Here are the descriptions of the three different types of 166 Ferraris. Sport Inter Corsa Compression ratios 7.5 10 11.5 Steam horsepower 90 110 130 Maximum RPM 6000 6500 7000 Maximum speed Km/Hr 160 200 225 Weight in Kg 800 630 500 I am tempted to conclude that inter mean half way between a sport car and a race care. Or that it means a car for long distance racing. Is this this correct meaning or "inter"? Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Exactly true for the racing cars, but why did the road cars take over the name? That question has remained unanswered as long as I can remember.
Well, the on line version Aug 2014 FCA bulletin had the Ferrari Brochure number 4. That is where I got the information that I previously posted. On the last page appeared Programma 166 Sport Per il grande turismo veloce 166 inter per la formula internazional Sport 166 Corsa per la formula internazional Corse n. 2 So I suppose one could consider the inter to be a pure race car, but I bet people drove them on the street also. Note that both the inter and the corse descriptions contain the phrase "formula internazionale" so I don't think that indicates that inter came from "internazionale. So, I still would like to know where designation inter came from.
'Inter', also voiced as 'Tra', both Italian, a prefix that indicates an intermediate position between two things. In automobiles, as an 'in-between' in models or versions. As such, the "Inter" name, it was possibly evaluated at the factory in the prefix form as a better sounding version than "Intermodello". I do not think Ferrari was a fan on the 'Inter', a team from Milano, yet anything is possible. As far as Scuderia 'Inter', got me Regards, Alberto
I think he was - didn't Bruno Sterzi say that when Enzo started building cars, he bought them so he could build more? Among other cars he) and his brother?) Antonio bought two first 166 Inter Touring Coupes.
"Tra"in Italian translates into "Between" in English. Like one person stands between two others. "Intermediate" in English refers to a ranking like a $100 shoe in intermediate in quality between a $50 shoe and a $150 shoe. "Intermedio" in Italian translates into "Intermediate" in English. So my guess was that Ferrari used Inter as a shorthand for Intermedio. The first example that I gave for the 166 models showed that sport was a road car, inter was a medium race car, and corsa was an all out race car. This might indicate that Ferrari meant inter to stand for intermedio, but his is certainly not a proof. I just bring it up for discussion.
I have always understood this to refer to the purpose of the chassis, i.e. 'homologated' for the then prevailing race-rules. Internazionale thus meaning 'between Nations', or indeed, international. Best, Jack.
The data sheets in the opening posting are not known to me. I am highly interested in their publishing date....
Sheets of 166 Sport and 166 Corsa are the same as published in a brochure dated December 1947. The third sheet must have been added when 159 Corsa was upgraded/redesignated as 166 Inter, and that likely happened around the same time, December 1947 or very early 1948? Wheelbase of 2,42 sounds very long for a 2-litre competition car so that may be a mistake...(?)
But the data sheet of the 166 Inter of December 1947 Shows 130 hp at a compression of 11:1. Therefore I would like to know whether the 110 hp / 10:1 Version is an older or a newer one. My main confusion is about the 166 Corsa singleseater, which in this constellation (wheelbase 2300 mm) was never realized. And as far I know also never announced in 1947, only a 1.5 litre s/c GP car. As late as in September 1948 they mounted a 166 Inter SC engine into a tipo 125 Monoposto chassis and created the first real F2 Ferrari. What competition car do you mean? The 166 Corsa monoposto is listed with 2300 mm, never realized, the 1948 first Version then had 2160 mm. Too short as experience showed, the successor with 2420 mm was too Long, and the final version (166 F2/49, 340, 375) then had 2320 mm, so very close to the original planning.... The 166 Inter SC had 2420 mm, identical with the first cars 01C/02C, and also 001S/003S. Only the later SWB Version of the Inter SC was shortened to 22000/2250 mm.
Thanks Boudewijn. So the Folders 1, 2 and 3 are all from 1947. No 2 I have in full, and it is from December 1947. No 1 and 2 most probably belong together, but it is rather strange that for the 166 Inter SC a separate one was issued. Possibly solution may be the contradicting data, 130 hp for both the F2 and the Inter SC, whereas the F2 needs more revs and a higher compression to achieve that figure. In fact nonsense, as for the F2 the same engine was scheduled. If No 3 is also from 1947, then it must have been published shortly after No. 2, meaning still in the same month December. It seems that they realized the contradiction and therefore downtuned the 166 Inter SC. On paper only, as the real figure was indeed 130 hp....!
The one reproduced in Merritt's "Brochures and sales lit..." does not show 166 Inter at all. Did such thing exist at that time already?
