The Ferrari 156 was a
racing car
Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition.
Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...
made by
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
in 1961 to comply with then-new
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, ...
regulations that reduced engine displacement from 2.5- to 1.5-litres, similar to the pre-1961
Formula Two
Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name retur ...
class for which Ferrari had developed a mid-engined car also called 156 F2.
Phil Hill
Philip Toll Hill Jr. (April 20, 1927 – August 28, 2008) was an American automobile racing driver. He was one of two American drivers to win the Formula One World Drivers' Championship, and the only one who was born in the United States ( ...
won the
1961 World Championship of Drivers and Ferrari secured the
1961 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers, both victories achieved with the 156.
Development
Sharknose
![Von Trips at 1961 Dutch Grand Prix (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Von_Trips_at_1961_Dutch_Grand_Prix_%28cropped%29.jpg)
The 1961 version was affectionately dubbed "sharknose" due to its characteristic air intake "nostrils". Ferrari factory policy saw all the remaining sharknose 156s scrapped by the end of the 1963 season. Nevertheless, such a 156 is exhibited in the "Galleria Ferrari" at Maranello, probably a replica. A similar intake duct styling was applied to the five SP-series Ferraris in 1961 and 1962 that were also designed by Carlo Chiti, and then again over forty years later to the
Ferrari F430
The Ferrari F430 (Type F131) is a sports car produced by the Italian automobile manufacturer Ferrari from 2004 until 2009 as a successor to the Ferrari 360. The car is an update to the 360 with exterior and performance changes. It was unveiled a ...
.
Ferrari started the season with a 65-degree
Dino engine, then replaced by a new engine with the V-angle increased to 120-degrees and designed by
Carlo Chiti
Carlo Chiti (19 December 1924 – 7 July 1994) was an Italian racing car and engine designer best known for his long association with Alfa Romeo's racing department. He also worked for Ferrari and was involved in the design of the Ferrari 156 Sha ...
. A V-6 engine with 120-degree bank is smoother at producing power because every 120-degree rotation of engine crankshaft produces a power pulse. This change increased the power by . Bore and stroke were with a displacement of and a claimed at 9500 rpm. For 1962, a 4-valve per cylinder version was planned with at 10,000 rpm, but never appeared. At the
1962 British Grand Prix,
Phil Hill
Philip Toll Hill Jr. (April 20, 1927 – August 28, 2008) was an American automobile racing driver. He was one of two American drivers to win the Formula One World Drivers' Championship, and the only one who was born in the United States ( ...
raced a new version with a six-speed transmission mounted in front of the engine. In August, at the
German Grand Prix
The German Grand Prix (german: Großer Preis von Deutschland) was a motor race that took place most years since 1926, with 75 races having been held. The race has been held at only three venues throughout its history; the Nürburgring in R ...
,
Lorenzo Bandini
Lorenzo Bandini (21 December 193510 May 1967) was an Italian motor racing driver who raced in Formula One for the Scuderia Centro Sud and Ferrari teams.
Career
Bandini was born in Barce in Cyrenaica, Libya,"Hulme Takes Monaco Race; Bandini S ...
tested a non-sharknose variant with modified front and rear suspension and a smaller radiator,
heralding the 156 Aero used in 1963.
1963 Ferrari 156 ''Aero''
The updated Ferrari 156, used in the 1963 and 1964 seasons, did not feature the distinctive sharknose design. but had a rather conventional intake, somewhat larger than the Ferrari 158 introduced in 1964.
In 1963 the 120° V6 employed Bosch direct-fuel injection instead of carburetors and output increased to 147 kW (197 hp). The last victory for the Ferrari 156 was achieved by Italian
Lorenzo Bandini
Lorenzo Bandini (21 December 193510 May 1967) was an Italian motor racing driver who raced in Formula One for the Scuderia Centro Sud and Ferrari teams.
Career
Bandini was born in Barce in Cyrenaica, Libya,"Hulme Takes Monaco Race; Bandini S ...
in the
1964 Austrian Grand Prix.
Monza crash
On September 10, 1961, after a collision with
Jim Clark
James Clark Jr. OBE (4 March 1936 – 7 April 1968) was a British Formula One racing driver from Scotland, who won two World Championships, in 1963 and 1965. A versatile driver, he competed in sports cars, touring cars and in the Indianapol ...
's
Lotus on the second lap of the
Italian Grand Prix
The Italian Grand Prix ( it, Gran Premio d'Italia) is the fifth oldest national Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix (after the French Grand Prix, the United States Grand Prix, the Spanish Grand Prix and the Russian Grand Prix), having been he ...
, the 156 of
Wolfgang von Trips
Wolfgang Alexander Albert Eduard Maximilian Reichsgraf Berghe von Trips (; 4 May 1928 – 10 September 1961), also known simply as Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips and nicknamed 'Taffy' by friends and fellow racers, was a German racing driver. He ...
(Hill's teammate) became airborne and crashed into a side barrier, fatally throwing him from the car and killing fifteen spectators.
Famous drivers
*
Phil Hill
Philip Toll Hill Jr. (April 20, 1927 – August 28, 2008) was an American automobile racing driver. He was one of two American drivers to win the Formula One World Drivers' Championship, and the only one who was born in the United States ( ...
*
Wolfgang von Trips
Wolfgang Alexander Albert Eduard Maximilian Reichsgraf Berghe von Trips (; 4 May 1928 – 10 September 1961), also known simply as Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips and nicknamed 'Taffy' by friends and fellow racers, was a German racing driver. He ...
*
Richie Ginther
*
Willy Mairesse
Willy Mairesse (1 October 1928 – 2 September 1969) was a Formula One and sports-car driver from Belgium. He participated in 13 World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 19 June 1960. He achieved one podium and scored a total of seven champio ...
*
Olivier Gendebien
Olivier Jean Marie Fernand Gendebien (12 January 1924 – 2 October 1998) was a Belgian racing driver who was called "one of the greatest sportscar racers of all time".
Rally racer
Gendebien spent some years in the Belgian Congo. On his return ...
*
Giancarlo Baghetti
*
Ricardo Rodríguez
*
Lorenzo Bandini
Lorenzo Bandini (21 December 193510 May 1967) was an Italian motor racing driver who raced in Formula One for the Scuderia Centro Sud and Ferrari teams.
Career
Bandini was born in Barce in Cyrenaica, Libya,"Hulme Takes Monaco Race; Bandini S ...
*
John Surtees
John Surtees, (11 February 1934 – 10 March 2017) was a British Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver. On his way to become a seven-time Grand Prix motorcycle World Champion, he won his first title in 1956, and followed with ...
*
Ludovico Scarfiotti
Ludovico Scarfiotti (18 October 1933 – 8 June 1968) was a Formula One and sports car driver from Italy. Just prior to entering Formula One, he won the 1963 24 Hours of Le Mans for Ferrari. He later participated in 12 World Championship F ...
*
Pedro Rodríguez
In popular culture
* English
Blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
singer-songwriter
Chris Rea
Christopher Anton Rea ( ; born 4 March 1951) is an English rock and blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, fie ...
had a meticulous replica of the sharknose built for him to use in his 1996 film, ''
La Passione''.
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
References
{{F1 cars 1964
156 F1
Formula One championship-winning cars