(02) 1947: Ferrari 125S — Motorsport Lab

In 1945, after being freed from Alfa Romeo, Enzo Ferrari began to contemplate building a car that would carry his own name. Ferrari reconnected with some Alfa colleagues, like technician Giuseppe Busso, test driver Luigi Bazzi and designer Gioachino Colombo. Colombo laid out the first "real" Ferrari, which made its debut in the spring of 1947. After putting the eight-cylinder on hold, Ferrari and his designer took the ambitious and difficult road to the 12-cylinder. A power unit had always intrigued the Modena builder: he was fascinated by American V12s made by Packard, then by the glorious Thirties engines made by Auto Union, and by his own experience at Alfa Romeo, where he worked on projects like the 1936 12 C single-seater's engine. Additionally, that format seemed like a good idea for Grand Prix cars, since it just needed a supercharger. On that basis, the Ferrari 125 S began to take shape. With its wraparound wings integrated into the bodywork, the two-seater roadster made its debut on 11 May 1947 at the Circuito di Piacenza. After a long tussle with the Maserati 6CS 1500, the car's race ended three laps from the finish. Cortese won the Grand Prix of Rome a fortnight later on the Caracalla circuit, so victory had only been delayed for 14 days. In just five months, Ferrari had won six races, five with the 125 S and one with the 125 S Corsa.