Chassis 0388 was built with the specific intention of competing in the 1953 Indianapolis 500 and, had it competed, would have been Ferrari’s first attempt at America’s greatest race. Nevertheless, it was raced across the USA with motorsport luminaries such as Carroll Shelby behind the wheel. Historically, it represents a step away from the Formula One cars of the same era and indicates the rapidly growing importance of the American market to Ferrari.

The restoration included not just the unique Corsa Indianapolis, but also tracking down all the documentation for the car to ensure its full and accurate heritage.

The Monoposto Corsa Indianapolis project started 1953 with the idea of participating in the Indianapolis 500, which eventually wasn’t completed, probably due to the numerous other motorsport projects in which the Scuderia department was involved. On 21 January 1954 the car was sold to Luigi Chinetti, then Ferrari importer for North America. The following month the car was shown at the New York Motor Sports Show. The Daytona Speed Week GP, in February 1955, was the car’s first official appearance in a race, where it was driven by Bob Said.

After the competition the car returned to Maranello for repairs and further modifications, for a new coachwork in Formula 1 style in 1960 bodied by Carrozzeria Fantuzzi. In the same year the car was tested by Cliff Allison on the Modena race track. The Monoposto Corsa Indianapolis concluded its motorsport activities and changed the owner several times.

HISTORIC RESEARCH

The historic research for such a particular project started with the identification of the assembly sheet 250/I (Indianapolis). The tubular chassis with extra tubular bracing (with no existing designs) was made by the chassis supplier Gilco.

Naturally it is important to underline the existence of a specific list of components dating from March 1953, entitled "250 Indianapolis", encompassing components that were specifically designed and identified as "250". These included clutch, suspensions, hubs, braking system, fuel tank, oil radiator and tank (the car also had a double Houdaille shock absorbers rather than the usual single absorber).

Probably because of the many different racing projects dealt with by the Racing Division at the time, the development of this design didn’t go according to schedule and it was only bench-tested at the end of September 1953. A few days before the other test, a 375 engine was tested, while this was subsequently fitted when the car was delivered to Chinetti.

RESTORATION ACTIVITIES

The restoration of such a highly unusual car involved followed Ferrari Classiche’s usual methods for restoration work carried out at the factory, while the running gear was stripped down and verified in correspondence to the original design and state of deterioration, to determine whether the parts could be re-used.

The car’s similarity to the original design and eventual modifications made by the factory over time were verified through the analysis of the assembly sheet, analysis of the list of components (all of the components, divided by group, required to complete the car). Following a verification of the components installed and correspondences of the same to the original design was carried out, followed by a verification of the components’ treatments (engine, gearbox, differential, suspension, brakes, transmission assembly, timing gear, ignition, lubrication, cooling system and exhaust system) to ensure that the same were rendered compliant with the initial specifications.

FERRARI CLASSICHE

Ferrari Classiche provides owners of historic Ferraris with restoration, maintenance and supply of parts, thanks to a process that involves researching the cars’ original designs which are held in the company’s own technical-historical archive and issues Certificates of authenticity to road-going Ferraris over 20 years old as well as to all competition cars (such as the Monoposto Corsa Indianapolis), including Formula 1 single-seaters, regardless of the year they were built.

The Company’s body, responsible for evaluating the cases presented, is the CO.CER (Comitato di Certificazione), chaired by Engineer Piero Ferrari. The certification document officially attests to the cars’ authenticity and also provides a further guarantee for buyers should the vehicles ever be sold. Introduced in 2009, the Attestation for vehicles of historic interest is now available to Ferrari cars that, although they do not fully comply with the strict Ferrari authenticity certification criteria, have been deemed, as a result of their competition and/or international recognized show history, to be of historic interest.

Based in the original old factory building, Ferrari Classiche opened its doors in July 2006 and has since become a major player in the protection of the unique Ferrari heritage. In fact, it has already issued around 1,200 certifications of authenticity and has completely restored a total of over 30 cars at its workshop.