Friday's Ferrari

This was one of the competitors in the Shell Ferrari Historical Challenge race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1998.

It's the 1956 Ferrari 500TR of Giancarlo Galeazzi, seen here leaving the pit lane during a qualifying session. The 500TR was introduced in 1956 to replace the Ferrari Mondial and was the first Ferrari to be known as the 'Testa Rossa' because the twin camshaft covers were painted red. Sixteen of the cars were produced, all with a 4-cylinder inline 1,985cc engine designed by Aurelio Lampredi and bodywork by Carrozzeria Scaglietti. The programme of the event gives the engine capacity of this car as 2500cc, but I can see nothing in the barchetta.cc history of #0610MDTR that says that it has ever been the subject of an engine change.

Friday's Ferrari

There are actually four Ferraris seen in this photograph taken at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in August 2001. The nearest car is a 1954 Ferrari 750 Monza (0568M) and next to that is a yellow 250 Testa Rossa of 1957 (0738TR). Car number 37 is a 1955 Maserati 300S, beyond that is a red Ferrari 166MM Barchetta (0040M) from 1950 and then a yellow 1956 Ferrari 500TR (0682MDTR). The red coupe beyond that is, I think, an AC Cobra.

The 750 Monza, which was introduced in 1954, was a 3 litre version of the 2 litre Mondial and was named 'Monza' after winning its first race at that circuit in the hands of Mike Hawthorn and Umberto Maglioli. The bodywork for cars was originally designed by Pinin Farina, but it is the later cars with Scaglietti designed bodies which are perhaps better known. This particular car spent most of its life in Finland, hence the Finnish flag on the headrest.