Mythbusters: The Ferrari V6

Ask anyone, even people who don’t know much about cars, and they’ll tell you that Ferrari is famous for its V12s. But in truth, the V6 is just as much a Ferrari signature – and has an emotional back story to support it. 

Ferrari’s son Dino was an accomplished engineer and thinker in his own right, but his life was cut tragically short by illness in 1956. It was his idea to develop a new V6 engine, suitable for racing in Formula 2, and he thrashed out the technical details with Enzo Ferrari’s old comrade and now chief engineer, Vittorio Jano, even as he lay in his hospital bed. (It’s a lesser known fact, but Jano, too, lost his son prematurely). 

Click to watch the Ferrari V6 story

The result was the so-called Dino V6, a 1.5-litre enigne which was soon put to work in the elegant Dino 156 F2 car. Luigi Musso scored a third place finish in the 1957 Naples GP in one, with further successes in the Modena GP. A constant evolution saw it grow progressively in capacity, until it reached 2,417cc and was fit for duty in the 1958 Formula One championship. The 246 F1 marked the first use of a V6 engine in Formula One, and also became the first to win a Grand Prix, when Mike Hawthorn triumphed in the ’58 French GP (Fangio’s last, and sadly also the race in which Ferrari driver Luigi Musso was killed.) Hawthorn would go on to win the World Championship that year. 

Although he once famously noted that the “ox pulls the cart, it doesn’t push it”, Enzo Ferrari soon realised that the mid-engined configuration was the way forward in Formula One. A prototype was raced in the 1960 Monaco GP by Wolfgang von Trips, powered by the same 65-degree, 2.5-litre V6 that had powered so many previous Ferraris to victory. A modified version of the same car, powered by a smaller 1.5-litre engine, won the F2 class in a truncated field in the Italian GP later that same year. 

The Dino V6 engine powered both the 156 'Sharknose' and 246 F1 (pictured in studio) to F1 titles 

Things were rather different in 1961. This was the year of the celebrated Ferrari 156 ‘Sharknose’, a car which vaulted Ferrari back to the sharp end as a riposte to the rising tide of British garagistes. It was masterminded by Carlo Chiti, an engineer who was fully conversant with the advantages of a V6. The engine used a 120-degree angle, which meant it could sit lower in the chassis, in turn reducing the centre of gravity. The opposing cylinders in a V6 also share crank pins, which means the engine can be lighter and shorter, but also have improved structural integrity. Phil Hill, a complex and rather cerebral racing driver, drove the 156 to world championship glory in 1961. 

The V6’s reign in Sixties F1 continued through 1963, until the engine was superseded by the V8 that helped propel John Surtees to championship status in 1964. With sports car racing still very much on a par with F1 in this golden era, versions of the V6 also appeared in Ferrari unicorns such as the Dino 196 S in 1958, the 246 S in 1960, and perhaps most memorable of all, 1965’s elfin 206 SP. Compact, light and agile, it performed well in hill climbs and events such as the Targa Florio. Only 18 were made and they’re highly revered today.

The Dino was Ferrari's first road-going V6 – but it wore no Ferrari badges

As is the Dino road car that arrived in 1967. Enzo Ferrari still had reservations about the suitability of the mid-engined configuration in a road car, but a series of concepts by design partner Pininfarina helped smooth the path to production. The resulting car, which never wore a Ferrari badge, is nonetheless one of the marque’s most treasured machines. 

The 206 and later 246 GT are more markedly different cars in design and character than they first appear, though even the latter’s larger 2.4-litre engine needs to be revved like a race engine to get the best from it. A zingy, sonorous soundtrack ensures that this is no hardship. Only 150 206 GTs were made, compared to more than 3500 246s, so the earlier car has a rarity status that makes it highly prized. But either incarnation delivers a uniquely six-cylindered experience. 

The Ferrari 499P Le Mans winner, F80 Supercar and 296 GTB all use a 3.0-litre turbo-hybrid V6

It would also be the last V6 to appear in a Ferrari road car until 2022’s 296 GTB. With its 120-degree cylinder angle, compact electric motor, and 7.45 kWh battery, the 296’s 3.0-litre, 830cv unit builds on know-how accumulated by Ferrari’s F1 team in the modern hybrid and turbo era. In many ways, it exemplifies everything Ferrari stands for, a supreme technical achievement that obviates the need for 12 cylinders. 

That’s a philosophy echoed in the latest Ferrari hypercar, the F80, whose engine is derived directly from the unit that has taken Ferrari to victory in the WEC, including multiple wins in the Le Mans 24 Hours. The story has come full circle: seven decades since the first Ferrari V6, the most compact engine in the range now powers the most potent Ferrari road car ever.