Ferrari 500 TR

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Ferrari 500 TR

The Ferrari 500 TR was a racing car from 1956.

Development history and technology

After the defeat by Mercedes-Benz in the sports car world championship in 1955 , it was clear to those in charge at Ferrari that Scuderia had to act. With the construction of the 500 TR, the weak point of the Ferrari 500 Mondial should be eliminated; its engine was unsatisfactory. The takeover of Lancia's motorsport department by Scuderia was helpful in setting the task . Vittorio Jano returned to his old employer and brought a large number of construction plans to Ferrari in Maranello .

Jano's team of engineers revised the four-cylinder in- line engine . The engine got a new crankshaft, reinforced bearings, a lighter flywheel, revised valves and new Weber 40-DCO / A3 twin carburetors. The visible sign of the revision was a red painted cylinder head. Therefore it received the type designation "Testa Rossa" (Italian for "red head").

The 500 TR was the first Testa Rossa in a long line of Ferrari sports cars with this designation. The engine developed 180 hp (132 kW); it had two camshafts and two ignition distributors. In contrast to the other four-cylinder racing cars from Ferrari, in which the gearbox was installed together with the differential, the 500 TR had a fully synchronized four-speed gearbox that was interlocked with the engine.

19 copies of the racing car with a rigid rear axle and coil springs were built by Scaglietti , three of which were bodied as a Spider with a larger displacement by Touring . Equipped with larger engines that made use of the displacement limit of 2.5 l, they were used as the Ferrari 625LM Spyder Touring in the Le Mans 24-hour race . After the race, they received their 2-liter engines again and were sold. These were the last Ferrari sports cars to be bodied by Touring.

Racing history

In the major sports car races in 1956, the 860 Monza , the 857S and the 290MM were primarily used. The 500 TR made its racing debut at the Supercortemaggiore in Monza with Mike Hawthorn and Peter Collins at the wheel, who achieved a dominant victory. A change in the regulations made a renovation necessary in the course of the year. The 500 TR got a cockpit windbreak and a passenger door.

Most of the 500 TR were sold to private teams such as the North American Racing Team . A chassis (0704TR) served as the basis for one of the first 12-cylinder 250 Testa Rossa in 1958 .

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 500 TR  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files