Ferrari 166 MM (1948) — The Colombo V12

In 1946, Enzo Ferrari asked Gioacchino Colombo to design an engine. Ferrari had spent years running Alfa Romeo’s racing programme, admiring the V12 configurations of Packard, Auto Union, and Alfa’s own grand prix cars. Now he wanted one of his own — a compact, aluminium, 60-degree V12 that could power both racing cars and road cars. Colombo, who had previously designed the supercharged engine for Alfa Romeo’s legendary 158 Alfetta, accepted the commission. Working alongside Giuseppe Busso and Luigi Bazzi, he produced the Tipo 125 — a 1,497 cc V12 with a single overhead cam per bank, two valves per cylinder, and three 30DCF Weber carburettors.

The engine first ran on 12 March 1947, mounted in a bare chassis with no bodywork, on the road between Maranello and the village of Formigine. Two months later, on 11 May, the completed Ferrari 125 S made its racing debut at the Piacenza Circuit. It retired from that first race, but two weeks later won at Rome. The Ferrari era had begun. The Colombo V12 was named after the displacement of each individual cylinder — 125 cc multiplied by twelve gave 1,497 cc total. This naming convention would define Ferrari for decades.

By 1948, Colombo and Bazzi had increased the bore to 60 mm and the stroke to 58.8 mm, bringing the engine to 1,995 cc. This powered the Ferrari 166 — again named for the unitary displacement of 166.25 cc per cylinder. The MM designation stood for Mille Miglia, the thousand-mile race across Italy that the car was built to conquer. The 166 MM was introduced at the Turin Motor Show in November 1948, and in its most famous form wore bodywork by Carrozzeria Touring of Milan — the Barchetta, meaning ‘little boat’, a name that came from the gentle curve of its cockpit surround.

The Ferrari 166 MM’s 1949 season was extraordinary. Clemente Biondetti won the Mille Miglia. Luigi Chinetti and Lord Selsdon won the 24 Hours of Le Mans — Ferrari’s first victory at the Circuit de la Sarthe. Chinetti drove for over 23 of the 24 hours himself, a feat of endurance that has never been surpassed. The 166 MM also won the Spa 24 Hours. Three of endurance racing’s most important events, all in a single season, all powered by the same 2-litre Colombo V12.

The Colombo V12 outlived its creator’s involvement with Ferrari. Colombo left in 1950, returning to Alfa Romeo, but his engine was only beginning. The bore was progressively increased — to 68 mm, then 73 mm — creating the 3-litre unit that powered the Ferrari 250 series: the 250 GT, the 250 GTO, the 250 LM, the 250 Testa Rossa. These are among the most valuable and revered automobiles ever built. The 250 GTO, chassis 4153 GT, is estimated to be worth between $70 and $80 million. It runs a Colombo V12.

The engine continued to grow. The 275 GTB/4 received dual overhead cams. The 365 GTB/4 Daytona carried a 4.4-litre version. The final iteration, in the 412i of 1988, displaced 4,943 cc. Colombo’s design remained in production for over 40 years. This photograph captures the Ferrari 166 MM’s V12 at close range — the polished intake trumpets, the castings, the hardware of an engine that was hand-built in Maranello when Ferrari was a workshop, not yet an empire.