Mauro Forghieri | |
|---|---|
 Forghieri in 2005 | |
| Born | (1935-01-13)13 January 1935 Modena, Italy |
| Died | 2 November 2022(2022-11-02) (aged 87) Modena, Italy |
| Occupation | Formula One car designer |
Mauro Forghieri (13 January 1935 – 2 November 2022) was an Italian mechanical engineer, best known for his work as aFormula One racing car designer withScuderia Ferrari during the 1960s and 1970s. He is credited with introducing the first designed rear wings to Formula One at the1968 Belgian Grand Prix.[1] He oversaw numerous technical developments during his tenure at Ferrari, including the creation of the250 GTO andP-series sports racing cars, theFerrari flat-12 series of engines, Ferrari's first turbocharged engine in the126 C F1 car, and a prototypesemi-automatic transmission in 1979. During Forghieri's tenure with Ferrari, the company won theF1 World Driver's Championship four times and theF1 World Constructors' Championship seven times. After leaving Ferrari in 1987, he worked atLamborghini andBugatti then founded the Oral Engineering Group in 1995.
Forghieri was born inModena,Emilia-Romagna, on 13 January 1935,[2] the only child of Reclus and Afra Forghieri.[3] His father Reclus, aturner, did war work duringWorld War II for theAnsaldo mechanical workshops ofNaples. During this time, Mauro lived primarily with his mother, spending time in Naples,Milan, Modena andAbbiategrasso. After the war, the Forghieri family reunited and returned to Modena, where Reclus began working in theFerrari workshop inMaranello.[4] Meanwhile, Mauro completed theliceo scientifico and in 1959 obtained alaurea inMechanical Engineering from theUniversity of Bologna.[5][6]
Despite his initial interest in aviation design, Forghieri accepted an internship offer fromFerrari, to which he had been introduced by his father.[7] Beginning in spring of 1960, he started an apprenticeship in the engine department. Forghieri began working alongside many engineers involved in Ferrari's early history, includingVittorio Jano,Carlo Chiti andLuigi Bazzi, as well as race directorRomolo Tavoni. He also worked alongsideGiampaolo Dallara, who joined Ferrari shortly after Forghieri in 1960. Forghieri's early work at the factory involved both racing cars and production road cars.[5][6]
In 1961, some key figures at Ferrari, including chief designerCarlo Chiti, left to join the breakawayATS Formula One team, in an event that became known as"the great walkout". Forghieri remained as the only credentialed engineer on staff. Soon after the walkout, Forghieri was personally asked byEnzo Ferrari to begin studying the "full technical questions of the Factory" (Forghieri's words).[6]: 18 As he was only 27 years of age at the time, Forghieri received guidance from a few more experienced staff members, includingFranco Rocchi,Walter Salvarani andAngelo Bellei. Forghieri was soon appointed technical director for racing cars, a position he would remain in until 1984. His responsibilities included overseeing technical development, managing the technical section during races and collaborating with other Ferrari departments, including the testing department and thedrafting department.[6]
Forghieri left his position as technical director in 1984. In January 1985, he began work on theFerrari 408 4RM concept car. The 408 project was completed in Spring of 1987 and Forghieri departed Ferrari for good shortly after.[6][8]
Forghieri was involved to some degree in the development of every racing car produced by the Factory between his hiring after graduation and his departure in 1987.[9]
Thesports racing cars designed under Forghieri's supervision included theGT-class250 GTO, the development of which Forghieri continued after the original team headed by Chiti andGiotto Bizzarrini left during the 1961 walkout.[10] Other GT-class cars includedcompetition versions of the 275 GTB[11] and the330 LMB.Sports prototypes designed by Forghieri's team included theP series and later iterations of theDino series, starting with the 1965 Dino 166 P.[8] Forghieri stated that the 1967 330 P4 was his favorite out of all the cars he designed.[12]
In 1964, Forghieri designed the V8-poweredFerrari 158, in whichJohn Surtees won the 1964 Formula One World Championship. The 158 and the Ferrari 1512 shared a Forghieri-designed aluminum monocoque chassis, the first use of this technology in a Ferrari F1 car.[8][13]
