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Ferrari 500 Mondial - Angry two-liter midget

Name: Ferrari 500 Mondial 1953
Brand: Ferrari

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Created on December 25, 2021

Text:

Karl Ludvigsen (Übersetzung: Paul Krüger)

Photos:

Ludvigsen Partners

Tom Hartley Jnr.

Pavel Litwinksi - Courtesy Bonhams

Remi Dargegen - Courtesy RM Sotheby's

Pawel Litwinski - Courtesy RM Auctions

RM Sotheby's

Steve Burton

Archiv

Ludvigsen Partners

Tom Hartley Jnr.

Pavel Litwinksi - Courtesy Bonhams

Remi Dargegen - Courtesy RM Sotheby's

Pawel Litwinski - Courtesy RM Auctions

RM Sotheby's

Steve Burton

Archiv

The Swiss Gaston Andrey prepared his Mondial for the 1957 season with a headrest and longer nose.

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The 500 Mondial borrowed its front and rear suspension, engine and gearbox from the Tipo 500 Formula 2 car, with which Ascari became world champion twice.

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The sectional view of the engine shows the gear cascade of the camshaft drive and the unusual valve springs.

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The cross-section of the Tipo 110 clearly shows the double-walled crankcase as well as the roller tappets surrounded by spiral springs and the high-compression nose piston.

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The 500 Mondial was based on the tubular frame of the Tipo 500 F2. The transverse leaf springs at the front and rear were retained.

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Cutaway view of a Ferrari 750 Monza with three-liter four-cylinder engine. Technically, it and the 500 Mondial were identical except for the engine.

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Luigi Villoresi on his way to second place in the 12 Hours of Casablanca 1953. In front of him the Panhard Dyna of the Chancel brothers.

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Vittorio Marzotto competed in the 1954 Mille Miglia without a co-driver. He won his class and came second overall.

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The engine of Marzotto's Mille Miglia car presents its two magnetos and the alternator between them.

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Vittorio Marzotto's Mille Miglia car with Scaglietti bodywork was the first 500 Mondial ever built with chassis number 0404 MD.

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Umberto Magliolo (No. 36) won the first Imola Grand Prix on June 20, 1954, while Robert Manzon (No. 52) drove the fastest lap but retired.

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Franco Cortese drove a "production model" of the 500 Mondial with Pininfarina bodywork at the 1954 Mille Miglia.

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Pat O'Connor at the RRR Willow Springs Road Race on March 4, 1954: The rivets in the bodywork are clearly visible.

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The American Boris "Bob" Said took second place in the 1954 Trullo d'Oro with his blue and white 500 Mondial.

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Before Pauley took over the car, Porfirio Rubirosa drove the Mondiial with starting number 53 in the 12 Hours of Sebring, but retired.

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Jim Pauley on his way to victory at the SCCA National in Thompson, Connecticut, on September 4, 1955

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Pininfarina body with low-slung nose in Scaglietti style. The car has two seats, but only one door.

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Pininfarina's customer cars have a higher front end with the typical Ferrari honeycomb grille.

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The driver's side of the Pininfarina body with door. The shape of the lower end of the body echoes the exhaust on the left-hand side of the vehicle.

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In 1954, Pininfarina built two Ferrari 500 Mondial Berlinetta cars for use in the Tour de France.

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The last six Series 1 cars were again fitted with Scaglietti bodywork. The stabilizer bar is visible under the nose.

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Star number 505 was driven by Léon Couliboeuf and Bernard Aumaitre.

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The new Scaglietti body was slimmer, had an integrated headrest and air vents in the fenders.

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This Series 1 Mondial with Scaglietti bodywork is still equipped with magneto ignition. The air pressure fanfare can be seen in the top right of the engine compartment.

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Minimalist but stylish - typically Italian: Nardi wooden steering wheel and open gearshift gate with reverse gear lock.

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The rear transverse leaf spring and the adjustable shock absorbers share space with the 150-liter petrol tank.

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Especially with the Scaglietti bodywork, the Ferrari 500 Mondial (here one of the second series) is a picture of a racing sports car.

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Externally, the Series 2 looks very similar to the late Series 1. The biggest difference was under the sheet metal: coil springs instead of leaf springs at the front.

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This 500 Mondial left the factory as chassis number 0564 MD and took part in the 1955 Liège-Rome-Liège Rally. Today it bears the 0424 MD.

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The Tipo 111 of the second series had coil ignition and wider-spread valves.

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In the interior, the second series can be recognized by the shift gate with five gears.

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On a rainy July 10, 1955, Umberto Maglioli finished sixth in the Coppo d'Oro delle Dolomiti.

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The 500 Mondial of Jean Guichet and Paul Maret at the Supercortemaggiore in Monza on June 24, 1956, followed by the Ferrari 500 TR of Peter Collins and Mike Hawthorn, who won the race.

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - Maglioli in Monza on June 27, 1954

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Ferrari 500 Mondial Spider Series I (1954) - auctioned as lot 232 by RM Auction on August 17, 2013 in Monterey

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Ferrari 500 Mondial Pinin Farina Spyder Series I (1954) by Thomas R. Peck - winner of the M-3 class

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1955) - offered as lot 224 at the RM/Sotheby's auction "Driven by Disruption" in New York on December 10, 2015

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - the body was designed by Pinin Farina

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - the engine at the front, the 150-liter petrol tank at the back

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - The racing driver doesn't need a speedometer

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - two overhead camshafts, two-liter displacement

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Summary

Originally just an emergency solution to dispose of unusable racing engines after a change in the regulations, the Ferrari 500 Mondial developed into a successful racing car in the two-liter class, often even prevailing against larger rivals. This article tells the story of the creation and development of the first four-cylinder engine from Maranello, lists its most important racing successes and shows it in many historical and current photos.

This article contains the following chapters

Engine experiments at Ferrari
A warehouse full of four-cylinder engines
Headless construction
The chassis
Various bodies
The first racing successes
The second series
The second two-liter
The 1955 racing season
The end of success

Estimated reading time: 13min

Preview (beginning of the article)

The years 1952 and 1953 were successful years for Ferrari. They ended with the Italians prevailing against Jaguar, Aston Martin and Cunningham and winning the very first FIA World Championship for sports cars. With the 375 MM with its four-and-a-half-liter V12 and outstanding driver line-up, Ferrari was the king of the big cars. Ferrari also dominated the popular two-liter sports car category: the 166 MM (also with a V12) easily prevailed against all competitors. In these two years, Ferrari also triumphed in Formula Two, in which - following the withdrawal of Alfa Romeo from Formula One and the resulting temporary end of the premier class - the drivers' world championship was also held at the time. Both championship titles were won by Alberto Ascari in a Ferrari 500, which was equipped with a highly complex DOHC four-cylinder engine designed from scratch by Aurelio Lampredi. According to the designation system used by Ferrari at the time, its type designation corresponded to the rounded volume of a cylinder.

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