Ferrari 335 S

The Ferrari 335 S was a sports racing car produced by Italian manufacturer Ferrari between 1957 and 1958. The car was a direct response to the Maserati 450S which with its 4.5-litre engine was threatening to overpower the 3.8-litre 315 S and 3.5-litre 290 MM. Four cars were produced in total.

Development
An evolution of the 315 S, it had a V12 engine with a greater 4023.32 cc displacement and a maximum power of 390 hp at 7400 rpm; the maximum speed was around 300 km/h. Four cars were produced (chassis numbers 0674, 0676, 0700 and 0764. The first two being 315 S later converted to 335 S spec).

This model was the Ferrari involved in the crash at the 1957 Mille Miglia, which led to the cancellation of the race starting the following year. In its World Championship debut in the third round of the 1957 season, a 335 S (#531)(0676), driven by Spanish driver Alfonso de Portago (who had replaced an ill Luigi Musso) was in third position, running on a long straight road sector between the Lombard hamlets of Cerlongo and Guidizzolo. When one of the tyres exploded, de Portago's car slipped to the right and crashed against a large crowd, killing ten spectators, as well as de Portago himself and American co-driver Edmund Nelson. The car was destroyed in the accident). The other 335 S (0700) in the hands of Peter Collins and Louis Klemantaski had broken down whilst in the lead giving victory to a 315 S (#535)(0684) driven by Piero Taruffi.

Due to the crash only a single 335 S (0700) in the hands of Collins and Olivier Gendebien was entered in the next round at the Nürburgring 1000km and came second behind an Aston Martin DBR1 and although both 335 S models failed at Le Mans allowing the Jaguar D Types a 1-2-3-4 finish, Collins and Phil Hill obtained another second place in 0700 at the Swedish GP behind a Maserati 450S with Mike Hawthorn and Luigi Musso finishing fourth in the sister car (0674). A single 335 S (0700) in the hands of Olivier Gendebien finished third at Spa in the non championship Grand Prix de RACB behind an Aston Martin DBR1 driven by Tony Brooks and a Ferrari 290 MM pilotted by Masten Gregory. In the final round of the World Sports Car Championship at the Venezuelan Grand Prix, a 335 S (0700) raced by Collins and Phil Hill won with Hawthorn and Musso (0674) finishing second. These results added to the earlier Mille Miglia victory by a 315 S and the win in the Buenos Aires 1000 Km by a 290 MM gave the World title to Ferrari. The change in regulations for the World Championship to a 3-litre engine limit which was a reaction to the Mille Miglia crash and earlier tragedies rendered the 335 S ineligible for the 1958 season onwards and Ferrari replaced the model with its 250 TR.

In 2016, a 1957 Ferrari 335 S Spider Scaglietti sold for €32.1 million in an auction in Paris. In 315 S guise the car had finished sixth in the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1957 driven by Peter Collins and Maurice Trintignant and later driven by Wolfgang von Trips to a second place finish at the 1957 Mille Miglia. After having its engine upgraded to a 4.0-litre model, it then set the lap record at Le Mans, finished fourth in the Swedish GP and second in the Venezuelan GP. Finally it won the 1958 Cuban Grand Prix driven by Stirling Moss.