The Story of the V12: The Engine That Made Ferrari

166 Inter & MM

Eighteen months after completing their first racer cam Ferrari’s first official road car, the 166 Inter, launched in November 1948 at the Turin motor show. That makes them serious collectors pieces, especially as only 38 were built, and they rarely change hands. Most were coupés with bodies by Touring, though other coachbuilders like Vignale supplied bodies and Farina did four drop-top cabriolets. They were built alongside the 166 MM – the initials being for Mille Miglia to celebrate a Ferrari’s victory in the 1948 race. That’s the clue that this was a serious racing model, mostly open cars with scant Perspex windscreens, though many were later adapted for road use when they were no longer competitive on track. Their two-litre engines were tweaked to offer 25bhp more than the same unit in the Inter, whose figures are quoted below. A total of 46 MMs were built over a five-year run and they command values five or six times higher than Inters.

Engine 1995cc 105-115bhp Top speed 112mph 0-60mph

195 Inter

The one-year-only 195 Inter first appeared in late 1950 of early 1951, depending on which source you believe. It isn’t even clear exactly how many were built, though the best estimate is around 25. All were coupés, mostly with sleeker styling than the 166 Inter, from the hands of coachbuilders Vignale and Ghia, though Touring also produced a trio with similar bodywork to the earlier car. The big change was under the bonnet, where the V12 had been bored out to 2.3 litres, bringing a chunk more power. That output quoted below was for the standard model with a single twin-choke Weber 36 DCF carburettor, though a triple-carb option was also offered for a more sporting output. The rest of the drivetrain remained the same. There was also a 195 S racing version, though details on that are even more sketchy and several marque experts believe that only one was built.

 Engine 2341cc 135bhp Top speed 112mph 0-60mph

250 Europa/GT Europa

Also sometimes referred to as SI and SII Europas, these were in fact two quite different cars, joined together by their name and similar appearance. Even their engines – though both nominally of the three-litre capacity that would serve most Ferrari road cars for the next decade – were completely different. The first Europa, launched in 1953, used a small-bore version of the 340’s Lampredi V12. It also had a much stronger chassis than previous cars, and a longer wheelbase too: 2800mm. Eighteen were built, all but two bodied by Pinin Farina, now establishing themselves as Ferrari’s coachbuilder of choice.

A year later at the Paris Motor Show Ferrari presented what looked like a small update to go with the addition of ‘GT’ to the car’s name. Under the skin, however, was an all-new chassis with a shorter (2600mm) wheelbase, at last with coil springs for the front suspension in place of the previous transverse leaf arrangement, vastly improving the car’s handling. The engine was a big-bore version of the Columbo-designed V12 used in the Inter models – smaller, lighter and freer-revving than the Lampredi unit. This time 36 were built, all coupés and all but one by Pinin Farina.

Engine 2963/2953cc 200/220bhp Top speed 135-143mph 
0-60mph 5.9secs

410 Superamerica

As well as serving the desires of their super-rich clients, who required something more number one than your everyday playboy drove, Ferrari had learned the headline-grabbing and show stand-filling potential of building cars most could only gasp at. Bring on the 410 Superamerica, which made its debut at the 1956 Brussels Motor Show. For this they bored out the larger Lampredi V12 to five litres and provided either 2800mm or 2600mm chassis. Over the next three years just 37 Superamericas were built, and it’s unlikely that any two are identical as the wants of individual buyers were incorporated in the build. At the very top of the pile sit a handful of Superfast models with space-age befinned or ‘Aerodinamica’ styling. For one of those you needed the term ‘magnate’ on your LinkedIn profile.

The 410 Superamerica remains the preserve of the super-rich today – owning one makes the statement that you could afford five 250 GTs from the same era, but probably already have one of those in your collection too.

