- Aurelio Lampredi
Aurelio Lampredi (
June 16 ,1917 inLivorno -June 1 ,1989 inLivorno ) [ [http://www.modelfoxbrianza.it/Progettisti.htm Progettisti in Ferrari] ] was an Italianautomobile andaircraft engine designer.He began his career at
Piaggio , makers of theVespa scooter, but quickly moved up to larger engines. He worked atIsotta-Fraschini beforeWorld War II , and then joinedReggiane to design aircraft engines.Lampredi's fame brought him to
Ferrari in 1946 where he designed a large 4.5 L V12 (the "Lampredi engine") which first saw use in 1950's 257S. Lampredi returned to Isotta-Fraschini in March of 1947 but returned to Ferrari at the beginning of 1948. Lampredi's engines were used as largenaturally-aspirated alternatives to the diminutiveGioacchino Colombo -designed V12s used in most Ferrari cars until that time. Especially after the failure of Colombo's supercharged engine inFormula 1 , Lampredi's design began to find favor in the company. Lampredi oversaw Ferrari's racing effort during its early success in 1952 and 1953.Lampredi's work at Ferrari ended permanently in 1955 when Ferrari bought
Lancia 's racing team and famed engine designerVittorio Jano , formerly ofAlfa Romeo . Though Lampredi's engine designs lived on in Ferrari road cars, Jano's V6 and V8 engines quickly replaced Lampredi's large V12s for racing use.After Ferrari, Lampredi went to
Fiat , where he oversaw that company's engine design efforts until 1977. It was at Fiat where he designed the Fiat Twin-Cam and SOHC engines, which provided motive-force for most Fiat automobiles for over 32 years. He was also made manager of Fiat'sAbarth factory racing group from 1973 through 1982.References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.