0776S History >>>
Despite his constantly deteriorating health he worked at the Ferrari factory
on various projects, one of the last of which is reputed to have been on a V6
engine design with the talented engineer Vittorio Jano. Thus when the engine
was eventually built in 1957, Enzo Ferrari dedicated the type and its V8
derivatives to the memory of his son, and they became known as Dino
engines, with Dino script on the cam covers in the style of his son’s
signature, although the cars that they were installed in wore Ferrari badges.
In 1958 the V6 Dino engine powered the Ferrari F1 cars to the first
Manufacturers’ Championship, with team driver Mike Hawthorn taking the
drivers’ title, the first British driver to achieve this feat, although unfortunately
he lost his life in a road accident a little over three months later.
The First Dino Engined Sports Cars
The first Ferrari sports racing car to be fitted with a V6 Dino engine was a 2.0
litre quad cam model built on chassis # 0740 in 1958, followed by a 2.9 litre
variant on chassis # 0746, a month later. Both these cars were left hand
drive and had 65 degree V6 engines, similar in overall layout to the first 1.5
litre F2 Dino engine that had made its race debut in early 1957. The 2.0 litre
car made its race debut at Goodwood, England, in April 1958, where Peter
Collins finished 2nd in the Sussex Trophy race. The second example, with
the 3.0 litre engine, also made its race debut in England, this time at
Silverstone in May 1958, where Mike Hawthorn finished 3rd in the sports car
support race to the F1 Daily Express Trophy, which was won by Peter
Collins in a Dino 246 F1 model. The latter car was later fitted with a V12 250
Test Rossa engine, and enjoyed success in the Bahamas and USA in the
hands of the Rodriguez brothers, and later in the hands of George
Constantine.
.
The next phase in the Dino engined sports racing car story was in March
1959, when a single cam per bank 2.0 litre, 60 degree version of the V6
engine was fitted into what is believed was the original chassis # 0740. In its
new form the car featured some revisions to the Scaglietti bodywork and disc
brakes, but by the time it made its first race appearance the body had been
changed again, as it was now virtually identical to the Pinin Farina design on
the 1959 Testa Rossa.
It won its first race, the Coppa Sant’Ambroeus, at Monza on 03 May 1959,
driven by Giulio Cabianca, but thereafter its racing glory disappeared, with
retirements for a variety of reasons. The only redemption came in its final
known competition appearance, at the Auto Club Genova organised,
Pontedecimo – Giovi hillclimb on 20 September 1959, where Giorgio Scarlatti
finished 2nd overall. At the end of 1959 #0740 disappeared being most
probably being returned to the factory and “parted out”. #0746 became a 250
TR.
The Production Cars
Three Sister Cars.
Late in 1959 the 1960 versions of the Dino sports racing model went into
production. They were virtually identical to the final version of the earlier car,
but now featured right hand drive making their visual similarity to the
concurrent 250 Testa Rossa even greater.
The similarity was so great, that the only easy way to tell the difference was
to count the number of intake trumpets under the Plexiglass intake on the
hood. Three examples were constructed, all featuring Fantuzzi built bodies,
chassis numbers, 0776, 0778 and 0784.
The last of these, # 0784, was subsequently re-bodied in the early sixties, in
a style similar to that then being employed on the last of the front engine
Testa Rossa models, albeit without the nostril nose configuration.
Right from the first appearance of this series of Dinos there has been
confusion and controversy as to what was the real size of engine that they
were running in any particular race, with even talk of the old 4 cam unit being
run on occasion. This is likely to be an enduring mystery and open to
conjecture for many years to come, but according to factory build sheets,
chassis # 0776 was constructed as a 196 S (2 litre) model
#0776 – The Rodriguez Car - Nassau December 1959
Chassis # 0776 was the first of the series to appear in competition, when it
was entered by NART and driven by Ricardo Rodriguez in the Bahamas in
December 1959, recording a 2nd, 4th and a DNS in the three races entered.
