Gioacchino Colombo

Gioacchino Colombo (1903 to 1988) was an Italian automobile engine designer who worked for Alfa Romeo, Ferrari and, after the Second World War, a restarted Bugatti. Born in Legnano, he began as an apprentice to Vittorio Jano at Alfa Romeo and in 1937 designed the 158 engine of the Alfetta, which caught the attention of Enzo Ferrari. Ferrari asked him to design a small V12 for his racing and road cars, and the first Ferrari-Colombo engine appeared on 11 May 1947 as a 1.5 litre V12. It was enlarged to as much as 4.8 litres and stayed in production for road cars and endurance racers for more than 40 years, making it his best-known work. Colombo left Ferrari in 1950 for Alfa Romeo, later moved to Maserati, where he created the 250F Grand Prix car, then worked at Bugatti and for MV Agusta from 1957 to 1970. He died in Milan in 1988.