RESCUED by its COMPETITOR

RESCUED by its COMPETITOR
The Scuderia Lancia for the last time in force at the 1955 Monaco Grand Prix.
The 1956 Ferrari Formula One
season, which concluded with Fangio’s
title, has already been abundantly
dealt with in the literature of the
brand. Much more, in fact, than the
genesis of the single-seater, née Lancia
D50, as well as the sequence of events
which made Ferrari link up to enter
cars of the former Turinese competitor.
This tale proposes to emphasize these
two aspects, for which represent totally
unique facts in Ferrari history…
Giovanni “Gianni” Lancia was just
twenty-three years old when he took up,
in 1948, the management of the company created by his father Vincenzo. His
ambition had no limit, he saw things on
a large scale, and wished to develop the
innovative and avant-gardist spirit of the
brand by producing high performance
production cars. He was also very much
lured by motor racing, and wanted to
commit to competition in order to pro-
mote the image of his firm, a perfect
way, according to him, to boost sales.
He began first by modifying production
Aurelia GT B20 models, then with the
creation of the World Championship for
manufacturers, by building sports cars.
The results for the model named D24
were excellent, with a triplet at the 1953
Carrera Panamericana, as well as victories at the 1954 Mille Miglia and Targa
Florio, to name but a few.
Gianni Lancia also wished to become involved in the world of Grand Prix
racing, which represented in a way the
next logical step. In preparation for the
changes to the Formula One regulations
for the 1954 season, he asked, in August
1953, for Vittorio Jano and his team to
build a single-seater which would take its
place in the nomenclature of the brand,
by taking the designation D50. In typical
Lancia tradition, the car would contain
engineering solutions which were genuinely innovative, with a main aim of
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producing a car as light as possible.
One of the peculiarities was notably the
choice of the engine, an all-alloy V-8 of
2.5 liters, with a rear crosswise transmission which formed a structural part of the
chassis. Resuming a configuration seen
on the roadgoing Aurelia, it grouped the
clutch at the rear together with the gearbox and differential, a solution which allowed an improvement in shifting gears.
Another important singularity of the car
was its outboard pontoons, located between the wheels on either side of the
chassis, which served a dual function,
one of aerodynamic virtues, but also as
fuel tanks. Completed by a third tank
placed at the rear, this was planned to
achieve optimum weight distribution all
through a race.
For his drivers, Gianni Lancia also
wanted what was best. Alberto Ascari
had just ended his contract with Ferrari,
and signed on in January of 1954, imitated soon by his longtime friend Luigi
The Klemantaski Collection Image
WHEN FERRARI HAD TO ENTER CARS NOT BUILT BY HIMSELF
BY RESEARCHER AND HISTORIAN ARNAUD BLANFUNEY