Aurelio Lampredi (16 June 1917 – 1 June 1989) was an Italian

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarde ...

and aircraft engine designer. Born in Livorno, he began his career before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Piaggio Piaggio & C. SpA (Piaggio ) is an Italian motor vehicle manufacturer, which produces a range of two-wheeled motor vehicles and compact commercial vehicles under seven brands: Piaggio, Vespa, Gilera, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, Derbi, and Scarabeo ...

, moved to

Isotta Fraschini Isotta Fraschini () was an Italian luxury car manufacturer, also producing trucks, as well as engines for marine and aviation use. Founded in Milan, Italy, in 1900 by Cesare Isotta and the brothers Vincenzo, Antonio, and Oreste Fraschini, in 19 ...

, and then joined

Reggiane Officine Meccaniche Reggiane SpA (commonly referred to as ''Reggiane'') was an Italian industrial manufacturer and aviation company. Reggiane was founded during 1904 by its parent company Caproni, which was in turn owned by the aeronautical eng ...

. This time he designed aircraft engines. Lampredi's fame brought him to Ferrari in 1946. He temporarily quit the company to go back to

in March 1947 but returned to Ferrari at the beginning of 1948 where he designed large 3.3, 4.1 and 4.5 L displacement V12 family of engines (the " Lampredi engine") which first saw use in the 1950s 275 S, 275 F1, 340 F1 and 375 F1 race cars. Lampredi's engines were used as large naturally aspirated alternatives to the diminutive

Gioacchino Colombo Gioachino Colombo (1903–1988) was an Italian automobile engine designer. Colombo was born in Legnano. He began work as an apprentice to Vittorio Jano at Alfa Romeo. In 1937, Colombo designed the 158 engine for the Alfetta and caught the attenti ...

-designed V12s used in most Ferrari cars until that time. Especially after the failure of Colombo's supercharged engine in

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

, Lampredi's design began to find favor in the company. Lampredi oversaw Ferrari's racing effort during its early success in 1952 and 1953. Lampredi - Ferrari four cyl

In 1951, Enzo Ferrari saw a good opportunity to make a competitive car for Formula Two racing. And the rules for Formula One made it possible that the Formula Two car could also be competitive in Formula One for two years, until new engine regulations came into effect in 1954. So, he suggested to Lampredi that he design a four-cylinder racing engine. This Lampredi twin-cam four cylinder proved very successful in Formula Two, Formula One and sports racing cars.My Auutoworld - Ferrari history
/ref> Lampredi's work at Ferrari ended permanently in 1955 when Ferrari bought Lancia's racing team and famed engine designer

Vittorio Jano Vittorio Jano ( hu, János Viktor; 22 April 1891 – 13 March 1965) was an Italians, Italian automobile designer of Hungarian people, Hungarian descent from the 1920s through 1960s. Jano was born ''Viktor János'' in San Giorgio Canavese, in ...

, formerly of

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." "A ...

. Though Lampredi's engine designs lived on in Ferrari road cars, Jano's V6 and V12 engines quickly replaced Lampredi's large V12s for racing use. After Ferrari, Lampredi went to Fiat, where he oversaw that company's engine design efforts until 1977. It was at Fiat where he designed the famous Fiat Twin-Cam and SOHC engines, which provided motive-force for most Fiat and Lancia automobiles for over 32 years. He was also made manager of Fiat's

Abarth Abarth & C. S.p.A. () is an Italian racing and road car maker and Car tuning, performance division founded by Italo-Austrian Carlo Abarth in 1949. Abarth & C. S.p.A. is owned by Stellantis through its FCA Italy, Italian subsidiary. Its logo is a ...

factory racing group from 1973 through 1982. He was responsible for designing the engine that allowed Fiat to locate in the Brazilian market in 1976, the FIASA (acronym of Portuguese "Fiat Automóveis S.A). This engine equipped the

Fiat 147 The Fiat 147 was a three-door hatchback subcompact car produced by Fiat in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais from autumn 1976 until 1987, when it was replaced by the Fiat Uno. It was the Brazilian variant of the Fiat 127. Some were also built b ...

, a Brazilian derivation of the European

Fiat 127 The Fiat 127 is a supermini car produced by Italian car manufacturer FIAT from 1971 to 1983. It was introduced in 1971 as the replacement for the Fiat 850. Production of the 127 in Italy ended in 1983 following the introduction of its replacemen ...

. The 147 was the first national vehicle to have a transversely mounted engine with a belt driven overhead camshaft. It was also the first engine made on a large scale to be powered by ethanol, when such a version was made available in the 1979 Fiat 147. The FIASA engine was in production until 2001 (25 years) with continuous changes, when it was superseded by the new FIRE engine. Lampredi died in Livorno in 1989.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lampredi, Aurelio 1917 births 1989 deaths People from Livorno Ferrari people Italian motorsport people Formula One designers Fiat people Italian automotive engineers