Valerio Colotti (19 April 1925 – 19 January 2008) was an Italian automotive engineer, known for his early work with

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 ...

and

Maserati Maserati S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer. Established on 1 December 1914, in Bologna, Italy, the company's headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. The company has been owned by Stellantis since 2021. Ma ...

chassis and transmission systems. Born in

Modena Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...

, Colotti joined

in 1948, working under

Aurelio Lampredi Aurelio Lampredi (16 June 1917 – 1 June 1989) was an Italian automobile and aircraft engine designer. Born in Livorno, he began his career before World War II at Piaggio, moved to Isotta Fraschini, and then joined Reggiane. This time he design ...

, followed by employment with

(1953–1957), until the company dropped factory works racing. In 1958 he started his own company, known as

Tec-Mec Tec-Mec (full name Studio Tecnica Meccanica) was a Formula One constructor from Italy. Founded by former Maserati designer Valerio Colotti in 1958, they participated in a single Grand Prix, scoring no World Championship points. Tec-Mec used an i ...

(''Studio Tecnica Meccanica''). Tec-Mec, assisted by

Giorgio Scarlatti Giorgio Scarlatti (2 October 1921 – 26 July 1990) was a racing driver from Italy. He participated in 15 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 13 May 1956. Scarlatti's best season in Formula One was as a works Maserati driver ...

, built the tipo F/415

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, ...

car, mostly based on the

Maserati 250F The Maserati 250F was a racing car made by Maserati of Italy used in '2.5 litre' Formula One racing between January 1954 and November 1960. Twenty-six examples were made. Mechanical details The 250F principally used the SSG 220 bhp (@ 7400 rpm) 2 ...

, in which Colotti had been deeply involved. The car raced only at the 1959 USA Grand Prix, where driver

Fritz d'Orey Frederico José Carlos Themudo "Fritz" d'Orey (25 March 1938 – 31 August 2020) was a Brazilian racing driver of German and Portuguese descent. He participated in three Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highes ...

was forced to retire after qualifying 17th. Colotti collaborated also with

Behra-Porsche Behra-Porsche was a Formula One constructor which entered four World Championship Grands Prix across the 1959 and 1960 seasons. The constructor started - and finished - two races, both in the 1960 season, but scored no championship points in the pr ...

(1959),

Stirling Moss Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British Formula One racing driver. An inductee into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, he won 212 of the 529 races he entered across several categories of comp ...

Cooper T51 The Cooper T51 was a Formula One and Formula Two racing car designed by Owen Maddock and built by the Cooper Car Company for the 1959 Formula One season. The T51 earned a significant place in motor racing history when Jack Brabham drove the car ...

and

Scirocco-Powell Scirocco was a 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). ...

. Colotti's cooperation with

Alf Francis Alf Francis (born Alfons Kowaleski or Alphons Kowalewski 18 June 1918 – 28 June 1983) was a motor racing mechanic and racing car constructor. Francis was born in Danzig but left during World War II, first for Portugal, then by sea to Liverp ...

lead to the widely used in competition

Colotti-Francis Colotti Trasmissioni (Colotti Transmission) is an Italian mechanical engineering firm located in Modena, Italy. It specializes in gears, limited-slip differentials and transmission systems for racing cars. History 1958-1979 Valerio Colotti, who is ...

gearbox systems. With

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 w ...

he designed the ''Trips-Colotti-Auto Union'' (TCA). Colotti's company is now called

Colotti Trasmissioni Colotti Trasmissioni (Colotti Transmission) is an Italian mechanical engineering firm located in Modena, Italy. It specializes in gears, limited-slip differentials and transmission systems for racing cars. History 1958-1979 Valerio Colotti, who is ...

and is run by his son Marco after his brother Paolo (1956-2016) died.Colotti Trasmissioni
homepage

External links

Official Website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colotti, Valerio Italian automobile designers Engineers from Modena 1925 births 2008 deaths Ferrari people Maserati people Formula One team owners Formula One designers Italian motorsport people