Before specializing in the engine, it is value understanding the person behind the machine. Born in Milan in 1903, Gioacchino Colombo (above, proper) was an Italian engine designer whose resume boasted work at Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Bugatti, MV Agusta, and Ferrari.

Colombo joined Alfa Romeo at age 21 and labored on the P2 Grand Prix race automotive. By 1928 (aged simply 25), he was promoted to go of the technical division, overseeing each Alfa Romeo’s highway and race automobiles. In 1937, he left Alfa to affix Ferrari, the place he started work on the corporate’s early V12 engines, however returned to Alfa only a yr later as head of the race staff’s design division. In that position, Colombo noticed his 1.5-liter, supercharged V12 engines win their first races and luxuriate in a profitable few years earlier than the competitors was suspended throughout World War II.

As effectively as a small capability and 12 cylinders, these early Colombo engines had been recognized for his or her gentle weight. They featured a block forged from a kind of magnesium known as Elektron as an alternative of the iron utilized by different producers, and the case was made out of two separate castings built-in with a shared head with twin overhead camshafts and a chrome nickel-plated crankshaft.

Colombo rejoined Ferrari in 1945 and was tasked with designing a 1.5-liter V12 engine to be used in highway automobiles in addition to Enzo’s beloved racers. Colombo agreed with Mr. Ferrari that the small-capacity V12 ought to have a single camshaft for every financial institution of six cylinders.