Chassis # 0778 made its debut as a Ferrari works entry just over a month
later in Buenos Aires, where it was driven by Froilan Gonzales and Ludovico
Scarfiotti, but it retired with reported ignition problems.
As a result of rule changes for 1960 the screen height was raised on the car.
For the Sebring 12 hours in March 1960 Pedro and Ricardo shared the car
but unfortunately retired from the race due to mechanical failure.
#0776 – Sebring 12 Hours March 1960
Next the car appeared at the Targa Florio in May 1960 alongside both its
sister cars. This race was to provide these Dino sports racing models with
their greatest success in a major international event, where despite some
contact with the scenery, Phil Hill/ Wolfgang von Trips finished 2nd overall in
chassis # 0784, with Scarfiotti/Mairesse/Cabianca bringing chassis # 0778
home 4th, and the NART entered chassis # 0776, driven by Pedro and
Ricardo Rodriguez finished 7th, despite having had frequent contact with
immovable objects and being rolled!
#0776 – Nurburgring 1000 kms May 1960
Just 2 weeks after the Targa Florio #0776 was already repaired and back on
track, again being piloted by the Rodriguez brothers at the Nurburgring 1000
kms.
#0776 – 1961/62 Race Seasons
For the 1961 Season NART retained the car and it was driven in two events
by Helborn, Fulp and Hudson. The car won its class at the Sebring 12 hours.
The car also competed in the Canadian GP at Mosport where it placed
second in class.
In 1962 the car was purchased and campaigned by T. Obrien, a well known
NART privateer.
Known Competition History of 196 S - # 0776
Date Event Driver(s) Race # Result
Governor’s Trophy R. Rodriguez #9 - 4th
04.12.59 Governor’s Trophy R. Rodriguez #9 - 2nd
05.12.59 Nassau Trophy R. Rodriguez #9 - DNS
26.03.60 12 Hours of Sebring R. Rodriguez/ #28 - DNF P. Rodriguez
08.05.60 Targa Florio R. Rodriguez/ #172 - 7th P. Rodriguez
22.05.60 Nurburgring 1000km R. Rodriguez/ # 27 - DNF P. Rodriguez
25.03.61 12 Hours of Sebring W. Helborn/J. Fulp/ # 37 - 1st in Cl. S. Hudson
01.10.61 Canadian G.P. J. “Buck” Fulp # 3 - 6th O/A 2nd Cl. Mosport
03.06.62 Bridgehampton T. O’Brien # 22 - 7th O/A 2nd Cl.
30.06.62 Lime Rock T. O’Brien # 22 - 6th O/A 2nd Cl.
03.11.62 Vineland T. O’Brien 6th O/A 3rd Cl.
#0776 – 1966 to 1978 – The Rob Walker Years
In 1966, #0776 was purchased by Rob Walker. Walker was, and still is, one
of the best known privateer Formula 1 team owners and managers. To this
day he is the last privateer to have one of his cars win a Grand Prix. In 1962
Ricardo Rodriguez had signed to drive Rob Walker's Lotus 24 for the
Mexican Grand Prix, but died tragically during the first day of practice, when
the Lotus' rear right suspension failed at the fearsome Peraltada turn, and it
hit the barriers killing him instantly. He was 20 years old and his death
provoked national mourning in Mexico.
#0776 was restored and fitted with body coloured headlamp covers and was
road registered with Rob Walker's registration, “RRW 1”, which it retains to
this day. He kept the car for 12 years and was well known for using the car
on the road; justifying that this car can be raced, rallied and even used
casually on the road.
#0776 – Contemporary Ownership and Race History
In later years the ownership of this highly important motorcar reads like the
who’s who of the worlds best car collections. Famous names including
Luchini, Manolas, Cowdray and Bamford to name but a few. Previous owners
have enjoyed the car in all sorts of environments including road use, rally use
and endurance race use. The car is highly eligible and in most recent years
has participated regularly at events such as the Le Mans Classic and
Goodwood Revival.
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