Ferrari's 120-degree V6 - racing's angular advocates
Summary
A V6 with a 120-degree cylinder angle was already powering a Ferrari in Formula 1 60 years ago. 40 years ago, Ferrari's second 120 V6 was fitted with two turbochargers for the first time. And even though the third engine in the new 296 GTB has twice as much displacement today, the tradition of unconventional racing engines from Maranello lives on in it. This article explains the development of the individual engines and shows them in historical pictures and drawings.
This article contains the following chapters
- With a mid-engine for the first time
- Into the future with a turbocharger
- First tests in Imola
- The first turbo season
- A new chassis for 1982
- Delayed start to the 1983 season
- Electronic injection and too little power
- The disastrous 1985 season
- The first Ferrari 120-degree V6 for the road
Estimated reading time: 14min
Preview (beginning of the article)
As I write these lines, I am looking at a set of drawings. They are design drawings of a small V6 engine with a displacement of just 750 cubic centimetres, designed by Aldo Celli in 1951. Celli, formerly a designer at Alfa Romeo, was an independent engineer who worked closely on his designs with Mario Speluzzi, a former engine developer from Maserati's racing boat department, and the racing Leto-di-Priolo brothers. Celli's small V6 had a number of special design features, such as a reduction gear on the power output side to drive the clutch at a lower speed than the crankshaft and to allow the engine to be positioned very low in the vehicle. However, its most remarkable feature was the large cylinder bank angle of 120 degrees. Like a 60-degree bank angle, the 120-degree angle enables an even firing distance, but without the crankpin offset required for a 60-degree V6. With the 120-degree V6, opposing connecting rods can share a crankpin.
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