'Addio Ingegnere!' We say goodbye to Nicola Materazzi, the Italian engineer who made the Ferrari F40 a reality
Published by The team in News the 27/08/2022 at 15:00
Sometimes the Olympus of automotive big names gets so crowded that it's hard for us to give each of them the recognition they deserve. In the case of Nicola Materazzi (1939-2022) , who died that same August 23 at the age of 83 , something like this happens: he is not the first Italian engineer one would think of, but undoubtedly his coursework makes it clear how much we enthusiasts owe.
So what better time than now to reconcile with the man who, virtually single-handedly, designed with his own genius (and ingenuity) one of Ferrari's most recognizable models: the F40 . Let's go.
A man in command
Nicola Materazzi was born in 1939 , showing from an early age a passion for motorsport which he cultivated through the reading of thousands of books. All this will lead him to obtain an engineering degree at the University of Naples, and from there he will work on various projects at Lancia and Abarth , where he will participate in the development of the Stratos and the creation of the first Abarth formula.
By the time he first crossed the main arc of Maranello in 1979 , he was doing so as design and engineering manager within the cavallino competition division. A very "delicate" destination (as only those who have been there have known), under the double eyes of Mauro Forghieri and Enzo Ferrari himself , always close to their machines.
His mastery of turbocharger technology will be the key to the new task ahead: F1 was about to enter the "turbo era" and it was necessary to take advantage of the smooth running (embodied by the title of Jody Scheckter) to establish a triumphant new empire. Materazzi will contribute to this cause by directing the development of the 126C , the single-seater that will help Gilles Villeneuve write his particular and bittersweet legend .
Those plans didn't go as well as promised, but that didn't stop "Il Commendatore" and Materazzi from forming a close one-on-one relationship . It was already the eighties , and the rigors of age clouded the mind of the old businessman with doubts and fears that his gesture and his dark glasses could not hide.
Many close voices let him know that street Ferraris had lost their sound and fury due to Italy's recent and very tough emissions regulations. While other foreign sports cars , devices of a world he no longer understood, went twice as fast for half the price.
Something had to be done, but Ferrari was tied hand and foot when it came to production models , a division tightly controlled by Fiat. Not in vain, just twenty years ago he himself had sacrificed this shred of autonomy, giving it to the Agnelli clan in exchange for the capital he needed to continue racing freely at Le Mans . The bravado of the past that was now taking a heavy toll on him.
The solution came when, in a conversation between the two about a new engine to compete in Group B , Materazzi replied that this block could generate 400 bhp without a problem , instead of the 300 noted in his specification.
Quickly sensing the fire in his blood, overnight Enzo placed Materazzi in a new department where he was both boss and (in theory) sole employee . He had total freedom in his designs, in the means to be used and in the choice of personnel who would accompany him. In return, he had to create a Ferrari worthy of his name and his emblem.
The answer was the 288 GTO , a clever reinterpretation of the 308 and 328 architecture corrected, enlarged and powered by the first turbocharged engine that the brand would take to the streets with an oblique eye on rallying. However the abrupt end of Group B in 1986 left its racing variant, the 288 GTO Evoluzione , without its vital calling.
Obeying the eternal laws of engineering, this latest prototype was thrown into a corner. But one of Ferrari's most experienced test drivers managed to test it on the road. As soon as he got out, he threw a magic phrase at Materazzi: “Are you really going to kill this car?
The “Commendatore” himself ended up discovering the anecdote, thus ordering our protagonist a new street model that retained as much of those “quarry” feelings as possible. He would have all the resources he asked for again, and no one would interfere in his decisions ("Materazzi, no rompicoglioni" would score). On the contrary, he would only have one year to complete the work.
Far from being discouraged, working many weekends (and holidays) and with the occasional help of a very small team of faithful technicians, Materazzi accomplished his mission. On July 21, 1987, the F40 sees the light of day for the first time and Enzo Ferrari, unflattering in public, will say that it is the best car he has ever built. Finally, in the twilight of his life and spent his last liras, he had found perfection .
It was not for the lowest. The strong point of the GTO Evoluzione, its biturbo V8 , remained with 2.9 liters delivering no less than 478 hp . Well wedged between the tubular chassis and sheltered by its transparent plexiglass cover, it propelled the F40 to 200 mph (324 km/h) .
For its part, the weak point of aerodynamics has disappeared to return as a virtue, with a coefficient of 0.34 Cx and a silhouette destined to be a legend , framed by a front that caresses the ground and a spoiler that, in right balance, go up in search of the sky.
In motion, the F40 was exactly what had been "asked for", a racing car allowed to be driven among mortals. No concession to luxury or comfort had its place. No air conditioning , no power windows, even the gears were out of sync. At its controls, its owners would experience the always strange pleasure of feeling like pilots... while heading for work or leisure.
The F40 was, in sum, the final "big bomb" of the Ferrari of all time , as evidenced by the fact that of the 400 units originally planned, 1,315 ended up being shipped. The Ferrari that would never be again, not after the death of Enzo himself in August 1988. But at least a Ferrari that said goodbye by creating, once again, the best car in the world .
However, for Materazzi, the result was not so rosy. Returning from a well-deserved vacation in 1987, he finds himself removed from his post and replaced by another engineer without anyone giving him an explanation.
As a man who dresses to the feet, he leaves Ferrari without this marking the end of his career: in the 90s, he will participate in the great project of the resurrection of Bugatti in Campogalliano which will give birth to the EB110 . And even before retiring for good, between 2000 and 2005 he again dared to design the Edonis for B Engineering. Another car that, although not produced, was its own from start to finish.
Although this biography turned out to be longer than we initially thought, the truth is that many nuances of the life and work of this Italian engineer have remained irretrievably in the inkwell.
For this reason, as a "bonus track", we invite you to discover what is perhaps the best compilation of his career that can be found on the Internet: the interviews that his colleague Davide Cironi carried out a a few years. Part of the story told here (and some images) comes from these videos , which we wanted to echo with the greatest respect and affection. Rest in peace, 'Ingegniere'.
