1955 Lancia D50: Ferrari's Own Car Was So Bad, It Had to Take Lancia's to Win

In 1955, Ferrari was losing badly. Their own Grand Prix car, the 555 Supersqualo, couldn’t keep up, and Mercedes was running away with everything. Then Lancia, broke and grieving after Alberto Ascari’s death, handed its entire D50 programme to Maranello: the cars, the spares and designer Vittorio Jano himself. The D50 was unlike anything on the grid, with a V8 bolted in as part of the chassis and fuel tanks slung between the wheels. A year later, Fangio drove it to the 1956 World Championship under a Ferrari badge. This is the story of the car that saved Ferrari’s Formula One programme, and why most people remember the wrong name on it.