 Engine 4963cc 340bhp Top speed 165mph 0-60mph 6.6secs

250 GT SWB

Following on from the TdF in the dual-purpose road car and weekend racer role, the SWB – as those initials suggest – was built on a 200mm ‘shorter wheelbase’ chassis. The bodies were in a stunning and era-defining design by Pininfarina, offered with either steel or aluminium panels – one of the latter being worth around a million pounds more than a steel car in the current market, and even those ‘lesser’ SWBs are valued in the £5.25m-£6.75m range. You can add even more for one of the out-and-out Competition versions, which got an extra 40bhp from their 3.0-litre engines, especially those piloted in period by notable race-drivers like Sir Stirling Moss.

So there’s quite a bit to sort out if a 250 GT SWB catches your interest, but they are breathtaking to drive in any form and at least they were made in larger numbers than previous Ferraris – the figure is generally believed to be 153 built from 1959-62. One of the gold-standard cars among Ferrari collectors, and there’s always another buyer waiting in the wings.

Engine 2953cc 240-280bhp Top speed 155mph 0-60mph 6.4secs

250 GT Cabriolet SII

This is perhaps the model for those who dream of a California Spider but can’t afford the ticket. Built at the same time as the SWB Spider, at a glance the two cars look handily similar, but the Devil is of course in the detail of Pininfarina’s styling. The Cabriolet was built on the longer-wheelbase chassis, with the less fruity engine, and was intended as more of a relaxed GT alongside the full-on sportscar Spider. So look closer and you’ll see the Cabriolet has a more upright windscreen, with slim quarterlights in the doors. It also has a longer bonnet and bootlid, the latter making it easier to stow luggage for that weekend away in St Tropez or San Francisco. It also provides another instant recognition point: on the Spider the number plate sits on the panel below the bootlid; on the Cabriolet it has to be placed on the bootlid itself.

As well as lower prices – SII Cabriolet’s trade for around a tenth the price of a SWB Spider – you’ll have more choice as Ferrari built around 200 of these.

Engine 2953cc 240bhp Top speed 160mph 0-60mph 7.1secs

400 Superamerica

It is often wrongly assumed that this was a continuation from the 410 Superamerica mentioned above; after all, they have very similar names. But though the 400 was aimed at the same super-rich clientele, this was a completely new car. It also marked a departure from the Ferrari tradition of creating model numbers from the cubic capacity in ccs of a single cylinder. That would have made this the 330 Superamerica, but 400 was chosen to represent the 4.0-litre overall capacity of this fresh development of the ‘Colombo’ V12, and because, well, it just sounds like more and this properly set the car apart from the lesser 250 GTs.

Around 47 were built from 1960 to ’64, most of them with striking ‘Aerodinamica’ coupé styling by Pininfarina, though that number also includes 11 or 12 cabriolets which are unsurprisingly very highly sought after and generally make at least 50 per cent more than coupés – on the rare occasions that they are sold.

Engine 3967cc 340bhp Top speed 162mph 0-60mph 7.8secs

250 GTO

Appropriately launched on the world in 1962 – the same year as the Fab Four – the GTO provided Ferrari with their ‘Beatles moment’, a legend that would echo through the ages and still be regarded as an all-time great over fifty years later. It remains perhaps the ultimate collectors’ car, with prices known to have touched £40m and rumoured to have topped £50m. We may never now as most deals are brokered quietly behind closed doors.

This was a car that had everything: looks to shame a Hollywood screen goddess, crafted in lightweight aluminium, a racecar engine, star drivers and a string of competition successes that included wins in the Sebring 12 Hours, twice in the Tour de France, and two Goodwood Tourist Trophy victories, the latter in 1963 with Graham Hill at the wheel. Oh, and the World GT Championship three years running. Just 39 GTOs were built between 1962 and ’64, the tiny number also helping to fuel the legend.

Perhaps the most famous owner is Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason, who has had his, with the UK registration 250 GTO, for decades. That was a smart investment that could theoretically earn him almost as much as his musical exploits.

