Ferrari 330 TRI/LM
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| Category | Sportscar racer | ||||
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| Constructor | Ferrari | ||||
| Designer(s) | Medardo Fantuzzi | ||||
| Technical specifications | |||||
| Chassis | Spaceframe | ||||
| Suspension (front) | coil spring and independent wishbone | ||||
| Suspension (rear) | coil spring and independent wishbone | ||||
| Engine | Tipo 163 Superamerica 3,967 cc (242.1 cu in) V12 naturally aspirated Front-engined, longitudinally mounted | ||||
| Transmission | Tipo 568 5-speed manual transmission | ||||
| Competition history | |||||
| Notable entrants | Scuderia Ferrari | ||||
| Notable drivers | Olivier Gendebien Masten Gregory Graham Hill Phil Hill Roger Penske Pedro Rodriguez Ricardo Rodríguez |
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| Debut | 1962 24 Hours of Le Mans | ||||
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The Ferrari 330 TRI/LM Spyder (chassis number: 0808) is a 1962 sports racing car purpose built by Ferrari to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It was significantly the last prototype Ferrari race car to have a front mounted engine and it was the last of a series of Ferrari race cars known as the Testa Rossas. The "I" in its designation indicates that the car independent rear suspension ("indipendente" in Italian).
Beginning life in 1960 as a 250 TRI/60 Fantuzzi Spyder where in its debut race, it was badly damaged in a crash during a practice session at the Targa Florio road race. It was rebuilt, where it finished second at the 12 Hours of Sebring but was again damaged at its second outing at the Targa Florio. After finishing second twice, it won at Pescara before being rebuilt as a different car with a new larger engine, due to changes in its regulations. Against expectations, it won Le Mans on its debut, significantly the last front engined car to win Le Mans in 1962. Following that, it was sold on to compete in North America with some sucesses before returning to Le Mans the following year. Trailing third against the newer factory mid-engined Ferrari prototypes into the night, when it crashed.
After its racing career had ended, it was rebuilt and sold on to a New York businessman who regularly drove it around New York City before passing it on to sucessive owners, who also drove it in the city. It also narrowly avoided the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina.
Contents
Background
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The Testa Rossa families began in 1956 with a customer request for a 2-liter four cylinder sportscar capable of defeating Maserati, it's arch rival. The engine and suspension was based on the Tipo 500 Formula 2 car. The resulting car, the 500 TR made it's appearance at the 1000 km Monza, where Peter Collins and Mike Hawthorn took it to it's maiden win.[1]
The accident that spelled the end of Mille Miglia in 1957 saw the end of the the unlimited displacement class in World Sportscar Championship, leading to the 3-liter displacement limit that Ferrari threw it's support at to suit demands for American privateer racers. The result was the highly successful 250TR.[1]
History
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The car began life as a 250 TRI/60 (0780TR), leaving the factory on March 1960, in its only race at the Targa Florio, the car was badly wrecked by Cliff Allison during a practice session.[2] It was rebuilt from parts from a wrecked 250 TR59/60 (0772TR)[3] but was modified with a TRI/61 rear body style whilst retaining the 1960 front end style. It returned to compete at the 12 Hours of Sebring, driven by Giancarlo Baghetti, Willy Mairesse, Richie Ginther and Wolfgang von Trips where it finished second overall behind teammates Hill and Gendebien.[2][4]
It returned to the Targa Fiorio with Mairesse partnering Pedro in which it retired when he crashed. It returned to the factory for repairs and a modification of the front nose of that of a TR61, which was completed in time for the 1000 km Nürburgring with Pedro partnering his younger brother, Ricardo Rodríguez, where they finished second.[2] It appeared at Le Mans with Mairesse partnering Mike Parkes where they finished second, again behind Hill and Gendebien[5][2] and again for the season finale of the Pescara 4 Hours, where it won in the hands of Lorenzo Bandini and Giorgio Scarlatti.
Rebirth
Up until then, Ferrari had been dominating sports car racing from 1958 with three of each World Sportscar Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in just four attempts.[6]
In 1962, the CSI (Commission Sportive Internationale) and ACO (Automobile Club de l'Ouest) restructured rules and classifications to place emphasis to Grand Touring cars and make the 3-litre sports-racing class dominated by cars like the Testa Rossas obsolete. The displacement limit for GT cars was raised to 4 litres and a newly introduced Experimental class was also given the same limit. At this time Ferrari replaced it's sports-racers with mid-engined and V6s or V8s but Ferrari decided set upon to create the 330 TRI/LM for the Experimental category.[7] Sources state that it was widely believed that was a rebuilt 0780TR.[2]
Ferrari decided on building a new frame to make the best of the new regulations and to suit the engine, also the 4-litre Lampredi V-12 was four inch longer than the 3-litre Colombo engines designed for the Testa Rossa chassis, necessitating its reasons to build a new frame. The new frame was 6.3cm longer to the 3-litre Testa Rossa to retain the car's balance and was strengthened to handle the extra power and torque of the engine. The TRI61's 5-speed gearbox was also modified with stronger gears to handle the power; the same all-independent, coil spring suspension system that had provided its road holding in the TRI 60 and 61 was used.
