Superb shot of British International Peter Whitehead’s Ferrari 125 (#0114) enroute to winning the Lady Wigram Trophy in 1954.
He won the race from Tony Gaze’s HWM Alta 2-litre s/c and Ken Wharton’s BRM P15 1.5-litre V16 s/c. Whitehead’s mechanic brings the car back into the paddock to a most appreciative crowd below.
The Ferrari is shown in the Ardmore paddock below during the NZ GP weekend, that race was won by Stan Jones’ Maybach 1 after the star of the show, Ken Wharton’s BRM retired with mechanical problems. See here for a piece on the 1954 NZ GP: https://primotipo.com/2019/11/18/ken-wharton-and-brms-grand-turismo-south-in-1954/ and on Whitehead’s Ferrari 125, later sold to Dick Cobden, and later still one of Tom Wheatcroft’s first Grand Prix car purchases here: https://primotipo.com/2020/04/09/1955-south-pacific-championship-gnoo-blas/
Upon reflection, nobody did more to build the Ferrari brand in New Zealand way back then, than Peter Nield Whitehead. Others quickly followed mind you!
Whitehead had a nice little earner going with his Grand Prix Ferraris. By carefully specifying his ex-F1 Formule Libre cars he made a nice little earner from start and prize money post-war, visiting New Zealand from 1954-57 and doing exceptionally well.
In 1955-56, Peter and his Australian buddy, Tony Gaze raced a pair of F1/F2 2-litre Ferrari 500s fitted with 3-litre Monza engines. With these Ferrari 500/625s they did rather well: at Ardmore Whitehead was second in the’55 NZ GP, and Gaze third, while Whitehead won at Wigram and Ryal Bush, and Gaze at Dunedin in 1956. Peter was third in the NZ GP that year in the race won by Moss’ Maserati 250F.
More about the Ferrari 500 here: https://primotipo.com/2019/06/24/1956-bathurst-100-lex-davison/
The grid at Wigram in 1956 with the partially obscured Reg Parnell at left aboard the one-off Aston Martin DP155. Then Whitehead’s Ferrari 500/625, Lesley Marr’s Connaught B-Type Jaguar and Tony Gaze’s Ferrari 500/625. On row two is Ron Frost, Cooper 500, and Ron Roycroft’s Bugatti Jaguar
With no shortage of quick Maserati 250Fs racing in non-championship F1 and Formule Libre racing around the globe Whitehead returned to Maranello for a faster car. Unsurprisingly, wily Enzo Ferrari palmed Peter – no fool by any stretch – off with a pair of 3.5-litre Monza engined 555 Super Squalos, one of the unsuccessful series of cars that led Enzo to beg for the Lancia D50 programme after Gianni Lancia’s profligacy drove his family company into the wall at warp-speed.
These Ferrari 555/860s were driven with great skill by Whitehead and his new ‘teammate’ Reg Parnell. The factory Aston Martin racer was another worldly businessman who enjoyed his tour of NZ with an uncompetitive Aston Martin DP155 the year before and was keen to return for more with a competitive mount.
The pair finished one-two in the NZ GP with Parnell ahead of Whitehead after 120 laps/240 miles. Reg repeated the dose at Dunedin, while Whitehead won at Wigram and Ryal Bush.
I love this ‘the times are a changin’ shot below, not that said paradigm shift was clear at the time. The big beefy Ferrari 555/860s of Reg Parnell and Peter Whitehead stand at left with no shortage of presence in the Ardmore pitlane during the January 1957 New Zealand Grand Prix weekend.
#3 is Jack Brabham’s Cooper T41 Climax 1.5 FWB, and at far right is Alex Stringer’s similar Cooper T41 Climax FWA 1100 he had leased from the by then dead Ken Wharton. #2 is Horace Gould’s Maserati 250F. It’s the sheer economy of the Cooper’s packaging – and ride height – that grabs the eye.
Parnell won from Whitehead and Stan Jones’ Maserati 250F. Brabham and Stringer were 10th and 12th, while Gould dropped a valve in the 250F. As the Cooper’s Climax engines approached 2-litres the mid-engined packaging advantages became abundantly clear.
More on the Whitehead and Parnell Super Squalo’s here: https://primotipo.com/2015/08/25/arnold-glass-ferrari-555-super-squalo-bathurst-1958/ and on the epochal series of Coopers here: https://primotipo.com/2019/10/04/cooper-t41-43-45-51-53/
Etcetera…
The front row of the Lady Wigram Trophy grid in 1954. Ken Wharton, BRM P15, Whitehead’s Ferrari 125, then Tony Gaze’ HWM Alta and on the far side, #12 Fred Zambucka, Maserati 8CM.
Peter Whitehead ahead of Leslie Marr at Ryal Bush in 1956, Ferrari 500/625 and Connaught Jaguar. And below being pushed into the dummy grid.
Whitehead with the spoils of victory at Ryal Bush in 1956, and below aboard his Ferrari 555/860 in the two shots below in 1957.
Credits…
John Manhire, Graham Woods, Vic Browne, Tony Adams, Kelvin Brown, Gordon Nimmo, Milan Fistonic, Nigel Logan, Giuseppe Cavara, MotorSport Images, Naomi Tait, Robert Sternberg
Tailpieces…
Peter Whitehead didn’t start 1958 as he had the previous four years, but had one more great result before his untimely death.
Peter and his half-brother, Graham Whitehead contested the June 1 Nurburgring 1000km in a privately entered Aston Martin DB3S and finished eighth in a warm up to Le Mans, which was held three weeks later. Peter had won at Le Mans with Peter Walker in 1951, taking Jaguar’s first historic win aboard a C-Type.
