1952 and 1953 were watershed years for Scuderia Ferrari, notable not only for what the team was able to achieve, but also the surrounding circumstances. By the start of the 1952 season, the once-formidable Alfa Corse team had faded, and the British-based BRM remained the only credible challenge to an expected romp by Maranello. When BRM withdrew from competition early in the season, the FIA had little choice but to cancel Formula One altogether for the foreseeable future. Setting its sights on a new formula to commence in 1954, the FIA elevated Formula Two as the determining series for the World Drivers’ Championship for the years 1952 and 1953, making Formula Two the highest level of racing for those two years.
Enzo Ferrari was well prepared for this eventuality, for by late 1951 Maranello was already testing a new naturally aspirated 2-liter inline-four-cylinder engine in monoposto form, with very promising results. Chief engineer Aurelio Lampredi had steadily advanced the concepts of simplicity and reliability, and his latest engine was a masterful study in these qualities, featuring a 65% reduction in moving parts and weighing 92.8 pounds less than the outgoing Colombo-designed Tipo 166 V-12. Featuring dry-sump lubrication, the new Tipo 500 engine was ignited by dual sparkplugs powered by twin magnetos and fed by two twin-choke Weber carburetors, combining to develop an impressive 170 horsepower—an improvement of 15 horsepower over the outgoing Tipo 166. In short, the inline-four was lighter, more reliable, and more powerful than its predecessor. The new 500 engine was mated to a four-speed transaxle and dropped into an equally simplified and reliable short-wheelbase chassis of 2,160 millimeters, equipped with independent double-wishbone front suspension, a De Dion rear axle, and capable drum brakes, all clothed in minimalist monoposto coachwork. Weighing a svelte 1,235 pounds, the new 500 F2 had a top speed of over 149 mph, making it a clear favorite among Formula Two competitors.
The beloved Alberto “Ciccio” Ascari, one of the day’s most popular drivers, led a team consisting of Nino Farina, Piero Taruffi, and Luigi Villoresi, and during the next two years they established a dominance that has rarely been matched. During the 1952 and 1953 seasons the 500 F2 won an astounding 30 out of 33 races in which it participated, and Ascari became Ferrari’s first Drivers’ Champion—actually becoming a back-to-back Champion—while Farina and Taruffi finished 2nd and 3rd in Championship driver’s points in 1952. Maranello built six of these remarkable factory team cars during the model’s two-year reign, all stamped with three-digit numbers ranging from 001 to 006. Midway through the first season the company began offering privateer versions to preferred racing clients, and five such cars were built with standard even-numbered competition chassis numbers. Referred to as “starlet” cars in Italy, these privateer examples performed nearly as well as the factory cars, exemplified by Rudi Fischer’s 4th-place standing in 1952 Championship driver’s points.
Representing one of the most dominant periods in Scuderia Ferrari history, including Ferrari’s first Drivers’ World Championship, and claiming important ownership provenance and racing use by Jacques Swaters’ Ecurie Francorchamps and the legendary Marquis de Portago, this extremely rare 625 F1 would make a fabulous addition to any collection. It is eligible for the some of the most exclusive vintage racing events worldwide, and can expect a warm welcome at premiere concours d’elegance. It invites admirers to indulge in its brilliant engineering mandate, fostered by the genius of Aurelio Lampredi, and employed to such overwhelming success by the luminary Alberto Ascari.
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