One of Ferrari’s greatest ever engineers, Mauro Forghieri, has died – Top Gear

It’s celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, and few names in automotive generate the particular mystique plus mythology that surrounds Ferrari. But it’s the people who make the difference – always – and Maranello has just lost one of its giants. Mauro Forghieri, the Italian engineer whose creativity, inspiration plus persistence helped Scuderia Ferrari to new heights, has passed away at the age of 87. He led a group of technicians that steered Ferrari to four drivers’ championships, seven constructors’ titles, and 54 GP victories.

Born on 13th January 1935, in Modena, Forghieri was perhaps destined in order to join the particular city’s most famous son. His father, Reclus, was a machinist who worked for the Old Man. Mauro Forghieri was soon there, too, having graduated in mechanical engineering from the prestigious University of Bologna in 1959. Hired as an apprentice in Ferrari’s engine department, he found himself working with the likes of Vittorio Jano, Carlo Chiti, Romolo Tavoni, and a fellow new recruit, Gian Paolo Dallara. These were turbulent times for Ferrari and following the notorious 1961 ‘Palace revolt’, in which a number of the top technical staff departed in acrimony, Forghieri suddenly found themselves elevated to the exalted position of Scuderia Ferrari’s specialized director. He was just 27.

It was the making of him. He took over from Chiti plus completed the work he and Giotto Bizzarrini had begun on the particular 250 GTO, one of Ferrari’s most celebrated endurance racing cars. He presided over Ferrari’s driver’s and constructor’s title wins in 1964, the British driver John Surtees winning in the Forghieri-designed 158. At the same time, Ferrari was enjoying success inside sports car racing along with the Le Mans-winning 250P,   275P and 250 LM. Then there was the Daytona 24 Hours-winning 330 P3/4, for many the greatest Ferrari competition vehicle of them all. In 1968’s Belgian GP, Ferrari was the first to fit the rear wing to its car, helping Chris Amon to a pole position plus qualifying time four seconds quicker than Jackie Stewart’s.

The Scuderia’s fortunes within Formula One ebbed and flowed, but Forghieri has been instrumental in the team’s Seventies comeback. His innovative 312 T – with its transverse gearbox, flat-12 motor and sharky design – swept Niki Lauda to championship glory in 1975. Following 1976’s tumultuous season – Lauda crashed and almost died within the German GP – he was champion again with regard to Ferrari within 1977. Jody Scheckter required a third driver’s title in 1979 in one of Forghieri’s cars, but the particular advent of ground-effect aerodynamics signalled the end associated with his flat-12, its design blocking the under-floor venturis. Still, the particular creation of turbocharging didn’t faze him: Ferrari became the first team to win the constructor’s championship with a turbo power unit in 1982, a feat it managed despite the death of Gilles Villeneuve and the particular serious injury suffered by his team-mate, Didier Pironi. In 1984, Forghieri switched towards the road car division, and presided over the development of an intriguing all-wheel drive Ferrari concept, the 408 4RM.

This individual joined Lamborghini Engineering inside 1987, where he designed the V12 F1 engine used by Larousse-Lola plus Lotus, and later became involved with the still-born GLAS F1 team. After that came a stint as technical director for Bugatti, helping Romano Artioli reactivate the brand and developing the – increasingly well-regarded – EB110. In 1995, he co-founded the Oral Engineering Group, a design and research consultancy; one of the more recent tasks included converting the 1980 Ferrari Pinin four-door idea to a working vehicle upon behalf associated with its brand new owner.

“Legends last forever. It’s been an honour making history together. Ferrari and the world of motorsport will never forget you, ” Ferrari said in a statement.

Best Gear sends its condolences to Forghieri’s family. He or she will be remembered as one of the great pillars of perhaps the world’s finest motorsport name.