The «Morrari»
1955 was a difficult year for international motor racing. Alberto Ascari was killed in an accident at the end of May, whereupon Lancia withdrew from motor racing. And on 11 June there was the great disaster at Le Mans, in which over 80 people died. As a result, the Grands Prix of Germany, France, Spain and Switzerland were cancelled. Juan Manuel Fangio became world champion in a Mercedes, ahead of Stirling Moss, also in a Benz – and Ferrari had no chance. The Italians still had the 625 F1 in use, the drivers trusted the old car more than the new Tipo 555, called Super Squalo. It had been developed from the Tipo 553, Squalo, from 1954, which had also achieved nothing. The new regulations with 2.5-litre engines, introduced in 1954, put Maranello far behind, the Shark won only one race (Hawthorn, Spain 1954), the Super Shark none at all. Incidentally, they were the first Ferrari with a tubular grid frame, powered by a four-cylinder engine.
We are showing the Super Squalo here, which started life as chassis number 555/1. Although the car was driven by such famous drivers as Nino Farina and Mike Hawthorn in 1955, it only managed to score world championship points with Paul Frère at the wheel, who came in fourth at the Belgian Grand Prix. At the end of the season, two of the four cars built were sold to Peter Whitehead and Reg Parnell, who wanted to race them in Australia and New Zealand. For this purpose, the 3.5-litre four-cylinder engine from the 860s was installed in Maranello, but this also required the chassis to be extended by 7.5 centimetres. Therefore, the two vehicles were given new chassis numbers, FL/9001 and FL/9002. And they actually won a few races at the other end of the world. The next owner, from 1957, was the rich industrialist Tom Clark, who regularly entered FL/9001 in races until 1959. Bob Smith, who bought the car in 1960, put it off the track in a local race in 1963 – and then had it wrecked.
Now it’s getting funny. Garth Souness bought the wreck, gave it the body of a Morris Minor and installed a Chevrolet V8. The car was entered in many races in New Zealand, and even achieved a certain fame – and was given the nickname ‘Morrari’. In the 70s, the founder of the Southland Motor Museum ‘saved’ the Ferrari from further abuse, FL/9001 was then restored, and at some point the original 860 engine also found its way back into the super-shark (as is the case with Ferraris…). Bonhams will auction this Ferrari in Paris in February 2025, with an estimated price of 4 to 6 million dollars. But perhaps even more important: a couple of freaks have built a ‘new’ Morrari in New Zealand in recent years.
We have more interesting vehicles in our archive.
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