Ferrari 500
- Constructor
- ferrari
- Years
- 1952–1953
- Designers
- Aurelio Lampredi
- Engine
- Ferrari Lampredi straight-4
- Configuration
- straight-4, 1985 cc, naturally aspirated
- Power
- 185 bhp (The 2.0-litre Formula Two engine; the related 625 F1 car took the same design out to 2,498 cc and 210-230 hp)
- Chassis
- tubular frame
- Gearbox
- —
- Suspension
- Front: independent, transverse leaf springs with Houdaille dampers. Rear: de Dion axle
- Brakes
- drum
- Weight
- —
- Wheelbase
- —
- Tyres
- Pirelli
- Races
- 19
- Wins
- 0
- Poles
- 0
- Drivers' titles
- 2
- Constructors' titles
- 0
- Specification confidence
- medium
A Formula Two car that won two World Championships because the championship came to it
When Alfa withdrew after 1951 there were not enough Formula One cars left to fill a grid, so the 1952 and 1953 championships were run to Formula Two rules. Ferrari already had the best Formula Two car. Ascari won every championship race he entered in 1952 bar the Indianapolis 500, and all but the last in 1953: seven straight wins, a record that stood for sixty years until Vettel beat it in 2013.
Ascari's back-to-back titles, 1952 and 1953.