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Beginning in 1966, Forghieri designed the Ferrari 312 series (consisting of the312,312B and312T Formula One cars and312P and312PB sportscars).[8] In 1979, he designed asemi-automatic transmission for the 312T, which was tested byGilles Villeneuve but never used in competition. This predated the use of a similar system in the 1989Ferrari 640 F1 car and the introduction of the roadgoing "F1" automated manual transmission in the 1997F355.[14]: 65 [15] In 1979 he began work on Ferrari's firstturbocharged engine, which debuted in the 1981126 C.[16]: 197 Under his guidance, Ferrari won the driver's F1 world championship title four times, withJohn Surtees (1964),Niki Lauda (1975 and 1977), andJody Scheckter (1979). Ferrari also won the constructors F1 world championship title seven times.[9]
In September 1987, Forghieri joined Lamborghini Engineering,[6] a department created byLee Iacocca, thenCEO ofChrysler, who had bought theEmilian car firmLamborghini.[17]
In that organization, which had ex-FerrariDaniele Audetto as sports director, Forghieri designed thenaturally aspiratedLamborghini 3512 V12 engine, which made its Formula One racing debut at the1989 Brazilian Grand Prix. The V12 engine was used by theLarrousse/Lola team during the1989 F1 season.[18] This engine was also used in the 1990Lotus 102 F1 car.[19]
Following the encouraging performance of the engine, the project of designing a complete F1 car was conceived, thanks to financing by theMexican businessmanFernando Gonzalez Luna. The newly-formed team was named GLAS F1, from an abbreviation of Gonzales Luna Associates. Former journalistLeopoldo Canettoli was picked to run the team. The car's suspension and gearbox were designed by Forghieri and the bodywork was designed byMario Tolentino. The first complete car, the GLAS 001, was slated for a debut at the1990 Mexican GP, but the day before the official presentation to the press, Gonzalez Luna disappeared with a conspicuous amount of money that had been paid by sponsors. Following Luna's disappearance, the car and team remained in financial limbo until the team was purchased byCarlo Patrucco in July 1990. Patrucco createdModena Team (also known as the Lamborghini or "Lambo" team) and the Forghieri/Tolentino-designed car debuted as theLambo 291 at the1991 United States Grand Prix.[20][21]
In 1991, the Lamborghini Engineering department was completely reorganized by Chrysler enterprise and Forghieri was replaced byMike Royce.[22] In 1992, he became the technical director of the re-emergingBugatti, where he stayed until 1994.[23] While at Bugatti, Forghieri was involved in the development of theEB 110 and theEB 112.[24][25]
In 1994, he was called as an expert in the trial relating to the death of driverAyrton Senna at the1994 San Marino Grand Prix.[26]
On 1 January 1995, Forghieri co-founded withFranco Antoniazzi andSergio Lugli the Oral Engineering Group, a mechanical design company.[27][28] Forghieri was active in company operations, which include design, research and development of automobile, motorcycle, marine andgo-kart engines and components.[27] Clients includeBMW,Bugatti, andAprilia.[29] Oral Engineering was commissioned to convert theFerrari Pininconcept car from a static display into a driveable vehicle.[30]
Around 2005, Forghieri joinedProject 1221, an Italian automobile company developing a new MF1 sports car, as chief engineer.[31][32]
Forghieri was critical of thedrag reduction system introduced to Formula One in the 2010s. He was declared an honorary citizen of Modena in 2021.[33]
Forghieri died on 2 November 2022,[34] at the age of 87.[35] Scuderia Ferrari commemorated Forghieri's passing with decals reading "ciao Furia", meaning "goodbye Fury," Forghieri's nickname during his time at Ferrari. These decals were applied to Scuderia FerrariF1-75 cars at the2022 São Paulo Grand Prix and488 GTE cars at the2022 8 Hours of Bahrain FIA World Endurance Championship race.[36][37]
Forghieri-designed cars won eightWorld Constructors' and fourWorld Drivers' championships.
| No. | Season | Constructors' Champion | Drivers' Champion | Car | Engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1964 | Ferrari | John Surtees | 158/1512 | Ferrari 1.5LV8/Flat-12 |
| 2 | 1975 | Ferrari | Niki Lauda | 312T | Ferrari 3.0LFlat-12 |
| 3 | 1976 | Ferrari | — | 312T2 | |
| 4 | 1977 | Ferrari | Niki Lauda | 312T2 | |
| 5 | 1979 | Ferrari | Jody Scheckter | 312T4 | |
| 6 | 1982 | Ferrari | — | 126C2 | Ferrari 1.5LV6turbo |
| 7 | 1983 | Ferrari | — | 126C3 |
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