An extensively modified Tipo 163 Superamerica V-12 with Testa Rossa-style free-breathing cylinder heads, big valves and six 2-barrel Weber 42 DCN carbs gave out a total power output of 390 horsepower, 50 more than its 3-liter precessors.
1962 Le Mans
The car made it's debut late at the Le Mans Test Day in April, it recorded the fastest lap of the day at 4 minutes 10.8 seconds despite on a wet day. The 330 TRI/LM skipped the two following World Championship races, the Targa Florio and Nürburgring 1000km, in favor of further in-house development. During the race weekend, the car, assigned to Phil Hill and Olivier Gendebien, made it's appearance joined by a 330 GTO/LM, Dino 268 SP and Dino 246 SP driven by Michael Parkes/Lorenzo Bandini, Giancarlo Baghetti/Ludovico Scarfiotti and the Rodriguez brothers.
During the practice session, the 330 TRI/LM was proved to be 31/2 seconds quicker to it's competitions in addition to Hill breaking Mike Hawthorn's lap record. Regardless, it proved to be challenging to drive though not as believed as Hill remarked in the Road & Track salon article:
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Although the 330 was something of a brute in concept, it was not a brutish car to drive. It was also a damn fast car and with it... The independent two A-arm suspension front and rear made this a very decent-handling, well balanced car.
Regardless of this, the 330 TRI/LM did not have the aerodynamic lift that caused problems with steering at high speeds which plagued earlier Ferraris. Hill remakred that "it didn’t exhibit that schizophrenic nature of other Ferraris", which was pleasant to drive on slow and tight portion of the circuit but unpleasant on faster parts, example the White House turn. He concluded this remark by stating "without these strange nose or tail liftings the 330 was a nice, almost pleasant car to drive."[1]
The car also had issues with slipping clutch from the first practice session when the engine was at it's peak torque as car accelerated away. This was resolved by "treat the car as gently as possible" by sensing when to shift. This meant they had to shift "a gear higher" than usual. Hill and Gendebien did not think the car would last.[1]
Despite a slow start by Gendebien, they took advantage of the 330 TRI/LM’s speed to regain their lead, fending off the Rodriguez for the lead throughout the race despite clutch issues. When their teammates, the Rodriguez retired, Hill and Gendebien inherited a 4-lap lead, which they increased it to a five full laps at the finish line.
Phil Hill and Olivier Gendebien became the first pairing to win three times with Gendebien becoming the first 4-time winner. As the last prototype Ferrari race car to have a front mounted engine, the car became the last front engined car to win.[7]
Post-race
Following its win, the 330 found itself ineligible to compete in anymore races, therefore it was sold to Luigi Chinetti's NART[6] (responsible for Ferrari's North American operations) acting as a middleman for Don Rodriguez to allow his son, Pedro to race in North America, winning at the Bridgehampton Grand Prix in Bridgehampton and finished second in the Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport.
At the following year, with Graham Hill, it finished third at the 12 Hours of Sebring behind the newer factory mid-engined 250 P prototypes.[6] before later returning to Le Mans the following year. Partnering with Roger Penske, starting from pole, it trailed 3rd against the factory Ferraris until the night,; when the engine threw a connecting rod, instantly spilling oil to the rear tire, causing the car to crash.[7]
As the car never raced again,[8] this car returned to Ferrari for repairs and new coupe body by Fantuzzi then returned to the United States where in 1965, was sold to Hisashi Okada, a businessman from Long Island, New York. He drove the car regularly in the streets of Manhattan before selling it to Stanley Nowak for Pierre Bardinon, of the Mas Du Clos collection, in 1974.[7] Like Okada, the car was also drove at New York City until 1993 when Bardinon acquired and then restored the car back to its to its original form,[7] before auctioning it off in 2002, selling it to Fantasy Motors,[9] on behalf of Jim Spiro,[8] a money manager from New Orleans.[10][11] Spiro helped the car to live up to its past by competing in road rallies and commuting frequently in city traffic.[7] It narrowly avoided the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 when two days prior, Spiro drove it ten miles west of New Orleans his friend's garage.[10]
It found a new owner in 2007 via auction after a failed attempt to auction the car in 2005.[9]
Notes
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Carey 2011.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 barchetta 2013.
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- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "utimecar2" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 RM Auctions 2007.
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Works cited
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