The lifeblood of Ferrari, particularly in the early years, was competition. It is a widely held belief that the creation of road-going versions of the competition sports cars existed almost solely to support Il Commendatore’s racing effort. In many instances, engineering advances developed for battle can be traced directly to the road cars, such as the pioneering weight-balancing use of the transaxle from the 275 series GTs.

Ferrari’s competition teeth were cut along with the continuous progress of the small-displacement V12 engineered by Gioacchino Colombo, the first of which was deployed in 1947 as the 125 S. A progression of yet-larger engines was developed based on this original design, with many types attaining impressive racing victories, notably the 166 MM and the 212 Export.

A more powerful 2.7-liter version of the venerable 212 Export competition model was introduced in 1952 and christened the 225 Sport. The 225 S performed with distinction, including notable finishes in the Mille Miglia, the Targa Florio, Coppa d’Oro delle Dolomiti, the Portuguese Grand Prix — and a 1-2-3 finish at the 1952 Monaco Grand Prix.

The innovative Tuboscocca frame was a special chassis with double outer tubes joined together with a truss-like arrangement. It strengthened the platform and formed a skeleton on which body panels could be mounted. This saved weight with no compromise to structural rigidity.

Nearly all Ferraris of the early era were coachbuilt by various Italian design houses, and none were more distinctive than those styled by Carrozzeria Vignale. Virtually no two Vignale-bodied Ferraris are precisely alike, and the six 225 S Berlinettas were no exception.

0168ED raced at the 12 Hours of Sebring in March of 1953, finishing 8th position overall and 2nd in class. Later that year, the car placed 4th overall at Bridgehampton. It later took 2nd place at the 1955 Sagua-to-Havana Rally, followed by an outright win at the Cuban Sports Car Grand Prix. Thanks to this impressive display, 0168ED was featured in the 1955 Ferrari Yearbook.

0168ED was later fitted with a Chevrolet small-block V8, which has been switched to a Ferrari 250 GT engine supplemented with genuine 225 S components. The Ferrari gearbox and differential are of original type and specification. Recently, the engine was rebuilt, and a synchromesh 5-speed gearbox was added for ease of road use. The period unit remains with the car.

The 225 is offered with a complete history report by Marcel Massini, archival images, copies of the original Ferrari build sheets, correspondence, articles, invoices, and the original tool roll.

Chassis 0168ED is an extraordinary example of this rare breed, with an impressive competition history and documented ownership chain. It is fully capable of attaining further victories in events such as the Le Mans Classic, Goodwood, Tour Auto, and the Mille Miglia, as well as the more relaxed tours, such as the Colorado Grand and the California Mille.

SCM Analysis

Detailing

Number Produced:200
Original List Price:$13,000
Tune Up Cost:$3,000
Chassis Number Location:Left frame member by steering box
Engine Number Location:Right rear above motor mount
Club Info:Ferrari Club of America
Website:http://www.ferrariclubofamerica.org

This car, Lot 147, sold for $1,237,500, including buyer’s premium, at RM’s Amelia Island auction in Florida on March 19, 2013.

I’ve often thought about writing the book “Ferrari Race Cars for Dummies.” My reasoning is that in doing the research for the book, I might finally be able to make some sense of the dizzying array of early Ferrari race cars. I’m 35 years into the Ferrari hobby, and I still get confused by Ferrari race cars — particularly the early ones.

It’s not that there are so many models, it’s that there’s so much variation in the models. Just when you’ve got them figured out, you come across a variation that sends you back to the drawing board.

It all makes sense — up to a point

Say you know a little about the road cars and have figured out that early Ferrari model types are identified by their engine size. The type tells you the displacement of one cylinder. Multiply that number by the number of cylinders and the product tells you the size of the engine. So, a model 166 would have roughly a 2-liter engine (166 x 12 = 1992 cc).

When you have the displacement formula handled, it’s logical that the engine size grew with time. The larger the type number, the newer the car. A 212 is a later car than a 166, so a 195 must fit in between. All is good — until you discover a 340 America and realize that it was built in the same time period as a 212.

The 340s featured an Aurelio Lampredi engine that was larger in size and different in design than the usual Colombo engines. This is the exact point when you begin to appreciate that Ferrari race cars are a different breed from the street cars.

Race Ferraris have 4-, 6-, 8- and 12-cylinder engines. They can be supercharged or normally aspirated — and a diverse assortment of body builders put the skins on these cars, so you will never be able to identify all the Ferrari race cars by sight.

A true Ferrari racer

SCM scribe Thor Thorson likes to separate race cars into weapons-grade and recreational-grade. Ferrari handles that task for us by assigning even chassis numbers to the cars they feel are real competition cars and putting odd numbers on their street cars. The 225 Sports were true even-number competition cars designed to be formidable competitors against the best the world had to offer. Their claim to fame was that they were the first Colombo-engine cars to use roller cam followers.

A total of 27 Ferraris were entered into the 1952 Mille Miglia. Seven of them were the new 225 S cars. In the end, the winner was an experimental 250 GT. The result tells the story of the 225s. They were an interim model that came between the 212s and the 250s.

Few were built, as they were only a marginal advance from the 212s. It appears that they all carry Vignale or Touring bodies, with no two exactly the same. They had a good competition history, but they also tend to be a footnote — rather than a cornerstone — of the Ferrari legend.

About that missing engine…

225 Sport 0168ED has an admirable history with good documentation and an impressive 2nd-place finish at Sebring. Unfortunately, it does not have its original engine, which will stop it from being Ferrari Classiche-certified — and could kill its chances of being accepted to the Millie Miglia or invited to the top international shows.

SCM’s Platinum Database noted 10 225 S transactions, and this one looked to be right in line. The reserve was about $1m, and there were two bidders at that number. The winning bid came from a Swiss agent on behalf of a client.

In the crazy world of the recent high-end Ferrari market, this was a pretty sane transaction. The seller had bought the car for $880,000 at Gooding & Company’s Pebble Beach auction in 2011. Since then he did a good job of making it better. He certainly didn’t make any money on the car, but he didn’t lose much either. If the buyer can negotiate a deal that puts the right engine in the car, I’d say he hit a home run.

If not, he still has a great Ferrari race car. ?

(Introductory description courtesy of RM Auctions.)

 

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