Ferrari Monza

The Ferrari 500TR was a racing sports car of 1956.

After losing to Mercedes -Benz in the World Sportscar Championship in 1955 the leaders was clear that there was a need for action in the Scuderia Ferrari. The construction of the 500TR is the weak point of the Ferrari 500 Mondial should be eradicated - the engine. Helpful was the acquisition of the motor sports department of Lancia by the Scuderia at the task. Vittorio Jano returned to his old employer, and brought a variety of construction plans with Maranello.

The engineering team led by Jano revised 4-cylinder in-line engine completely. The engine got a new crankshaft, reinforced bearings, a lighter flywheel, redesigned valves and new Weber carbs. The visible sign of the revision was a red -painted cylinder head. A new type name was born: Testarossa.

The 500TR Testarossa was the first in a long series of Ferrari sports car with this designation. The engine now made ​​180 hp and had two camshafts and two distributor. In contrast to the other 4 - cylinder racing car of Ferrari, who had a gearbox in unit with the differential, the 500TR had a splinted directly with the engine fully synchronized 4 -speed transmission.

19 copies of the car, the rear had a simple rigid axle on coil springs were built at Scaglietti, three of which are spanned as Spyder with larger displacements at Touring. Equipped with larger, the engine capacity limit of 2.5 l exploiting ligand engines they were used as Ferrari 625LM Touring Spyder at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. After the race, they received their 2l engines again and were sold. They were the last karossierten at Touring Ferrari sports car.

In the great sports car race but the 860 Monza, the 857S and the 290MM came in 1956 in the first line to use. The 500TR made ​​his race debut at the Super Corte Maggiore in Monza with Mike Hawthorn and Peter Collins at the helm, which imports a superior victory. A change in the regulations makes in the course of a need for alterations. The 500TR got a cockpit windscreen, and a passenger door.

Most 500TR were sold to private teams such as the North American Racing Team. A chassis ( 0704TR ) served in 1958 as the basis for one of the first 12 -cylinder 250 Testa Rossa.

Literature and sources

• Pino Casamassima: Storia della Scuderia Ferrari. Nada Editore, Vimodrome 1998, ISBN 88-7911-179-5.
• Peter Brown / Gregor Schulz: The great Ferrari manual. Heel, King Winter 2006, ISBN 3-89880-501-8.