Ferrari 250P

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Willy Mairesse in the Ferrari 250P on his victory drive in the 1000 km race at the Nürburgring in 1963; here in the Hatzenbach section
The wreck of Mike Parkes' Ferrari 250P after his accident at the 1000 km race on the Nürburgring in 1963

The Ferrari 250P was a racing car that Scuderia Ferrari engineers developed for sports car races in 1963.

Background and technology

The 250P was a big break in Ferrari typology. It was the first mid-engined 12-cylinder racing sports car in the history of the Italian brand. Actually, the FIA wanted to shift the focus of the car classes in the direction of Gran Turismo in the regulations of the sports car world championship for 1963 . For the ACO , the organizer of the Le Mans 24-hour race , these regulations were too unspectacular, because there was fear of massive drop in spectators due to the loss of the large sports cars. The ACO managed to get other sports car racing organizers on their side; together these new regulations were then brought down. After sports cars were also launched in 1963, Scuderia developed the 250P.

Preparatory work began at the end of 1962. A Ferrari Dino 246SP - chassis 0796 - was converted to accommodate the new 3-liter V12 engine from the Testa Rossa . To do this, the tubular frame had to be extended. The findings from the test drives were incorporated into the construction of the 250P. The cars had four independent suspensions and disc brakes at the front and rear, with the rear ones being located directly on the differential housing. The unsynchronized transmission was behind the differential. This made it easy to change the transmission shafts, which meant that the top speed of the racing car could easily be adapted to the conditions of the respective race track by choosing the right gear ratio. The four bodies came from Pininfarina . The car was presented on March 4, 1963 - together with the Ferrari 330LMB - in the pit facilities of the Monza racetrack .

Racing history

His racing debut of 250p at 12-hour race of Sebring same with a double victory. John Surtees and Ludovico Scarfiotti won after 208 laps with one lap ahead of teammates Willy Mairesse and Nino Vaccarella . There was also an overall victory in the second event, the 1000 km race at the Nürburgring . This time, Willy Mairesse and John Surtees were partners, who won ahead of the surprisingly strong GTO team Pierre Noblet / Jean Guichet .

The next success followed at Le Mans . Ferrari lost one of the three factory 250Ps in an accident by Willy Mairesse, but victory still went to a 250P driven by Scarfiotti and Lorenzo Bandini . There was once a total failure at four starts: At the Targa Florio , both of the registered works cars did not finish.

In 1964 the 250P was followed by the 275P .

Technical specifications

Parameters Ferrari 250P
Engine:  Four-stroke 12-cylinder V-engine (mid-engine)
Cooling:  Water with thermostat
Displacement :  2953 cc
Bore × stroke:  73 x 58.8 mm
Compression:  9.5: 1
Carburetor:  6 Weber twin carburettors
Power:  310 hp (228 kW) at 7500 rpm
Power transmission:  Multi-disc dry clutch, 5-speed gearbox,
rear-wheel drive
Frame:  Tubular steel frame
Front and rear suspension:  Handlebar trapeze, coil springs, 1 stabilizer each,
telescopic shock absorber
Brakes:  hydraulically operated disc brakes
Track width front / rear:  1350/1340 mm
Wheelbase :  2400 mm
Tire size front / rear:  5.50-15 / 7.00-15
Length × width × height:  4015 × 1670 × 1080 mm
Empty weight (without driver):  760 kg
Top speed:  approx. 270 km / h

literature

  • Pino Casamassima: Storia della Scuderia Ferrari. Nada Editore, Vimodrome 1998, ISBN 88-7911-179-5 .
  • Peter Braun, Gregor Schulz: The great Ferrari manual. Heel, Königswinter 2006, ISBN 3-89880-501-8 .

Web links

Commons : Ferrari 250 P  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files