The one and only Ferrari
that isn't a "Ferrari".



Every school boy knows about the importance of "il Commendatore" Enzo Ferrari for the history of automobiles.

From 1930 to 1938 the former Alfa racing driver lead the race activities of Alfa Romeo, first with his "Scuderia Ferrari", after that as Manager Adviser of the "Alfa Corse". All the time he not only brought a lot of experiences of the races into the serial production of the company, but was also resposible for the development of legendary racing cars like the Tipo 158 (the "Alfetta"), the 308, 312 and 316.

In 1939 he left Alfa Romeo. He founded a new company of his own, the "Auto Avio Costru- zioni" in Modena, because of contractual obligation with Alfa he wasn't able to use his own name for 4 years. This company was mainly producing machine parts under german licence, but very soon he also developed the "Auto Avio 815" - a racing car based on the Fiat 508C (Balilla 1100). Two cars of this type with the chassis numbers 020 and 021 were produced - naturally without a Ferrari sign. The only badge carried by the cars was on the nose above the grille and bored the inscription "815", a reference to the engine's eight cylinders and the 1,5-litre capacity.


The long-tail 815/020
with Lotario Rangoni Macchiavelli
and Enrico Nardi during
the Gran Premio Brescia
of the Mille Miglia






The 815 based on the Fiat 1100, built since 1932. Not only the chassis but also the gear box, the rear axle, the wheel suspension and the brakes came from Torino. The body was designed by "La Carrozzeria Touring" in Milano, that had also made one year before the design of the marvellous Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Sport, and was produced in a special alloy of aluminium and magnesium. So it only had a weight of 54 kg. The heart of the 815 is his engine. It's an 8-cylinder with 1.496 ccm and two valves to each cylinder, that Enrico Nardi had developed out of two 4-cylinder-engines by Fiat. 72 HP at 5.000 r.p.m. brought these cars to a maximum speed of 170 km/h.


Mille Miglia 1940:
start number 65 with
Machiavelli and Nardi,
followed by
number 66, driven by
Ascari and Menozzi



Both cars took part in the Mille Miglia of the year 1940. The long-back 815 with the chassis number 020 was prepared for the earl Lotario Rangoni Machiavelli, who started with Enrico Nardi. But unfortunatelly this car with start number 65 never saw the finish line. Also the 815/201, driven by Alberto Ascari and his navigator Giovanni Minozzi, was out of the race too early. There were two reasons for the participation in the Mille Miglia: first the special prize of 5.000 Lire (much more worth than today) for the class winner in a Fiat car, and second the sales promotion for the planed production of the 815.

The participation of Italy in the second world war nearly two month after the Mille set an end to the development of the 815 - but these cars were the base of the world-famous "Ferrari" of the Commendatore, which are not only a dream of every school boy.


Enrico Beltrachini
in his 815 with the
short tail on the
Circuito di Novara.
He was placed 5th.





The car of Machiavelli was destroyed completely in the fifties. But the other one fortunatelly has survived until today. In 1943 Ascari sold this car to EnricoBeltrachini from Milano. The new possessor has had more luck - in 11 races in 1946/47 he reached the second position in the "Coppa Andrea Brezzi" in Torino and five times he was found under the first six ones. On the 7th of november 1947 Alessandro Casiraghi bought this car. He did'nt use the car for competitions and sold it on the 11th of january 1951 to Luciano Rossi for 68.637 Lire. The 815 was in very bad conditions, so Rossi withdrawed the car from circulation. In the sixties Emilio Storchi Fermi, lover of historical cars, discovered this 815. He restored the car for 4 years and saved this rarity from dilapidation.


Today this one and only 815 in very good conditions is part of a wonderful private collection of my friend Mario in the north of Italy. And if he is in a good mood, he is willing to show this very first "Ferrari" in his old italian castle to friends and friendly people.



Some informations and pictures of this page are out of the article "Un'Orfana di Guerra" (An Orphan of the War) by Maurizio Tabucchi, which appeared in the magazin "La Manovella" 1/97.



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Last update: 22nd of march, 1997 © Jochen "Ty" Tydecks / Hamburg, Germany