- 1,115
- Rivera
- Tsukishima-TDUDT
Originally developed for the all-conquering Ferrari 500 F2 single seater, the Aurelio Lampredi designed straight four was briefly among Ferrari's most widely used sports car engines during the early 1950s. Following several prototypes raced by the works team in 1953, two production racers were launched in 1954; the 500 Mondial and 750 Monza, equipped with respectively a two- and three-litre version of the 'four'.
In a quest for even more power and torque, Ferrari's engineers continued the development of the four-cylinder engine. By 1955 its maximum displacement of just over 3.4 litre was achieved by boring and stroking the light alloy block to 102 mm and 105 mm respectively. That was almost twice the size of the two-litre original, which featured a more modest bore and stroke of 90 mm and 78 mm. The big 'four' a unitary displacement of 857.98 cc.
Known as the 'Tipo 129', the 1955 specification engine did follow the design of Lampredi's original, first raced back in 1952. Both the block and head were constructed from light alloy. The beautifully sculpted head featured twin overhead camshafts and could accommodate for two plugs per cylinder. The engine was fed by two massive twin-choke Weber carburettors. All this helped the Tipo 129 produce around 280 hp and close to 400 Nm of torque.
In good Ferrari tradition, the new four cylinder racer was named after its unitary displacement, so the car was known as the 857 S or Sport. One of the main reasons the 857 Sport was only briefly used by the Scuderia was that it was quickly followed by the 860 Monza. This used the same Tipo 129 engine but now in combination with the Tipo 520 chassis also used by the V12-engined 290 MM. Compared to the earlier design, the new chassis featured tubular reinforcements bringing it closer to a 'spaceframe' design. Another change was the adoption of a sturdier four-speed gearbox. Only three 860 Monzas were built, one of which was later converted to 290 MM specification.
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