STORY OF THE DAY: A New Ferrari V12 Proves Its Pace at Pescara

On 15 August 1947, Franco Cortese finished second in the Pescara Grand Prix with the number 21 Ferrari 159 S. The result on the exceptionally long and fast public-road circuit extended the young marque’s encouraging inaugural season and demonstrated the competitiveness of its latest development.

Pescara demanded sustained speed, endurance and confidence over a course combining long straights with difficult bends and elevation changes. Cortese’s runner-up finish showed that Ferrari could develop its original design rapidly while preserving enough reliability to challenge established opposition over a demanding distance.

The 159 S retained the front-engined layout and tubular chassis of the 125 S but used a larger version of Gioachino Colombo’s 60-degree V12. Capacity rose to approximately 1.9 litres, providing greater power without abandoning the compact dimensions and responsive character of Ferrari’s first engine family.

Cortese was an Italian sports-car specialist whose career had begun in the 1920s. He gave Ferrari its first victory at Rome in May 1947 and remained central to the company’s earliest racing programme. His measured second place at Pescara linked that inaugural success directly to the continuing development of Ferrari’s first cars.