The chassis is complete and illustrates typical Ferrari approaches in the mid to late '50s.
Coil springs and A-arms up front, with friction shock absorbers and a worm and sector steering box are state of the art for the time.
The chassis, consisting of a couple of big tubes and some smaller triangulated segments, is also state of the art for 1957, although Jaguar's leading-edge monocoque was introduced in the 1954 D-Type.
Of course the 4-cam V12, with the big-bore design and lots and lots of Webers, was not just state of the art but leading edge. The Maserati 450 S was faster by the simple expedient of enjoying another three-quarters of a litre displacement over the 315S, but the 3.8 litre Jaguars, with a prewar long-stroke design, couldn't keep up.
The rear-mounted gearbox, de Dion tube and friction shocks were all common to Ferrari and its competitors. Not shown here are the 4 monster drum brakes, an area where the British cars, with disk brakes taken from aircraft applications, were well ahead.
The 1957 Mille Miglia was sadly marred by one of the all-too-common accidents in '50s road racing, killing de Portago and his navigator in a 335S, along with ten spectators; the Italian government banned road racing three days later, and the sports car racing rules had a new 3-litre limit for 1958. Arguably with Ferrari's 3.8 and 4.0 litre motors no longer eligible, this paved the way for two more British wins at Le Mans due to Enzo's reluctance to give up his drum brakes.
On to the interior and firewall. Sadly the entire rear suspension will be hidden under the mammoth gas tank.
I'll leave you with this tantalizing test fit of the body over the chassis, which looks good at this point. Love those '50s sports racer curves. Stay tuned!
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