The Ferrari 246 P was Ferrari’s first mid-engine car and a turning point in the marque’s history.
From Formula 1 to road cars, the 246 P set the blueprint for Ferrari’s modern layout.
Competition from British constructors
Ferrari entered the 1960 Formula 1 season standing at a crossroads. For more than a decade, the company had defined Grand Prix racing with powerful front-engine machines that relied on brute force mechanical grip and large displacement engines.
1958 Ferrari 246 (front-engine)
Photo: Ferrari
Yet, the competitive landscape was shifting. Lightweight rear-engine cars from British constructors were rewriting the rules of chassis balance and tire usage. At the center of Ferrari’s response stood the Ferrari 246 P: a prototype that would quietly change the future of Maranello.
The end of the front-engine era
By the late 1950s, front-engine Formula 1 cars were reaching the limits of their development. Increasing power meant heavier engines placed ahead of the driver, which created imbalances in handling and excessive tire wear. British teams, such as Cooper, demonstrated that placing the engine behind the driver improved how quickly the car could change direction and also improved traction under acceleration. Their cars were lighter, more agile and easier on tires which proved decisive on tighter circuits.
1959 Cooper Climax T51 (rear-engine)
Photo: Build Race Party
Ferrari initially resisted this trend. Enzo Ferrari valued stability and horsepower and viewed rear-engined layouts as fragile and unsuitable for high power engines. However, a string of consistent defeats forced a reassessment. The 246 P emerged as a pragmatic experiment rather than a philosophical surrender. Built for select races in 1960, it represented Ferrari’s first serious attempt to understand the mid-engine concept within its own engineering culture.
The lessons of balance
The Ferrari 246 P was powered by a 2.4-L V6 from the Dino-engine family. Mounting this engine behind the driver transformed the car’s behavior. Weight distribution improved dramatically and steering response became more precise, especially through medium speed corners. Drivers reported a car that felt neutral and predictable rather than heavy and demanding.
Ferrari test-driver Martino Severi drove the new mid-engined 246 P at Modena on 22 May 1960, a week before its Monaco debut with Ginther and Hill.
Source: Primotipo
Although the 246 P achieved limited race success, its importance lay elsewhere. It provided Ferrari’s engineers with real world data that validated the mid-engine approach. Cooling challenges, gear selection and suspension geometry all demanded new solutions. The prototype served as a rolling laboratory that influenced subsequent Formula 1 designs, leading directly to Ferrari’s first full rear-engine Grand Prix cars in the early 1960s.
Shift at Maranello
The transition from front-engine to mid-engine cars was more than technical. It marked a shift in Ferrari’s identity. Front-engined cars reflected an era when drivers wrestled machines through power and courage. Mid-engine cars demanded finesse, balance and aerodynamic understanding. Accepting this reality required Ferrari to rethink not only chassis design, but also driver expectations and race strategy.
1960 Ferrari 246 P driven by Richie Ginther at Monaco
Photo: Ferrari
The car retained Ferrari’s engineering commitment and engine craftsmanship, while embracing a modern layout that prioritized efficiency over brute strength.
Mid-engine reaches the road
Ferrari’s move to the mid-engine layout followed a clear and deliberate progression that began on the racetrack before reshaping the road car lineup. The lessons from the 246 P carried directly into sports car racing with the Ferrari 246 SP: Ferrari’s first mid-engined prototype. Designed for endurance competition, it confirmed that the layout was not only effective in single seaters but also adaptable to longer races and higher reliability demands
1965 Dino 206 Berlinetta Speciale by Pininfarina
Photo: Pininfarina
By the 1965, Ferrari began exploring how this thinking might translate to road cars. The Dino Berlinetta Speciale served as a design study rather than a production-intent vehicle, yet it was critical in defining proportions, packaging and visual language for a mid-engined Ferrari road car.
Photo: Scott McKellin
Production reality arrived in 1967 with the Dino 206 GT, which was built and sold under the Dino marque. Compact, balanced and powered by a V6, it became Ferrari’s first mid-engined production car and a clear departure from front-engined grand touring tradition. Finally, in 1971, Ferrari placed its own name on a mid-engined production model with the Ferrari 365 GT4 BB, completing a journey that began eleven years earlier with the 246 P and permanently redefining what a Ferrari road car could be.
Legacy that reshaped Ferrari
The Ferrari 246 P never enjoyed the fame of championship winning cars, but its influence was profound. It marked the moment Ferrari accepted that the future of performance lay behind the driver. From Formula 1 dominance in later decades to iconic road cars such from the early 308 to the new 849 Testarossa, the mid-engine Ferrari lineage traces its roots to this quiet 1960 car.
Photo: Ferrari
In hindsight, the 246 P stands as one of the most important Ferraris ever built. Not because of victories, but because it changed how Ferrari thought about speed, balance and progress.
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