Engine 2953cc 280bhp Top speed 174mph 0-60mph 5.9secs

500 Superfast

This was the replacement for the 400 Superamerica, a limited-build car for Ferrari’s most exalted clients. As such it followed the 400’s lead in being named for its five-litre engine capacity, and had a development on Pininfarina’s Aerodinamica styling, stretched over a slightly longer wheelbase and almost excruciatingly elegant and expensive looking. The exclusivity of course extended to build numbers – just 36 over the car’s two year run, including a surprisingly high number – eight of them – in right-hand drive.

The exclusivity extended to the engine, with its cylinder spacing, bore and stroke created especially for this car and never used in another Ferrari. A fact that does make them a little tricky, and doubtless more expensive, to rebuild. However, the 400bhp it produced did help the 500 Superfast to live up to its name.

Perhaps surprisingly given all the above, the market values them at around 10 per cent less than the 400 Superamerica.

Engine 4962cc 400bhp Top speed 174mph 0-60mph 7.8secs

275 GTB & GTB/4

Launched in 1964, the 275 GTB’s body may have been a gentle and logical evolution from the 250 GTO, but it clothed a major step forward in Ferrari chassis technology. At last they had a road car with all-independent suspension (amazingly they’d all had live axles on leaf springs prior to this), four-wheel disc brakes and a five-speed gearbox mounted in unit with the rear axle to aid weight distribution. There was a ten per cent increase in engine capacity too, and the new 3.3-litre unit came as standard with three twin-choke carbs or the option of six of them. That released an extra 20-25bhp.

Bodies were available in steel of aluminium, the latter now commanding a 25% price premium, and after a year they got a longer nose and smaller front grille to reduce front-end lift at speed.

In 1966 the model was further updated with a four-cam version of the engine – a Ferrari first. All these came with six carburettors and a healthy power boost right across the range. Ferrari were always improving things, but were now in a kind of arms race with their new noisy neighbours at Lamborghini.

Engine:
GTB: 3286cc 250-275bhp Top speed 150mph 0-60mph 6.4secs
GTB/4 3286cc 300bhp Top speed 165mph 0-60mph 5.5secs

330 GTC

In a way, the 330 GTC felt a bit like a step backwards, certainly in visual terms. Far less sportily aggressive than the 275 GTB/4 that continued to be sold alongside it, the GTC had in effect a fixed-roof version of the 275 GTS body, with the nose of a 500 Superfast. That looks better from some angles than others, and has certainly held these back in the value stakes – they are worth less than half what you’d pay for a 275 GTB.

You can’t blame that on any lack of performance as these got a 4.0-litre version of the older single-cam-per-bank V12, kicking out the same 300bhp as the 275’s smaller four-cam unit. They also shared the new development of all-independent suspension and five-speed transaxle (rear-mounted) gearbox. And at the time the 330 was very much considered a success as Ferrari sold 600 of them in a two-year production run.

Engine 3967cc 300bhp Top speed 150mph 0-60mph 6.8secs

365 California

This was another of Ferrari’s ‘elite clientele’ cars, and as ever was used to test new styling ideas and wow the crowds at motor shows. This time only 14 would be built, all during 1966. They replaced the 500 Superfast and were based on that car’s chassis, so unlike the rest of Ferrari’s range at the time didn’t offer the advance of independent rear suspension. Most buyers would either not have noticed or worried – they were buying both exclusivity and a far more important detail: this was at the time the world’s fastest convertible, thanks to a 4.4-litre version of the long-block’ Colombo V12.

Pininfarina also pulled out all the stops on the styling, apart from the front end that was largely carried over from the Superfast – which is not a criticism. It was packed with details, like the door handles being hidden in the taped air channels carved into the car’s sides, pop-up high-beam driving lamps, and the bootlid that sat lower than the rear wing tops, a feature that Pininfarina would employ widely in the following years. This was the future; this was expensive.

Engine 4390cc 320bhp Top speed 152mph 0-60mph 6.8secs

365 GTB/4 Daytona

Not just another Ferrari but a motoring legend from the day it appeared at the Paris Motor Show in 1968. It was both a massive leap forward for Ferrari, bearing little relation to anything that had gone before, and also an instant dinosaur. The rest of the supercar world was going mid-engined, but at this point Enzo was having none of it and kept the V12 up front. That’s one thing that was carried over – the 4.4-litre engine, though tuned and topped with six Weber 40DCN carburettors to release ten per cent more power than in its previous form.

