Ferrari story

ferrari 342 america (1952)
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The 342 America, a replacement for the 340, was debuted at the January 1951 Brussels show. The completed version of the 342 was shown at the Turin show during the spring of 1951. Production was from 1952 to 1953.
This version was a touring version. It did not have as much horsepower as the 340 even though it had the same engine. The transmission varied as well. The 342 had a fully-synchromesh four-speed transmission instead of the racing version which was a non-synchromesh five speed. Other variations from the 340 included a heavier rear-axle and larger track dimensions.
Unfortunately, only 6 of the 342 America's were ever produced.

ferrari 212 inter(1951)
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The Ferrari 212 Inter replaced Ferrari's successful 166 and 195 Inter grand tourers in 1951. Unveiled at the Brussels Motor Show that year, the 212 was an evolution of the 166 — a sports car for the road that could also win international races.
The chassis was similar to the 125 with double wishbones in front and live axles in back. Coachbuilders included Carrozzeria Touring, Ghia, Vignale, and now Pinin Farina. The latter was an important move for the company, as Farina was already well-known and adding his styling skills would be a tremendous boost for Maranello. However, Pinin Farina was as proud as Enzo Ferrari, and neither would go to the other to request business up to this point. A mutual meeting halfway between Maranello and Turin was the negotiated solution
Both 2,500 mm (98.4 in) and 2,600 mm (102.4 in) versions were built (Export and Inter models, respectively), both with a larger 2.6 L (2563 cc/156 in³) version of Ferrari's Colombo V12 engine. Like the 195, the additional displacement over the 166 was achieved with a larger bore, this time to 68 mm. Output was 150 to 165 hp (111 to 123 kW) with one or three Weber 36DCF carburetors. The short-wheelbase Export model got the more-powerful engine. 5 hp (3.7 kW) more was on the table for 1952 thanks to better cylinder heads.
A single 212 Inter, Chassis# 0223EL2, was fitted with the available "225" or 2.7 L Colombo V12, creating a unique model that would be properly referred to as a 225 Inter. This one-off model was given a fetching Giovanni Michelotti penned berlinetta body by Vignale.

Behind the cars there are always men and their ideas
We are between the late seventies and the early 80's. A group of engineers at Maranello is working on a revolutionary project. Create a semi-automatic gear for Formula One! Thirty years ago was a completely new challenge. After a hard work, one day the car with the new gear is ready, but the system is experimental and there are many doubts. It is prepared a test at Fiorano and Enzo Ferrari wants to attend it in person. All is OK and Gilles Villeneuve goes on track. It does not break anything. Even the lap times are good. The idea works well. At the end of the test there is a briefing between Ferrari, Forghieri (Technical Manager of Racing Division) and Villeneuve. The small Canadian says: the project is excellent, probably would resist even on the whole distance of a Grand Prix, but you know what? If a pilot like me, you remove the pleasure to press the clutch pedal and at the same time handle manually the gear, well, you kill me, make me feel a clerk, and for all my life I run to escape from a fate of clerk. Ferrari listens to him. Then answers: We are right, we have anticipated the future, but Villeneuve has his reasons, let's keep the project in a drawer. We will talk about that ...
Other people, another Formula One.

PS with the advent of electronics in F1 That project was pulled out of the drawer some years later by John Barnard.

ferrari 195 inter (1951)
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The Ferrari 195 Inter replaced the previous model 166 Inter in 1951 when this model reached nearly 40 units. The difference between the two models lies in the operator, which rose from 1,955 cm3 to 2341.02 cm 3 . In addition, the wheelbase is stretched and changed from 2420 to 2500 mm . The increase in capacity is due to changes made ​​to the previous engine designed by Gioacchino Colombo , increasing the ' bore from 60 to 65 mm. This vehicle was replaced the following year by the model 212 Inter after reaching the 27 units.