Racing
The first example of the 735 LM series raced in the 1955 Mille Miglia among smaller capacity 376 S and Monza siblings. Eugenio Castellotti entered the race as a privateer, but had to retire due to an engine problem.[8]
For the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans, Scuderia Ferrari entered three cars. Umberto Maglioli and Phil Hill drove car number 3, Eugenio Castellotti with Paolo Marzotto raced in car number 4, and Maurice Trintignant and Harry Schell were fielded in car number 5. The 735 LM was entered in the top ‘Sport 5.0’ category.[9] It was the category that also included the Jaguar D-Type, Lagonda DP-166, and Cooper T38. Castellotti in the Ferrari no. 4, recorded the best practice lap time of all time at 4 minutes 14 seconds. Only a second slower was the Mercedes-Benz 300SLR of Juan Manuel Fangio. Also over the flying kilometre on the Mulsanne straight, the 735 LM recorded a top speed of 291.2 km/h. Second was the Jaguar D-Type at 281.9 km/h.[10] The actual race was disappointing for Ferrari as none of the fielded cars had finished the race. First, the car of Castellotti / Marzotto retired after 52 laps and five hours with a failed engine. After the seven-hour mark and covering only 76 laps, Maglioli and Hill fell out of the race with an overheating engine and clutch problems. The remaining Ferrari entry, car no. 5 with Trintignant and Schell, retired with a faulty clutch after 107 laps and 10 hours of racing.[11] The race itself remained a black card in the history of motorsport because of the catastrophic crash that occurred, which came to be known as the 1955 Le Mans disaster.[12]
Still in 1955, Umberto Maglioli entered the Aosta-Gran San Bernardo hillclimb and scored a first place overall. Later the same year, two cars were entered in the Swedish Grand Prix for sports cars.[12] One finished third, driven by Eugenio Castellotti. The second, entered by Hawthorn, did not start.[13]
After the failed Le Mans and imposition of the capacity caps for the 1956 season, all four cars ended up in the United States.[12] Between 1955–1963 cars were raced by Jim Kimberly, Carroll Shelby, Phil Hill, Ray Cherryholmes, John Kilborn and Ernie McAfee with many victories in the SCCA and other race series in the US. McAfee, Shelby and Cherryholmes scored the most victories of all 735 LM drivers.[14]
In April 1956, during the Del Monte Trophy in Pebble Beach, California, a fatal accident occurred in which Ernie McAfee lost his life. His car hit a tree and he was killed on impact. This event caused a ban of racing in Pebble Beach.[15]
In 1957, three 735 LMs were entered in the Cuban Grand Prix. Two had retired and one had not arrived at all.[16]
