South Africa's Motorsport Legends Association is hosting a dinner function for an evening in conversation with Mauro Forghieri, legendary designer of Ferrari F1 and Sports Cars in the 60's 70's and 80's.

Best known for his extended and successful career with the Maranello company Forghieri remains a prominent and respected automotive engineering consultant today. The event is scheduled for the 19th of July at Gallagher Estate.

Forghieri's resume includes designing cars for four Ferrari F1 World Champions, eight Formula 1 Manufacturers' Championships for Ferrari, and the final design of one of the world's most sought after and expansive classic cars, the Ferrari 250 GTO.

He was the technical head of Ferrari's motorsport division in its most successful period prior to the Schumacher era. He joined Ferrari's racing division in 1960 after graduating form Bologna University with a degree in mechanical engineering. Soon after, still in his twenties, he became the Technical Chief of the racing division at Ferrari. He went on to become one of its greatest engineers, the last of a rare breed charged with designing the entire car, including engine and transmission, rather than the modern trend of managing an extensive team of engineers responsible for the various individual design disciplines.

He managed the final development work on the Ferrari 250 GTO, a motoring classic and one of the most exclusive and expensive collectors' cars today. He engineered the transition from that front-engined classic to the new breed of Ferrari mid-engined sports cars including the 250P, 275P, 250LM, 330P and 330P3, each one a classic in its era.

It was under Forghieri's leadership, and with one of his designs, that John Surtees won his World F1 Championship in 1964 to become the only man to win World Championships on both two and four wheels. In 1970 Forghieri masterminded the Ferrari 312 Series of Grand Prix cars (312 and 312B) and sports cars (312P and 312PB).

The Ferrari 312P has a special part in South African Ferrari history with Forghieri. The first of these cars left the Ferrari factory in a partially built condition for completion and development testing at Kyalami in South Africa prior to its first race. "It was conceived in Italy but was really born in South Africa," says Forghieri.

In addition to the Surtees Championship this brilliant engineer was behind Niki Lauda's Championships in 1975 and 1977 and that of Jody Scheckter in 1979. In addition his designs secured the F1 Manufacturers' Championship for Ferrari on eight occasions, two of those in the highly technical turbo era of the 1980's with the Ferrari C2 and C3.

He remained with Ferrari until 1987, two years after Enzo Ferrari retired, when he joined Lamborghini to develop a naturally aspirated V12 F1 engine used by the Larrousse Team with promising results in its first season. In 1992 he was named as Technical Director of the re-emerging Bugatti organisation. In 1994 he left full-time employment with Bugatti to form the Oral Engineering Group, a mechanical design company, together with Franco Antoniazzi and Sergio Lugli.

Forghieri remains involved in motorsport design with an involvement in motorcycle engine development for the MotoGP3 formula, a karting programme overseen by Oral engineering and various other projects. An unpublished fact is that his expertise was called on to design a V10 3,5 litre F1 engine for a leading manufacturer to see them through the final term of that engine format in Formula 1 (circa 2006).

As a forward looking engineer he is always investigating opportunities to express his talent. An all out super car capable of taking the honours as the world's fastest road going car remains an unfulfilled dream for now.

For further information, or to secure a table for the Motorsport Legends Association function with Mauro Forghieri call (South Africa) 071 778 8490. You can also SMS a request for information to 083 588 4589 or send an email to mslegfund@gmail.com.