Genuine Maranello factory dyno and V12 sold in Florida
A car enthusiast hit the jackpot when he bid on an original 1940s Ferrari factory engine test bench dynamometer at RM Sotheby’s Amelia Island auction a month or two back. Not only did the genuine period workshop device came mounted with a fully functional four-liter Ferrari V12 engine, but the punter quite literally stole the lot!
A genuine 1940s Ferrari Factory Dyno
Engine dyno benches were the testing state of the art back in the ‘40s when Ferrari first set up shop. A freshly-built engine would be bolted to the bench and dry run, tested, and tuned. To achieve peak performance. This bench was originally used at the Maranello Ferrari factory before purchased by Belgian dealer Jacques Swaters in 1953.
Swaters then used it for 30 years in his Francorchamps garage, before the by then redundant stand went on show in the Francorchamps Collection. Texas enthusiasts Paul and Chris Andrews then acquired it in 2008, before its previous owners bought in 2015.
Engine Dyno Came Complete With Ferrari V12
Still fully functional, the Ferrari V12 is fired up just like a classic Ferrari. By turning the ignition key and pressing the start button. Currently fitted with working 4-liter Ferrari V12 serial number 5263, the engine with its impressive trio of Weber carburettors topped with chrome ignition trumpets came out of a 330 GT 2+2 (below).
An important example of contemporary Italian engineering, the bench can dyno test any period Ferrari V12 engine. Cooling is by a side-mounted radiator, while exhaust gases are expelled via a series of collectors and pipes to the rear.
Not Quite the Sale of the Century
Interestingly, despite the outrageous value of classic Ferrari cars, old factory gadgets don’t seem to cut the mustard. The dynamometer and its resident Ferrari V12 engine went on auction estimated to fetch around US$ 150,000. The lot ultimately only fetched $60,000. Not quite the sale of the century. But a bargain indeed!