:''See also the 212 Export sports racer''
The Ferrari 212 Inter replaced
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 ...
's successful
166
Year 166 ( CLXVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Pudens and Pollio (or, less frequently, year 919 ''Ab urbe condita' ...
grand tourer
A grand tourer (GT) is a type of car that is designed for high speed and long-distance driving, due to a combination of performance and luxury attributes. The most common format is a Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, front-engine, rear-wh ...
s in 1951. Unveiled at the
Brussels Motor Show
The European Motor Show Brussels is an auto show held biennial in the city of Brussels, Belgium. The number of visitors is around 600.000. The show is organized by FEBIAC and is scheduled by the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Aut ...
that year, the 212 was an evolution of the 166 — a
sports car
A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...
for the road that could also win international races. In 1951, two 212 Inters, both Vignale coupés, driven by Taruffi/ Chinetti and Ascari/Villoresi, scored 1–2 victory at
Carrera Panamericana
The Carrera Panamericana was a border-to-border sedan ( stock and touring and sports car) rally racing event on open roads in Mexico similar to the Mille Miglia and Targa Florio in Italy. Running for five consecutive years from 1950 to 1954, ...
in Mexico.
The chassis was similar to the 125 with a suspension featuring
double wishbone
A double wishbone suspension is an independent suspension design for automobiles using two (occasionally parallel) wishbone-shaped arms to locate the wheel. Each wishbone or arm has two mounting points to the chassis and one joint at the knuckl ...
s in front and
live axle
A beam axle, rigid axle or solid axle is a dependent suspension design in which a set of wheels is connected laterally by a single beam or shaft. Beam axles were once commonly used at the rear wheels of a vehicle, but historically they have als ...
in back.
Coachbuilder
A coachbuilder or body-maker is someone who manufactures bodies for passenger-carrying vehicles.Construction has always been a skilled trade requiring a relatively lightweight product with sufficient strength. The manufacture of necessarily ...
s included
Carrozzeria Touring
Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera is an Italian automobile coachbuilder. Originally established in Milan in 1925, Carrozzeria Touring became well known for both the beauty of its designs and patented superleggera construction methods. The bus ...
,
Ghia
Carrozzeria Ghia SpA (established 1916 in Turin) is an Italian automobile design and coachbuilding firm, established by Giacinto Ghia and Gariglio as "Carrozzeria Ghia & Gariglio". The headquarters are located at Corso Guglielmo Marconi, 4, Tu ...
Vignale
Vignale is the luxury car sub-brand of Ford Motor Company used in automobiles sold in Europe.Stabilimenti Farina
Stabilimenti Industriali Farina (Turin, 1906–53) was an Italian automotive coachbuilder established by Giovanni Carlo Farina (1884–1957) in ''12 Corso Tortona''.
Among famous employees was his brother Battista Farina, who was here from the ...
, and now
Pinin Farina
Pininfarina S.p.A. (short for Carrozzeria Pininfarina) is an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder, with headquarters in Cambiano, Turin, Italy. The company was founded by Battista "Pinin" Farina in 1930.
On 14 December 2015, the Indian ...
. The latter was an important move for the company, as Farina was already well-known and adding his styling skills would be a tremendous boost for Maranello. However, Pinin Farina was as prideful as
Enzo Ferrari
Enzo Anselmo Giuseppe Maria Ferrari (; 20 February 1898 – 14 August 1988) was an Italian motor racing driver and entrepreneur, the founder of the Scuderia Ferrari Grand Prix motor racing team, and subsequently of the Ferrari automobil ...
, and neither would go to the other to request business up to this point. A mutual meeting halfway between Maranello and
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
was the negotiated solution. First Ferrari to be bodied by Pinin Farina was 212 Inter Cabriolet, chassis no. 0177E.
The ''Inter's'' wheelbase was 4" longer than the ''Export's''. The cars shared a larger, bored-out (68 mm) 2.6 L (2563 cc/156 in³) version of Ferrari's ''
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
''
V12 engine
A V12 engine is a twelve-cylinder piston engine where two banks of six cylinders are arranged in a V configuration around a common crankshaft. V12 engines are more common than V10 engines. However, they are less common than V8 engines.
The f ...
. Output was for the single
Weber
Weber (, or ; German: ) is a surname of German origin, derived from the noun meaning " weaver". In some cases, following migration to English-speaking countries, it has been anglicised to the English surname 'Webber' or even 'Weaver'.
Notable pe ...
36DCF
carburetor
A carburetor (also spelled carburettor) is a device used by an internal combustion engine to control and mix air and fuel entering the engine. The primary method of adding fuel to the intake air is through the venturi tube in the main meteri ...
''Inter'', for the triple Weber ''Export''. Improved cylinder heads raised power in 1952.
The British magazine Autocar got hold of what they described as the first production model Ferrari 212 in 1950, which outperformed any car that they had previously tested. It recorded a top speed of over and acceleration times of 0 to 60 mph (96 km/h) of 10.5 seconds and 100 mph (161 km/h) in 22.5 seconds; the magazine however noted they had limited the engine to 6,500 rpm out of respect for the newness and low mileage of the car they were using, which suggested that even better performance would be available from a fully "run in" model. The test appears also to have been the Autocar team's first encounter with a five speed gear box.
File:1952 Ferrari 212 Vignale Coupe.JPG,
Vignale
Vignale is the luxury car sub-brand of Ford Motor Company used in automobiles sold in Europe.
Giovanni Michelotti
Giovanni Michelotti (6 October 1921 – 23 January 1980) was one of the most prolific designers of sports cars in the 20th century. His notable contributions were for Ferrari, Lancia, Maserati and Triumph marques. He was also associated with t ...
-penned
coupé
A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors.
The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...
body built by
Vignale
Vignale is the luxury car sub-brand of Ford Motor Company used in automobiles sold in Europe.Carrozzeria Touring
Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera is an Italian automobile coachbuilder. Originally established in Milan in 1925, Carrozzeria Touring became well known for both the beauty of its designs and patented superleggera construction methods. The bus ...
in their Superleggera construction method. It was acquired by Ford Motor Company for Henry Ford II for study in the research leading to the development of Ford's competitor to the Corvette, the Thunderbird. The car is currently in the collection of the
Petersen Automotive Museum
The Petersen Automotive Museum is located on Wilshire Boulevard along Museum Row in the Miracle Mile neighborhood of Los Angeles. One of the world's largest automotive museums, the Petersen Automotive Museum is a nonprofit organization specializin ...
in Los Angeles, CA.
1952-ferrari.jpg, 1952 Ferrari 212/225 Touring Barchetta
References
Bibliography
*
{{Early Ferrari vehicles
212
Year 212 (Roman numerals, CCXII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Asper and Camilius (or, less frequently, year 965 '' ...
.jpg, 212 Inter Vignale nicknamed ){kind=link}