The Ferrari SP series — also known as the Ferrari Dino SP — was a group of Italian sports prototype racing cars produced by Ferrari during the early 1960s, all sharing a mid-engine layout that was a first for a Ferrari sports car. The series used a common tubular steel space frame chassis with fully independent double wishbone suspension and disc brakes, mated to various Dino V6 or later V8 engines. The 196 SP shared the same chassis geometry and five-speed transaxle as the larger 246 SP, with the main change being the adoption of a smaller capacity engine aimed at the 2.0-litre class.
The 196 SP was unveiled at the same February 1962 press conference that introduced the 248 SP, 286 SP, the Ferrari 250 GTO, and the 156 Formula One car. At launch, only a single 196 SP chassis existed — serial number 0804. By 1963, three further chassis (0790, 0802, and 0806) had been converted to 196 SP specification from other configurations, bringing the total number of cars that raced as 196 SPs to four.
The engine was a 60-degree Dino V6 of the Tipo 190 designation, derived heavily from the Dino 196 S road-racing unit. With bore and stroke of 77 by 71 mm, the total displacement was 1,983.72 cc. Unlike the twin-cam 65-degree engine of the 246 SP, this unit used a single overhead camshaft per cylinder bank and two valves per cylinder, with a compression ratio of 9.8:1. Fed by three Weber 42DCN carburettors, the engine produced 210 PS at 7,500 rpm. A single spark plug per cylinder with two ignition coils was employed.
All SP series cars introduced in 1962, including the original 196 SP, received Fantuzzi bodywork in the "long-nose" style established by the later 246 SP bodies, featuring the distinctive twin front air intakes and lowered rear sections required by revised FIA regulations. Some cars were later converted by Scuderia Ferrari in 1963 to use a single front air intake, and a number have since been restored to twin-intake configuration.
The sole purpose-built 196 SP, chassis 0804, debuted at the 1962 Targa Florio where Lorenzo Bandini and Giancarlo Baghetti finished second overall and won the 2,000 cc class. The same pairing contested the 1000 km Nurburgring the following month but did not finish after the engine sump plate failed.
Ferrari then entered 0804 in the 1962 European Hill Climb Championship, loaning the car to Scuderia Sant'Ambroeus — an operation managed by Ferrari sporting director Eugenio Dragoni and supported by factory personnel, making it a Scuderia Ferrari entry in all but name. Ludovico Scarfiotti drove the car to victory in five of the six hillclimb rounds contested between June and August, defeating Porsche drivers Heini Walter and Jan Greger in the process, to secure the 1962 European Hill Climb Championship for Ferrari in the Sports Cars class.
In November 1962, chassis 0804 was sold to Luigi Chinetti's North American Racing Team (NART) and subsequently to independent racer Buck Fulp, who raced it at the December 1962 Nassau Trophy meeting. Fulp won the five-lap Governor's Trophy heat for under-2-litre cars and finished fourth overall at the main 17-lap Governor's Trophy event.
Chassis 0802, originally built as a 286 SP and later run as a 268 SP before being rebuilt following a Targa Florio accident, was converted to 196 SP specification. In 1963, Lorenzo Bandini, Ludovico Scarfiotti, and Willy Mairesse drove it at the Targa Florio, finishing second overall with a further class win.
Chassis 0806, previously a 248 SP and 268 SP, was also converted and raced in the United States under the USRRC series by Doug Thiem in 1963. Bob Grossman drove the car at the 1963 Bahamas Speed Week, taking a class win at the Governor's Trophy and finishing second in class at the Nassau Trophy.
The final 196 SP was chassis 0790, converted from 246 SP specification in 1963 and thus the last of the entire SP series. Driven by Edoardo Lualdi-Gabardi for Scuderia Sant'Ambroeus, it contested several hillclimb events in 1963, with Lualdi-Gabardi winning six out of twelve entered. In 1964, Leandro Terra raced 0790 to a win at the Vermicino-Rocca di Papa hillclimb.
The Ferrari 196 SP illustrated the flexibility of the common SP series platform, which was configured in 2.0, 2.4, 2.6, 2.9, and V8-powered forms using the same fundamental chassis. As the only purpose-built version of a car designed to win on class results rather than outright, the 196 SP's greatest contribution was Scarfiotti's 1962 European Hill Climb title, adding a championship to Ferrari's record in a discipline where the compact, lightweight SP chassis was ideally suited. The series as a whole — including the 246 SP, 196 SP, 248 SP, 268 SP, and 286 SP — bridged Ferrari's transition from front-engined sports cars to the mid-engined P-series prototypes that would dominate Le Mans from 1963 onward.