The styling was by Pininfarina’s star aerodynamicist and chief designer Leonardo Fioravanti, and even he recalls it as his favourite piece of work.

To drive, it’s a brute – more civilised racecar than laidback GT – and everything about the driving experience requires proper physical input, from the meaty pedals and gearshift to the steering wheel’s upper body workout. It’s no wonder that many owners fit aftermarket power steering systems, which do remove some feel, but allow to drive the car a lot further. And you will want to – a Daytona is quite intoxicating. Around 1300 were built, along with just over a hundred of its soft-top brother the GTS/4 Daytona Spider. One of the great collectors’ cars, as a rule of thumb expect to pay four times the price of a coupé for one of these.

Engine 4390cc 352bhp Top speed 174mph 0-60mph 5.9secs

365 GTC/4

Launched at the 1971 Geneva Show, the GTC/4 was in theory a replacement for the 365 GT 2+2. In practice however, it was nothing like that car, in reality being a more civilised version of the Daytona with more up-to-date styling and just about enough room to squeeze two children in the back who were willing to suffer anything for a ride in a Ferrari. The engine was largely to Daytona spec, too, but with slightly smaller carburettors that were also side- rather than down-draft, which nipped 12bhp off the power output. On the plus side, the GTC/4 came with power steering, softer suspension – with the rear self-levelling of the 2+2 – and a delightfully lighter clutch action. They are, in short, much nicer cars to drive, which compensates for them being less visually dramatic. The deformable resin front ‘lips’ in particular take a little getting used to. Then again, they are appealing enough that Sergio Pininfarina used one as his daily driver for some time.

Their other great appeal is that you can buy one for less than half the cost of a Daytona. The model only lasted 18 months, with 500 built.

Engine 4390cc 340bhp Top speed 163mph 0-60mph 6.2secs

400 Series

The grand 365 GT4 2+2 of 1972 had ushered in a new era of Pininfarina styling for Ferrari, eschewing traditional curves for a more angular, imposing appearance. Four years later, Ferrari felt little need to update its wedge profile when it metamorphosed the car into the 400. Debuting at the 1976 Paris Motor Show, the 400 featured new five-stud alloy wheels in place of the original knock-off hub items, plus a subtly reprofiled front spoiler and six circular tail-lamps instead of just four. Well, even Ferrari had to show restraint sometimes. The interior was also revamped. The quad-cam V12 was increased in size to 4823cc, giving 340bhp courtesy of six Weber carburettors. But the big news about this big Ferrari was the option of the marque’s first automatic transmission, no doubt leaving many purists aghast. Fuel injection made an appearance in 1979, which dropped power down to 311bhp, but at least cleaned-up emissions so what was now the 400i could still be sold in the USA. A more comprehensive reworking came in 1982 – power swelled slightly to 315bhp, the cabin received attention and a narrower grille and more sculptured door mirrors were adopted. Production ceased in 1985.

 Engine 4823cc 315-340bhp Top speed 152mph 0-60mph 7.1secs

456 GT, GTA and M

Ferrari had gone three years without a four-seater GT model when it returned to this less frenetic marketplace with the 456 in 1992. Curves were once again in vogue on this practical Pininfarina aluminium-bodied design, which had little in common with its 412 predecessor, save for its passenger capacity and a predilection for pop-up headlamps. It would turn out to be the final Ferrari to sport them. The styling doffed its hat to the Daytona, especially around the rear end, but the retro cues weren’t allowed to overpower an otherwise modern appearance. That back also incorporated an electronically-activated spoiler. Rather than carry over the earlier V12, the 65 degree-angled engine took the Dino V6 unit as its inspiration, albeit in 12-cylinder form and boasting a considerable 436bhp from its 5474cc. Only the F40 had been a more powerful Ferrari. An automatic (GTA) joined the line-up in 1996, followed by the modified 456M of 1998, which boosted the bhp to 442 and made some minor interior and exterior alterations. Specials included a pair of four-door saloons, seven estate versions – six of which were bought by Prince Jefri of Brunei – and four convertibles. Manufacture finished in 2003.

