1951 Ferrari 166/212 Uovo MM “Sprinkled amongst the professional drivers were well-heeled amateurs none more prominent than the Marzotto brothers. Heirs to a large textile factory these brothers had the funds to acquire the best cars and at that time this meant Ferrari. In 1950 one of the brothers, Giannino won the event (Mille Miglia) while wearing a double-breasted suit of the finest material, befitting his family’s wealth, becoming its youngest winner. Giannino Marzotto, all of 22 was not shy about complaining to Ferrari about the heaviness and poor aerodynamics of the available cars. Ferrari responded somewhat imperiously that his cars were the most efficient in the world. The young Marzotto decided that for 1951 he would improve upon last year’s Ferrari with an all-new design of his own based on the Ferrari 166 with a 212 engine. In those days before the widespread use of wind tunnels in auto racing builders based their designs on what Marzotto called “optical intuition”. Italy of course is renowned for it’s coachbuilders and for his new car he turned to Sergio Reggiani & Paolo Fontana of Padua. A low slung body with a rounded shape similar to that of an egg or Uovo in Italian was decided upon. The plan call for two cars, a coupe and a spider. The coupe’s body was constructed using braced box tubes and covered with Puraluman a. type of Duralumin which contributed to weight savings of around 200 pounds. A steeply raked front windshield was designed that surprisingly offered freedom from irritating reflections. In the rain it was a different sort of animal. At speed in heavy rain the wipers lost contact with the windscreen making them useless. Adding to the driver’s excitement visibility returned when exceeding 100 mph due to the resultant air pressure clearing the glass. The Uovo’s tall radiator was actually the result of the desired radiator not being delivered by Ferrari in time. This caused the bonnet to be 15 cm higher than originally envisioned. With the driver sitting further back than usual the car exhibited a pronounced oversteer under throttle. Marzotto with typical understatement described its handling as “frisky”.” via

1951 Ferrari 166/212 Uovo MM

“Sprinkled amongst the professional drivers were well-heeled amateurs none more prominent than the Marzotto brothers. Heirs to a large textile factory these brothers had the funds to acquire the best cars and at that time this meant Ferrari. In 1950 one of the brothers, Giannino won the event (Mille Miglia) while wearing a double-breasted suit of the finest material, befitting his family’s wealth, becoming its youngest winner. Giannino Marzotto, all of 22 was not shy about complaining to Ferrari about the heaviness and poor aerodynamics of the available cars. Ferrari responded somewhat imperiously that his cars were the most efficient in the world. The young Marzotto decided that for 1951 he would improve upon last year’s Ferrari with an all-new design of his own based on the Ferrari 166 with a 212 engine. In those days before the widespread use of wind tunnels in auto racing builders based their designs on what Marzotto called “optical intuition”. Italy of course is renowned for it’s coachbuilders and for his new car he turned to Sergio Reggiani & Paolo Fontana of Padua. A low slung body with a rounded shape similar to that of an egg or Uovo in Italian was decided upon.

The plan call for two cars, a coupe and a spider. The coupe’s body was constructed using braced box tubes and covered with Puraluman a. type of Duralumin which contributed to weight savings of around 200 pounds. A steeply raked front windshield was designed that surprisingly offered freedom from irritating reflections. In the rain it was a different sort of animal. At speed in heavy rain the wipers lost contact with the windscreen making them useless. Adding to the driver’s excitement visibility returned when exceeding 100 mph due to the resultant air pressure clearing the glass. The Uovo’s tall radiator was actually the result of the desired radiator not being delivered by Ferrari in time. This caused the bonnet to be 15 cm higher than originally envisioned. With the driver sitting further back than usual the car exhibited a pronounced oversteer under throttle. Marzotto with typical understatement described its handling as “frisky”.” via

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