The Ferrari 166 Inter was Ferrari’s first GT car. It was manufactured between 1948 and 1950, with 37 units being produced.
The 166 Inter was a road version of the 166 sports racing models like the 166 MM Barchettas. The 166 Inter was built on a 2420 mm wheelbase tubular steel chassis and was powered by a 2-liter V12 aluminum engine coupled with a 5-speed gearbox driving through a rigid rear axle. The engine delivered 115bhp having been available at 6000rpm when compression was set at 7.5:1. With this amount of power the 166 Inter was able to hit a top speed of 185 km/h.
The engine on this model had a twin distributor and coil ignition system, and was fitted with a single twin choke carburetor as standard although a triple twin choke carburetor set-up could be specified as an option to obtain extra performance.
The 166 Inter was the only road production Ferrari models of the period available with disc type road wheels, as an alternative to the more popular and sporting wire wheels. Although the Inter series were built as road cars, many owners used them frequently in competition.
Normally, the Ferrari 166 Inter had coupe bodywork, although Stabilimenti Farina produced three examples in cabriolet form and Bertone also produced a single cabriolet body for the model. Various coachbuilders’ bodywork was fitted to the series, all with their own interpretation of how they felt a Ferrari should be. Apart from Stabilimenti Farina, Bertone, and Carrozzeria Touring, the latter having bodied the first 166 Sport coupe for the 1948 Turin Salon, there were also examples of coachwork from the design houses of Ghia and Finale.
The Carrozzeria Touring examples were the most numerous and bore a strong family resemblance to the style of their 166 MM Barchettas, although on a longer wheelbase chassis and with a smoothly curved three box coupe body. The examples from Stabilimenti Farina and Ghia were very similar in overall shape, featuring fastback coupe bodies that appear slightly heavier in comparison to the Touring interpretation, whilst the Stabilimenti Farina cabriolets were virtually identical to the coupes from the waist down, and featured a folding canvas soft top, as did the Bertone bodied car. The Finale styling offering was also a fastback coupe, but of a much lighter design than those from Farina and Ghia, providing a stronger sporting image, which made them second in popularity, in terms of numbers produced, to the Touring version.
Although any two models from one coachbuilder might appear identical, each body was hand-built and the client had the opportunity to personalise the car, so that virtually every car came with an individualistic car design.
The 166 Inter was a road version of the 166 sports racing models like the 166 MM Barchettas. The 166 Inter was built on a 2420 mm wheelbase tubular steel chassis and was powered by a 2-liter V12 aluminum engine coupled with a 5-speed gearbox driving through a rigid rear axle. The engine delivered 115bhp having been available at 6000rpm when compression was set at 7.5:1. With this amount of power the 166 Inter was able to hit a top speed of 185 km/h.
The engine on this model had a twin distributor and coil ignition system, and was fitted with a single twin choke carburetor as standard although a triple twin choke carburetor set-up could be specified as an option to obtain extra performance.
The 166 Inter was the only road production Ferrari models of the period available with disc type road wheels, as an alternative to the more popular and sporting wire wheels. Although the Inter series were built as road cars, many owners used them frequently in competition.
Normally, the Ferrari 166 Inter had coupe bodywork, although Stabilimenti Farina produced three examples in cabriolet form and Bertone also produced a single cabriolet body for the model. Various coachbuilders’ bodywork was fitted to the series, all with their own interpretation of how they felt a Ferrari should be. Apart from Stabilimenti Farina, Bertone, and Carrozzeria Touring, the latter having bodied the first 166 Sport coupe for the 1948 Turin Salon, there were also examples of coachwork from the design houses of Ghia and Finale.
The Carrozzeria Touring examples were the most numerous and bore a strong family resemblance to the style of their 166 MM Barchettas, although on a longer wheelbase chassis and with a smoothly curved three box coupe body. The examples from Stabilimenti Farina and Ghia were very similar in overall shape, featuring fastback coupe bodies that appear slightly heavier in comparison to the Touring interpretation, whilst the Stabilimenti Farina cabriolets were virtually identical to the coupes from the waist down, and featured a folding canvas soft top, as did the Bertone bodied car. The Finale styling offering was also a fastback coupe, but of a much lighter design than those from Farina and Ghia, providing a stronger sporting image, which made them second in popularity, in terms of numbers produced, to the Touring version.
Although any two models from one coachbuilder might appear identical, each body was hand-built and the client had the opportunity to personalise the car, so that virtually every car came with an individualistic car design.
Labels: Ferrari, Ferrari-166-Inter, Inter-Series, Road-Cars