 Engine 5474cc 442bhp Top speed 188mph 0-60mph 5.0secs

F50

If the F40 had demonstrated anything, it was that Ferrari really liked to celebrate its major birthdays. And if it could come up with something as radical as the F40 to mark the start of middle age, what might it unleash for its half-century in 1995? The logically-named F50 was the answer, and while the rounded looks weren’t as extreme and aggressive as the F40, it was still an eye-catching Pininfarina creation, complete with a removable hardtop for those who wanted their thrills as raw and windswept as possible. The 4699cc mid-mounted V12 was descended from the 1989-90 engines of Ferrari’s Formula One racers and the car also borrowed from motorsport with its composite construction monocoque chassis, plus an interior largely stripped of creature comforts. At 520bhp, it was monstrously powerful, able to polish off the 0-60 sprint in just 3.8 seconds and go on to a terminal velocity of 202mph. But it also gulped down fuel at less than 10mpg. Exclusivity was guaranteed, with only 349 examples made from 1995 to 1997, although there were just five colours available. Two of which were, naturally, different shades of red…

 Engine 4699cc 520bhp Top speed 202mph 0-60mph 3.8secs

Enzo

In 2002, Ferrari decided to showcase its Formula One know-how on a road car, albeit one that just 399 specially selected customers could buy for $659,330 (around £446,600 at the time). The Enzo Ferrari – its name needs no explanation, of course – had a very dynamic and distinctive carbonfibre body, with its chassis of the same material bolstered by aluminium in a honeycomb sandwich. Pininfarina’s Ken Okuyama was the man responsible for designing this most dramatic-looking Ferrari since the F40, his emphasis on function rather than form. The Enzo’s mid-mounted 5999cc V12 was a completely new design, albeit enthused by F1 expertise, and packed a 660bhp punch. Its six-speed F1-style clutchless paddle gearbox shifted ratios in just 150 milliseconds – which proved rather too abrupt for some – while carbon-ceramic brakes were on hand to quickly rein this absolute monster of a car in. Production ended in 2004, when a 400th example was built and donated to the Vatican for charity. However, the FXX, based on the Enzo but intended for track days and as a development prototype, ran from 2005 to ‘09 and Pininfarina rebodied one Enzo in 2006 for American collector James Glickenhaus, dubbing it the P4/5.

 Engine 5999cc 660bhp Top speed 221mph 0-60mph 3.1secs

612 Scaglietti

With its name paying tribute to Sergio Scaglietti, the coachbuilder behind some of the most stunning Ferraris of the 1950s and ‘60s, it’s no surprise that the four-seater 612 Scaglietti of 2004 looked to the past for some of its design cues. Although a Pininfarina creation, the Scaglietti works in Modena, now owned by Ferrari, was used to build it. What made the all-aluminium 612 particularly stand out were the side-scallops and sculptured headlamps, both clear references to the beautiful 1954 Ferrari 375 MM that director Roberti Rossellini commissioned wife Ingrid Bergman. And if it was good enough for Casablanca’s Ilsa Lund… However, a very modern touch was the panoramic electrochromic glass roof. The engine, placed as far back as possible under the long bonnet, was that of the 575, although Ferrari couldn’t resist upping power to 533bhp. Before manufacture finished in 2011, 3025 examples had been built. Specials included the 2006 30th Anniversary Edition (20 built for Japan), the Giugiaro GG50 concept of the same year, the 2007 Sessanta (a 60th birthday model, limited to 60 units) and a single 612 Kappa. There was even a police variant, which toured Britain during 2007 and probably terrified criminals.

