6.4.11

On 25th April 1961 one of the most iconic racing cars of all time made its competition debut in the non-championship Syracuse GP in Sicily. It won and 50 years on we thought we should commemorate half-a-century since the 156 Ferrari "Sharknose".

1961 was the first year of the 1500cc Formula 1, which had had been faced with strenuous opposition from the British constructors who had dominated the last two years of the previous 2½ litre formula with their lightweight and (mostly) rear (actually mid) engined cars. Whereas the Brits ignored the new formula in the hope that it would go away, Ferrari got on with it.

Despite insisting he would never produce a rear-engined car, Enzo the arch pragmatist was eventually forced to. The Dino 246/60 MP appearing in the 1960 Monaco GP driven by Ritchie Ginther, he finished sixth. The car was converted to 1500cc F2 specification for which Ferrari had a well developed 1500cc V6 engine raced in the 156 Dino F2. The rear-engined car was raced in the Solitude GP by Wolfgang von Trips and it won. From this car Ing. Carlo Chiti developed the legendary "Sharknose".

By Lotus and BRM standards this tipo's largely unbraced "twin ladder" chassis was a crude affair when compared with the scientific spaceframe chassis' of their cars, but then there was the engine.... The original Ferrari 1500cc V6 had a 65° configuration to make it narrow for front-engined installation, but width was less significant in a mid-engined car so Chiti developed a new 120° version with a lower centre of gravity. Official power figures must always be taken with a pinch of salt, but the first 65° V6 was said to have 180 bhp. The 120° V6 is given at 190 bhp. The Coventry Climax 4 cylinder FPF Mk. II used by the British teams is credited with 151 bhp. This difference in horsepower meant that Ferrari blew everyone into the weeds, with one notable exception....

The new tipo made its race debut in the hands of Giancarlo Baghetti in the 1961 non-championship Syracuse GP. He won, beating the Porsche of Dan Gurney. The World Championship season then consisted of just eight races, starting with Monaco in May where Ferrari lost! Stirling Moss's drive to victory in his Rob Walker Lotus 18 is legendary, as is his win at the Nürburgring later that year, but these were the only two GPs the 1961 Sharknose started that they did not win.

The next GP after Monaco was in Holland, which Wolfgang von Trips won, Phil Hill was second. Hill won in Belgium where Ferraris were 1-2-3-4 and Giancarlo Baghetti won the ACF GP at Reims. This is not only the only race that a driver has won on his F1 championship debut, it is the only GP ever won by a Ferrari entered by someone other than Scuderia Ferrari, in this case FISA / Scuderia Sant'Ambroeus. Ferrari slaughtered the Brits at their home GP at Aintree finishing 1-2-3. Moss won in Germany, then we come to the Italian GP at Monza.

The Drivers' world championship lay between Ferrari's von Trips and Phil Hill. Von Trips qualified on pole, but on the second lap collided with the Lotus of Jim Clark. The Ferrari flew into a spectator area and von Trips and 14 spectators were killed. Phil Hill won the race and with it the world championship. Enzo decided not to send his team to the final GP of the year in the USA, Phil Hill's homeland.

No-one would probably have believed it possible that the Sharknose would never win another GP, yet this was to be the case. At Monza reigning world champion Jack Brabham debuted the new Coventry Climax FWMV V8 in the back of a Cooper T58. The car qualified an unpromising tenth and retired on lap 8 with overheating, yet it set fourth fastest race lap just 0.7% behind the fastest, the Sharknose of Giancarlo Baghetti. The Climax V8 would power Jim Clark to two 1½ litre world championships. Graham Hill and BRM would win one with their V8 leaving one more for Ferrari, John Surtees in 1964. The simple truth is that with its power superiority overcome, the Sharknose chassis was no match for the more sophisticated Brits'.

Following Ferrari's dominant 1961 season a group of his top executives, including Ing. Chiti, walked out. History states that they were fed up with being hectored by Ferrari's wife and said it's her or us. It was them. They went off to set up the ATS team. Their car is a leading contender for the title "Worst F1 Car of All Time". At one point chassis stiffening included welding in tubes that had to be cut out to remove the engine! Despite having 1961 World Champion Phil Hill and GP winner Giancarlo Baghetti at the wheel, their best result was just one finish in the five GPs they started - 11th in the 1963 Italian GP.

In 1962 Ferrari were sixth out of eight in the Constructors' championship, although judging by the record of ATS, the defectors were no loss! At the end of the season all of the Sharknoses were cut up, but that isn't quite the end of the story. Enzo recognised that Stirling Moss was the greatest driver of the era, but he would never drive for Ferrari. In 1951, early in his career he had been invited to race for Ferrari at Bari. He duly turned up jumped into a '500' to try it for size and was told to clear off by a mechanic! He never forgave Ferrari and his opinion was further reinforced by Fangio who told him to race a Ferrari, but never for Ferrari. Yet Ferrari wanted Moss and offered to supply a car for the 1962 season to be run by Moss's entrant Rob Walker.

The car was late coming and when it did Moss's professional racing career was over following his dreadful accident at Goodwood. The car was raced at the 1962 International Trophy, driven by Innes Ireland and entered by the UDT team. They finished fourth. Intriguing though the prospect of Moss in a Ferrari might have been, given the poor performance of the Sharknose in 1962 it would have not have been competitive even in Moss's hands.

The key to the enduring appeal of the Sharknose lies not only in its success but its looks. Bodied by Fantuzzi, the flat Kamm tail and the twin nostril nose captured the popular imagination and the latter was paid homage to in the F430 some 43 years later. Whilst the original cars all fell victim to the gas axe, musician Chris Rea had a replica made for his film "La Passione", but this had a Dino 206 powertrain.

Belgian Jan Biekens commissioned a recreation from Jim Stokes Workshops based around an original powertrain. The official start date for the project was 2004 and five years later the car raced at the Goodwood Revival. In Belgian racing yellow the car was inspired by chassis #0002 which was raced at Spa in 1961 by Olivier Gendebien and destroyed in the same race a year later when Willy Mairesse crashed it. For the full story full story of this car and its recreation click here.

It may have only had a brief career, but with its combination of stunning looks and a powerful engine the 156 Sharknose appeals to many; if you want confirmation of this Google it. Just think of the reaction of the historic racing scene if Sir Stirling could have rolled out in a blue Rob Walker Sharknose at Goodwood!