RECONSTRUCTING THE ORIGIN OF THE CAR FROM DIFFERENT OPINIONS AND ALMOST NO DOCUMENTS.

STARTING POINT
The history of the two existing chassis (01C and 02C) of the 125 S, the first Ferrari model, has been the subject of studies by experts in vintage cars and the specific brand. Despite its well-documented journey, clarifying details about the car’s first year of existence, 1947, is challenging. The manufacturer has not provided precise information on the actual number of “125 S” chassis produced and their use in competitions. No images of the punching of the chassis or engines can be found. The cars used were not regularly registered, participating in competitions with “PROVA” (test) plates, thus preventing historians from determining the exact chassis number. Certain and reliable bibliographic sources are not known to support the research, and in some cases, they do not agree with each other. Chassis 02C’s history seems to be intertwined and not distinguishable from that of its sister 01C.

RESEARCH
To determine the origin of Ferrari #02C, we initiated our research from known photographic sources, issued by the House or found in the photo/documentary archives from 1947 to 1949. All the images of the “model 125” cars were analyzed, not just those already attributed to #02C. An objective and rigorous approach has also allowed us to identify some cornerstones and to hypothesize, with reliability, any historical evolutions of the cars analyzed. The aim was to identify "something that had not yet been noticed." A notable difference between the 01C and 02C is the absence of a driver's side air intake on the 02C, while it consistently appears in the evolution of the 01C. A 1947 picture of the original dashboard of the 125 S barchetta before the start of the Mille Miglia reveals features of continuity and an evolution that can be traced throughout the life of chassis no. 02C, distinguishing it from its sister car 01C with open wheels. Finally, the car, which has a 125 S type chassis, even if evolved to 166 millemiglia, is still fitted today with Houdaille dampers, believed to be the original ones, differing from the older type dampers fitted on the car’s open-wheel “sister” 01C, visible in various pictures of the era. All these facts suggest that the car 02C > 020 I was born as a barchetta and not as an open wheeler.