 Engine 5748cc 533bhp Top speed 199mph 0-60mph 3.8secs

599 GTB Fiorano

Carrying on the new game of adding names to their model numbers, Ferrari paid tribute to their 34-year-old Fiorano test track with the 599 GTB. As so often with a Ferrari, when the new model arrived in 2006 it didn’t just replace the outgoing 575M, it eclipsed it.

Once again the model number referred to the engine capacity divided by ten, but that small increase in capacity was just part of a raft of improvements that saw output jump by 105bhp. To help contain all that power everything else under the skin was upgraded too: a new magneto-rheological suspension system, improved traction control, a tougher and faster-reacting gearbox with optional steering wheel controls and a multi-display unit with F1-style data readouts. This was the perfect super-swift Grand Tourer for the new millennium.

The styling was equally radical. With more of wedge profile, smaller side windows and dramatic slashes and scoops breaking up the bodylines, the Fiorano screamed speed and aggression. Park one alongside a 575M and the older car suddenly seems a little too pretty and polite. There was a new kid in town.

Engine 5999cc 612bhp Top speed 205mph 0-60mph 3.7secs

599 SA Aperta

Launched at the Paris Motor Show in October 2010, the SA Aperta is a limited edition convertible version of the 599 GTO. So most of it is covered by the above entry on the GTO – the only difference is above the window sill line, where there’s an even more inclined windscreen and rollbars behind the seats that are partly disguised by fins painted the same silver as the screen surround. It was designed to be used as an open car with just a light clip-on hood to use in really bad weather.

It only remains to explain the car’s name and build numbers. Aperta is simply Italian for ‘open’; the SA is a tribute to Sergio and Andrea Pininfarina. And as a further nod to the company that has styled the vast majority of Ferraris since the 1950s, just 80 were built to mark Pininfarina’s 80th anniversary in 2010.

Engine 5999cc 661bhp Top speed 202mph 0-60mph 3.6secs

FF

This marked Ferrari’s return to the four-seater GTs that Enzo was so fond of, but with a twist or two. The first of these was the three-door sports shooting brake styling – kind of how BMW must have wished their Z3M Coupé had turned out. And just like the FF that Jensen used to build, those initials  – standing for ‘Ferrari Four’  –announced this as Ferrari’s first four-wheel drive production car. Not just any old 4WD set-up either, but their own patented intelligent 4RM system that is around 50 per cent lighter than conventional system and can be engaged when needed from a steering wheel control. The rest of the time the car runs in regular rear-drive mode with a seven-speed semi-automatic gearbox.

It was announced as the world’s fastest four-seater and cost £227,000 in the UK. Even with that price tag Ferrari still sold 800 in 2011, the first year of production.

Despite its blistering performance the interior is more luxury than sports car, and the ride is superb thanks to a third generation version of the company’s magneto-rheological suspension system.

Engine 6262cc 650bhp Top speed 208mph 0-60mph 3.7secs

LaFerrari

Sometimes building the worlds most desirable supercars isn’t enough; you need the cache and media buzz that comes from producing what we can only describe as a hypercar. The LaFerrari proved that the guys in Modena still had it. Where do we start? Perhaps with the carbon-fibre monocoque developed by F1 technical director Rory Byrne. There’s more F1 influence in the KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) technology that adds bursts of an extra 161bhp to the already outrageous midmounted 789bhp V12 engine.

A further shock is to discover that this is the first Ferrari since 1973’s 308 GT4 to be designed without input from Pininfarina, it being an in-house project led by Ferrari’s design director Flavio Manzani.

Starting in 2013, just 500 were built, along with 209 open-topped Aperta models from 2016. The list price was £999,999. Don’t expect them to depreciate far from there. As instant collectibles, few will rack up many miles, which is a shame as CAR magazine said of it, “The most outrageous front-end response this side of a pitwall. It makes the McLaren P1 feel almost ordinary.”

Engine 6262cc 789bhp* Top speed 219mph 0-60mph 2.9secs

(*plus short bursts of up to 161bhp more from F1-style KERS system)