Materazzi interview - The engine engineer of 288 GTO and F40

Oh wow this video is amazing. So revealing about so many things.

 

Just stumbled across this video and Davide's channel. I was completely enthralled, and had no idea the car was designed pretty much by him alone!

I was so shocked at what happened after the F40 launch, and we're left to imagine what F cars we would have seen with Materazzi at the helm.

 

Great video, thank you!

 

and there will be even more details on my book…

ciao

 

I love how he is called Ingegnere in the same way we might call someone Doctor or Professor. Pity the word has been so devalued, at least in the US/UK.

 

He's a legend!

Certainly designed and built my favourite cars: Stratos, GTO and F40

I can't believe he is not more famous, everyone seems to focus on the brand or the design! Other than Gordon Murray and the Mac F1, no-one seems to appreciate the importance of the lead engineer / or engineering design in general.

 

This yellow one?

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yes, that one

ciao

 

Saw it in 1997 in the streets of Modena

 

Thanks for sharing.

Pictures were taken in corso Vittorio Emanuele in Modena and you can see a piece of the Accademia Militare back too. Did you take the picture?

ciao

 

Yes, both pictures are taken by me. I visited the 50 anniversary in 1997

 

Bert, I like very much the second picture, the one taken from behind and where you see a bit of Accademia Militare: If you want I could add it to the story I wrote about that car on my book (that I'm writing for hobby, I'm not a pro). I will write picture courtesy of... Under it. If you agree please send me the written permission to publish via PM saying you are the picture owner and you give me the permission to publish it.

Thank you very much.

ciao

 

I do, as such I asked him to do the Foreword for my 288 GTO book, and he graciously agreed.

 

Well done Joe! Reminds me I haven't looked at your great book in a while! think I'll go read that forward now!

 

What a great video!
I love Ferrari but must admit my "library" of Ferrari books is only about 7 books.
Can you guys recommend some great books?
Thx!

 

For those who don't have the book, I listed his Foreword statement as Igegnere Nicola Materazzi.

He sent me some scans of his personal photographs depicting the design and mock execution of the F40's famed aero (quite different from the GTO Evoluzione's) noting it's aviation influence.

Much of the material he sent did not make it into the GTO book as publishers are faced with logistic constraints which prevent them from using a lot of the material at hand - sadly.

That said, it's all there, filed away for posterity

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Ingegnere Materazzi also sent me images of a full-scale prototype F40's nose being formed in aluminum in the old-school carrozzeria tradition, for subsequent production in composite material, what a treat it was to see these

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I am learning so much its like sensory overload but wanting more! This is great that all this is being brought to light.

 

Thank you very much, Joe, for sharing those pictures: they are great. Unfortunately I wouldn't put them on a book as Ferrari has a copyright on them (whoever took the pictures) and (maybe this you don't know) Ferrari sold (for a not low price) all its pictures copyright to two big Editors. I had a phone call with the Factory before starting to write my book and they warned me about don't doing that mistake, that is doing a commercial use of their pictures (for example to put them on a book for sale, here on the forum is not commercial use so you can publish what you want) or I could be prosecuted by them.

That's why, despite having several pictures taken by who worked there, I didn't put them on the book and did such a big effort to find some Ferrari copyright free old pictures.

So, to escape this big risk, I preferred to go and talk to the man that did what there is in your (fantastic) pictures and he told me all the story of the 288 GTO Evoluzione and F40, from the beginning to end: they don't have a copyright on words so I recorded a wonderful and long interview that came out to be the best and most important part (in my opinion) of my (humble) book, with details and info I never saw anywhere nor heard before. Thank you very much to give me the opportunity to share this with others on the forum by posting those very interesting pictures.

ciao

 

My UK-based Publisher conferred with the legal department at Ferrari SpA and handled the copyright aspect of our book in accordance with the mandates Ferrari had in place at that time, it appears that Ferrari SpA is becoming even more restrictive with image usage over time, and I would find this to be very limiting for the publication of a book today (the reason why I find magazine publications offer much more creative freedom). Combine that with the decline of the medium, book publication is not an easy proposition.

 

I hear what you are saying Joe but I am thinking magazines are largely vehicles for advertisers and can only present limited amounts of information which usually do not go in depth on any subject and remain pretty superficial.
That being said, I would still like to see a compilation of your various communications with insiders including text and sketches and pictures in one place. To that end, my wife was suggesting the cup of coffee analogy. We have had a cup of coffee forever but Starbuck's reinvented the format. Lately it has become very easy and affordable to use online services to compile materials in a hard cover color coffee table book format. We have done this for customers at the shop to chronicle their restorations and it is amazingly cheap to do. Could that be done and you could privately distribute them yourself to those interested?

 

55629 of the MOGAM Collection in Catania, Sicily. Repainted silvergrey, aftermarket front spoiler.

Marcel Massini

 

That is an option, can you post some of the online services you speak of, that might be helpful to others as well.

 

Does anyone know if the early F40s were built on a separate production line or with the race department? Did it change when they decided to build many more than originally planned?

 

Nicola Materazzi passed away yesterday, aged 83.

Paul