1951 Ferrari 212 Export Fontana Spyder - Images, Specifications and Information

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Ferrari's first production racing car, the 166 MM, was introduced late in 1948. In the following years the model evolved into the 195 Sport, 212 Export, 225 Sport and finally the 250 MM. For anyone familiar with Ferrari nomenclature, it will not come as a surprise that each of these cars had a slightly larger version of the Colombo V12 engine. Starting in the 166 MM at a discplament of 2 litre (a unitary displacement of 166 cc), the engine grew in size to 3 litre (250 cc) within five years. The chassis remained virtually unchanged, while the various coachbuilders added plenty of variety.

The origins of the single overhead camshaft engine lay with designs penned by Gioacchino Colombo way back in 1946. With Grand Prix racing in mind the initial displacement was just 1500 cc. In naturally aspirated form the big successes came once the V12 was enlarged to two litres with victories at Le Mans and in the Mille Miglia. This gain in cylinder size was achieved by increasing both the bore and the stroke to 60 mm and 58.8 mm respectively. The bore would grow further, but the stroke remained the same in all future applications of the Colombo engine.

The first evolution came in 1950 with the displacement lifted to 2.3 litre on four existing 166 MMs to create the 195 S. The following year the bore was raised to 68 mm for a swept volume of just under 2.6 litre. Fitted to the 212 Export chassis, it was good for a healthy 150 bhp. A total of 27 examples were constructed and during the year a shift in favoured coachbuilder became apparent. All but five of the 166 MMs were bodied by Touring, yet less the Milanese worked on less than half of the 212s. Vignale of Turin handled as many cars as Touring and that trend would continue with the next customer racing Ferrari.

In 1951 there also was a slight evolution in the chassis design. The original elliptical-section tubular frame was, for a select few models, replaced by a smaller diameter tubular frame with additional cross braces. Known as the 'Tuboscocca', the new chassis was slightly lighter and more rigid. What remained the same was the very short wheelbase, the double wishbone front suspension with a transverse leaf spring and the live rear axle. Stopping power was provided by drum brakes all around and the engine's horses were transferred to the rear wheels by a five-speed gearbox.

Competition from other manufacturers as well as the larger engined Ferrari Works cars had really picked up in the early 1950s. The smaller customer cars were now rarely in contention for overall victories in major events, but still remained highly competitive in local races, particularly in Italy. In 1952 the cylinders were bored out a further 2 mm, raising the displacement to 2.7 litre. Compression was also increased, which helped bump the power to a very impressive 210 bhp figure for the 225 S. All but one of the twenty-one examples built received a Vignale coachwork, fittingly the one exception was a Touring Barchetta.

Ferrari's annual increase in engine size ended that year. The company's engineer settled on a bore and stroke of 73 mm and 58.8 mm respectively, which yielded a displacement of 2953 cc. This engine was first fitted to the 1952 Mille Miglia winning 250 S, which would form the basis for a whole range of Ferrari road and racing cars that would win every major race. So the 166 MM, 195 S, 212 Export and 225 S were not only a commercial and competition success for the fledgling company, they also laid the foundation for a very bright future for Ferrari.

Few Ferraris have gone through so many appearance changes in such a short time as the featured 212 Export. Within a year, chassis '0086 E' sported four distinctively different bodies. The car was ordered by Scuderia Marzotto, who had it bodied by Carrozzeria Fontana. There the rolling chassis was fitted with rather ugly coachwork, which earned it the nickname 'Carretto Sicialano' or 'Sicilian Cart.' Despite its controversial appearance, it was driven to victory in the Giro di Sicilia by Vittorio Marzotto.

Shortly after the success on Sicily, the car was delivered to Vignale. There the Ferrari was rebodied with the familiar and much better looking Spyder design. Still not satisfied the Marzottos brought the car back to Paolo Fontana, who modified Vignale's work with a Station Wagon rear end. They intended to use the car as a spare parts transporter during the Carrera Panamericana. This unusual body was again quickly abandoned and replaced by Fontana with a Spyder design with inswept flanks.

In its fourth guise the 212 Export was raced by a variety of Italian drivers, but with limited success. A fire ended the car's racing career and what remained eventually ended up in the United States. Since then '0086 E' was not seen, although Marcel Massini reports in his book 'Ferraris by Vignale' that the car was reportedly undergoing a restoration. There was some evidence of that when the Fontana bodied 212 Export finally resurfaced in 2005. It was subsequently shown at the 2006 Cavallino Classic. The car's mechanicals looked original, while the body showed signs of a restoration.