferrari 250 S Sports racing cars Mille Miglia 24 Hours of Le Mans race cars