Auto Avio Costruzioni

IT MAY NOT CARRY THE FAMOUS NAME, BUT THE AUTO AVIO 815 WAS THE VERY FIRST FERRARI

the very first Ferrari – yes, even though the Auto Avio 815 wears a different name, a different logo, and was built well before the founding of the Ferrari company. When Enzo Ferrari left Alfa Romeo he collected a lot of money – but, in exchange, he had to close down Scuderia Ferrari and sign an agreement not to manufacture a car (for road or track) bearing his name for four years.

In the spring of 1940, Enzo Ferrari was ready with a racing car. To get around that agreement, he named the company Auto Avio Costruzioni, based in the ex-Scuderia address of Viale Trento e Trieste in Modena. To play safe, the prancing horse logo it wore was slightly different, with a racing car in front of the horse. The model name? 815, because it had an eight-cylinder 1.5-litre engine.

The car was a perfect mix of futuristic ideas, cost-effectiveness – and readiness for that year’s Mille Miglia. It was based on a modified Fiat 508 C chassis, while the engine was the union of two Fiat 1100 fours, with a reduced capacity. Interestingly, not a single screw came from an Alfa Romeo. The block, the sump and the valve covers were all-new, cast in alloy, while the specially manufactured crankshaft ran in five bearings and the camshaft wore 16 lobes. The father of the project was Alberto Massimino (who had worked with Ferrari since 1938), partnered by Vittorio Bellentani.

The body, which looked as though shaped by the wind, was designed and created by Carrozzeria Touring Milano, and crafted in ‘Itallumag 35’, an extremely light yet costly mix of aluminium and magnesium. Two cars were built: chassis 815/020 for Lotario Rangoni Machiavelli, and a more basic one, chassis 815/021, for Alberto Ascari. They both competed on the 1940 MM and, although neither finished, the cars showed huge potential.

Within a few months, Italy entered the Second World War and for six years racing cars were just a dream for peacetime. Then, on 11 August 1947 at the Circuito di Pescara, 815/021 was driven by Enrico Beltrachini and started the race behind a Ferrari 125 S, the first car Ferrari built under his own name, driven by Franco Cortese.

Chassis 815/020 is listed as crushed, having disappeared in the early 1950s, while Ascari’s 815/021 (pictured right) survived an intense life and is today in a private collection near Modena.