There, the Whiteheads finished a magnificent second behind the winning Olivier Gendebien/Phil Hill Ferrari TR/58 – the two cars are shown in the shot above. It was an amazing save for Aston Martin after all three of the works DBR1 300s failed to finish.
On September 20 the pair were contesting the fourth stage of Tour de France Auto in a 3.4-litre Jaguar Mk1. They were leading the touring car category when Graham lost control on a dark, foggy transport section between Mont Ventoux and Pau. The Jag plunged off a bridge in Cros landing upside down in a stream in a ravine 35 feet below. Poor Peter, still only 43, was killed instantly, Graham survived with minor leg injuries.
It was a sad end for the popular, talented wealthy sportsman who served his country in the war and barely bent a panel on any of the cars he raced…
Finito…
primotipo... 
Just a thought: did anyone ever win a race anywhere in a Super Squalo? I can’t ever remember Trinkets even going close to doing so here, and that seems to have been pretty much the same everywhere for those unfortunate enough to have one.
Hi Rod,
The best result for a Squalo in championship events appears on a quick bit of research, to be Mike Hawthorn’s victory in a 553 in the 1954 Spanish GP at Pedralbes. Mike won after the Benz’s and Lancias struck troubles.
Doug Nye in ‘History of the GP Car 1945-65’ wrote “Before the Spanish GP, Lampredi further developed the 553, replacing its original leafspring with a revised-geometry wishbone and coil-spring system at the front, including an anti-roll bar, and the geometry of the de Dion rear suspension was also refined. Hawthorn found this version enormously improved…”
As to the 555 Super Squalo, no wins at Championship level.
Mark
Thanks Mark,
Thorough and enlightening as always,
Rod
A really good read. Thank you for this and all the other interesting and informative stories you send us nearly every day. Have a great Christmas and a terrific new year
Mark, I thank you for another really great article and seek your thoughts on the following directly related suggestion.
PW and Gaze brought their 500/625 (750??!!) models for our 1954/55 Summer season and Gaze clearly brought his back a year later then sold it to Lex Davison. But your pictures and others seem to me to suggest that Whitehead by then had upgraded to a 625A as used by the factory during the 1955 European season (including their only win at Monaco) for this 1955/56 Summer tour.
The 625A was modified in some technical areas and the bodywork was noticeably different (see most obviously the different tail body profile, higher body sides and integrated not separate wind deflector).
What do you reckon?
Cheers and thank you for a great job done for years,
Graham Edney
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Graham,
I think you are probably right, and it’s been fun reaching that conclusion!
In doing so I trawled Ferrari.com, DCN’s ‘History of The GP Car 1945-65’, ‘Blanden’, ‘History of The AGP’ and Graham Howard’s Davo biography.
I had forgotten – if I ever knew – that Lampredi’s 2-litre 500 was first a 2.5-litre 625 raced by Piero Taruffi at Bari in September 1951 and Turin in April 1952.
Doug wrote of the ‘1954-55 2 1/2-litre Tipo 625 series’ that six of the existing works 500 chassis were used unchanged to accommodate the newly enlarged 2.5-litre engines.
“Two of the original form 1954 works cars were acquired unchanged by…Whitehead and Gaze…who each had Tipo 750 Monza 3-litre sportscar engines installed…” These were of course the pair of cars they raced throughout 1955-56.
Blanden is less emphatic about the engines, saying that at first glance the engines looked like 750 Monza units but used horizontal magnetos fitted to an F1 timing case.
In Blanden’s comments about the two cars being prepared for their 1956 campaign back at Maranello, he writes that the engines at that stage “were without question Type 750 Monza units that had been modified with a much higher compression ratio that would allow it to run on alcohol.”
As to chassis changes, John wrote that “Gaze elected to leave his (car) as was.” while “Whitehead received much more modification.” Which isn’t much help in answering your question…
Doug writes (on page 219) of the ’55 season 625A (Argentina) modifications as comprising: “The latest Ferrari double-wishbone and coil spring front suspension was grafted on (to the existing chassis) and the de Dion rear suspension amended with with the transverse leafspring moving above the differential unit, from the original site below it. A new five-speed and reverse gearbox was developed, and the still tail-tanked bodywork was subtly refined by more downswept, shallower nose, higher cockpit sides and fairings over the rear suspension radius rods. A four-branch, low mounted exhaust system was fitted and one car had a headrest fairing on its tail.”
Exactly which of theses features were fitted to Peter Whitehead’s car that European 1955-56 Winter who knows…!
Mark
Mark,
Thank you for taking so much time to prepare your reply. All pretty academic now but still interesting.
I attach an extract from Pritchards history in case you hadnt seen that.
Cheers,
GE
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Cheers Graham,
What an era…I can’t open the link tho, would you mind emailing me on mark@bisset.com.au, love to read it.
Mark
Sent from Outlook for iOShttps://aka.ms/o0ukef ________________________________
Second attempt moments ago. Let me know if it didn’t work.
Cheers,
G
Sent from Outlook for iOShttps://aka.ms/o0ukef ________________________________
Mark,
There is a comment above which reads “These Ferrari 555/860s were driven with great skill by Gaze and his new ‘teammate’ Reg Parnell.”
Should that be “…….Whitehead and his new ‘teammate’ Reg Parnell.”?
Cheers,
Rob
[…] Peter Whitehead’s Ferrari 125 in the Wigram paddock, 1955. He won the race from Tony Gaze’s HWM Alta and Ken Wharton’s BRM P15 V16. This car was sold at the end of the summer, to Australian, Dick Cobden. More about Whitehead and the Ferrari here: https://primotipo.com/2023/12/13/peter-whitehead-ferrari-new-zealand/ […]