Ferrari 166-a legend in its own time

The Tipo 125 was the first car named Ferrari. It was a bulky two-seat racer that was introduced in 1948. After that it was followed by the 159-really a slightly revised and upgraded 125.

     The first model to be made in volume was the Ferrari 166.  An interesting fact is that it was taken up by numerous coachbuilders of the time, who produced various types of bodies for the model. Vignale presented the coupe. Touring produced a berlinetta and others (the 166 Inter saloon, a Formula 2 single seat racer and  the formidable 166MM Barchetta). Probably the best known of them all is the last one. The car used a V12 engine. It was originally designed by Gioacchino Colombo.  He had been part of the early Scuderia Ferrari and  had  worked at Alfa Romeo with Vittorio Jano on the 12C car. It was powered by a supercharged V12 engine. The opportunity to work his magic with the Colombo engine had Luigi Bazzi (an ex-Fiat man). The 166 Barchetta triumphed for Ferrari for the first time at the grueling 1948 Mille Miglia race. The barchetta description comes from the English translation of ‘little boat,’. This  is how the Italians described the body of the car which was created by the design stu?dio Carrozzeria Touring.

The 166 barchetta became a legend in its own time. After the world watched Luigi Chinetti go on to win the 1949 Le Mans in one of these cars, there was no doubt of the future of the Ferrari mark. In partic?ular the little barchetta was with a great future. In those early days, most cars were used for racing.  Ferrari was no exception. Actually, Enzo Ferrari knew very well  the benefits gained from race track experience. When the car did  well in any race, this  meant that it was strong and reliable. Because of this reason it gave the company good publicity,many clients and lots of money.