[superhornets]

Hi guys
here is something a little unusual, the 1955 ferrari 625 ,a car that seems to me to have been a little forgotten by historians
In 1954 ferrari were in a bit of a state ,they had come of the back of 2 world championships with the virtually unbeatable ferrari 500 driven by alberto ascari
ascari left ferrari for lancia and the new design for the new 2.1/2 litre formula ,the squalo didn,t seem to handle so in desperation a 2.5 litre version of the 500 engine was dropped in the chassis and promptly won the british gp in 1954 driven by gonzales .
The situation had still not resolved itself by 1955 so maranello soldiered on with the 625 gradually modifying them such that by mid 1955 they were considerably different from the 500 donor car
another gp victory came courtesy of the maurice trintignant at monaco after both mercedes had rare retirements and ascari parked the lancia in the horbour
its last appearance was in the british gp 1955
sort of forgotten but nevertheless a handsome car

hope you like it ,and if anyone wants a shell then PM me

Cheers tony

 

[circuittaps]

Tony - now I know how my F625 ACME shells should turn out.

Great model and very well build.

/Holger

 

[superhornets]

Hi Holger
Its a pretty easy paint scheme that wont tax you too much,but I think i should have fitted it with a curved slightly wrap around windscreen which would be more suitable for the late 1955 model

Cheers tony

 

[CJA]

Nice one Tony, I like it !!.

vbr Chris A.

 

[borrani]

Hi Tony, I'm new to the forum. Forgive me for starting with a pick but the model shown looks like the first 625 which had the same body as the 500. The 625 a la Trintignant at Monaco 1955, had a very different body shape, especially around the cockpit with curved screen and higher sides but also a bulbous tail which was higher and shorter than the long pointy 500 one. Nice model though!

 

[superhornets]

hi borrani
making a shell of this car was a bit like trying to hit a moving target as it seemed to change in every race
as I said to holger should have fitted it with a semi wrapround screen.
however the shell was modified from an earlier ferrari 500
the differences were that the nose was wider and flatter ,the louvres have all gone to be replaced with two side vents ,the exhaust comes out lower and doesn,t run backwards high up on the body ,there are fairings over the front suspension,and covers over the rear suspension radius rods
so it isn,t really like a 500 at all

cheers tony

 

[borrani]

Tony, I did notice the low exhaust, radius rod covers, lack of louvres etc, but to my knowledge there was no transitional model between the 500/625 and the 1955 625 that had these superficial changes. I was referring to the body shape and as I said, the '55 car had a very different body from the earlier 625. In my humble opinion and with respect, your model's profile looks like the earlier car. The '55 model was not modified but rebodied with a quite different profile. The bonnet line rose more steeply to a more faired in cockpit [not just a wrap-around screen] and as mentioned, the tail was completely different.

 

[alfetta]

I can see from these pictures just what Borani is saying.

 

[superhornets]

hi
so it sounds like i wont be getting orders from you guys then!

Cheers tony

 

[borrani]

Hi Alfetta. Thanks for those drawings. The second one [#12] is not quite right either! It seems to show a moulded head fairing in the tail which should not be there and the tail is still too pointed. The cross-section--say through the fuel-filler cap--was a continuous arc and the tail was quite bulbous. Also, the cockpit sides were slightly higher, almost to the top of the rear wheels.

 

[alfetta]

Yes. I didn't think it was a very accurate drawing either. However as a quick illustration of the differences between the two variants I felt it showed them adequately.

 

[mac p]

Hi Guys, here,s a drawing that will make the changes a little more clear.
The body is quite differant to the car that started the 1954 season.

Cheers
Mac P

 

[borrani]

Greetings Mac, from an old customer! That's a useful Profile booklet, isn't it. The drawings are pretty accurate. There was actually one variant something like 'Alfetta's' higher and pointier tailed pic, #12, but apparently it only ran once--- Maglioli at Buenos Aires.

 

[300SLR]

QUOTE (borrani @ 15 Jun 2012, 02:32) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Hi Alfetta. Thanks for those drawings. The second one [#12] is not quite right either! It seems to show a moulded head fairing in the tail which should not be there
According to Doug Nye's History of the GP Car, one of the works cars built at the start of 55 had a head fairing, the others didn't.

 

[borrani]

300SLR, probably the Maglioli car mentioned above, but the 'head fairing' wasn't moulded like the drawing 'Alfetta' posted. It was just a tall tail.

 

[circuittaps]

Tony - when I run into some troubles with my David Sykes shells I started on a new project instead.

This is going to be the second car of the Equipe Rosier during the French GP at Reims, July 4th, 1954, namely Ferrari 625 #34 driven by Robert Manzon. The sister car was Ferrari 500 #36 driven by the boss himself, Louis Rosier (Penelope Pitlane RB31).

/Holger

 

[circuittaps]

Tony - Equipe Rosier ready to have a go at Reims, July 4th, 1954:

Salextric motor, Penelope Pitlane chassis, Cartrix wheels, and Pattos decals.

Maybe the first blue ACME Ferrari?

Cheers, Holger

 

[superhornets]

Hi holger
Yes thats turned out decently, well done
Nice to see ferraris in colours other than red
Presumably the other ferrari is a 500

Cheers tony

 

[circuittaps]

Yes Tony - this was the team that day on Reims:

Equipe Rosier
#34 Ferrari 625 - Robert Manzon (ACME)
#36 Ferrari 500 - Louis Rosier (Penelope Pitlane RB31)

Holger

 

[Rob J]

An interesting pair, Holger. Well done.
Rosier's 500 had a 625 engine that year, for the new 2.5-litre F1, so it was often described as a 500/625.
I'm not sure if you've mentioned it already, but Manzon took third place that day at Rheims, some consolation for the French when the Mercs made their stunning debut.
Rob J