This is the first online announcement of the Feature Car of the 2009 RM Monterey Auction!
For sale is the Dino Ferrari 1953 166 Mille Miglia #0050 (ex 0308M). This 166 Mille Miglia was the personal car of Enzo Ferrari’s son Dino and the first small grill Ferrari. Dino had a major role in the development of this car. To quote the October 2004 issue of Forza: “A fresh impulse came from Enzo Ferrari’s son Alfredo (Dino), who received a spare 166 MM chassis from his father. Dino came up with some ideas of his own to be executed by local coachbuilder Sergio Scaglietti: together, they conceived of an aggressive and fluid line for Dino’s 166 MM. Scaglietti bodied the Mondial that scored the early-1954 success based on this design, with its unusually small front grill”.
This is the first Ferrari Jack Reuter purchased. In 1965 he happened to see it partially covered through a window of a warehouse in St. Louis Missouri. He was able to locate the owner of the building (Ed Kaysing) and purchased the car for $1,000. It was in pieces but was “so original it would make you cry”. He then restored the car and took it to the 1966 Ferrari Club Of America meet in Indianapolis Indiana where he won the prize for Best Roadster. We still have the pewter cup…He later sold the car to Ken Hutchison.
Cliff from Etceterini contacted me about this lovely little barchetta while I was travelling so I figured I wouldn’t have time to post about it before it fell under the auction hammer at today’s Les Grandes Marques à Monaco. It looks, however, like this magnificent little red machine failed to meet reserve and, while there’s always the chance that a deal will still be struck before the auction ends, I couldn’t resist posting up these pics.
I’m not terribly familiar with the Ermini name, but readers of Etceterini will no doubt know that Pasquino Ermini spent the 20s and 30s throwing Bugattis and Talbots around Italian racetracks before finally taking up the wrench to build a number of Fiat based specials. Ultimately he started building complete cars under his own nameplate in ‘49. Like so many of the small Italian manufacturers, the Ermini competition machines are based on a Fiat chassis. Interestingly, though, Ermini’s early cars used a Dual Overhead Cam 1100 engine of his own design. The engine proved quite successful. Wrapped in a lovely coachbuilt body, she was even more impressive. Bill Devin used an 357 Ermini as the mold for a line of his successful sportscar fiberflass rebodies.
This example, chassis 1855 has quite a lovely history. She competed in the 1956 and 1957 Mille Miglia and still houses her original Ermini 1,431cc 4-banger.
The hammer fell on this afternoon’s auction without the 357 reaching reserve—which means you still have a chance. Just phone up your banker (if you haven’t already murdered him) and secure the €330,000 - 370,000 this remarkably beautiful little barchetta was estimated to bring in.
The late 60s were, by any measure, a high-water point for sports car racing. The cars were absolutely beautiful. The science of aerodynamics was coming into its own. The cars were fast. Very fast. Faster than Formula 1 cars of the era.
Here’s a lovely example of the era that is coming available as part of RM Auctions’ Leggende e Passione auction: A meticulously preserved Ferrari 330 P4. Chassis 0858 is a majestic example, with a fairly impressive history. This is, after all, a car that was driven by Jackie Stewart and Chris Amon. Beyond a win at Monza, they shared the car for a wonderful meeting at Brands Hatch for the the British BOAC International 500. This was the last championship points winning race of the season and the World’s Sportscar Manufacturer Championship was on the line. Ferrari held a small lead, but Porsche was nipping at the horse’s heels. Jo Siffert was racing hard in his 910 to show that Porsche wasn’t just going to let Ferrari walk away with it. Through a handful of lead changes and hard battles, Jackie Stewart took the car back from Amon in the final hour to hold on to second place and secure Ferrari’s championship (Mike Spence and Phil Hill won the meeting in their Chaparral).
Ferrari 330 P4 is indeed a very special car. In many ways, however, this era is bittersweet for me because it represents the real turning point in sportscar sophistication. The era of the garagista as a force in racing then started its slow decline. Wind tunnels, aerodynamicists, space-aged materials, and technological leaps permanently placed sportscar racing—any racing for that matter—in the hands of professional engineers, not amateur gearheads. I know, I know, I’m always singing the praises of the 917, a car perhaps even more the culprit for this shift. But it’s sad all the same.
On another tangent, I really have to commend RM Auctions on not only securing a marvelous roster of cars for their auction, but on investing in high quality photography for the catalog. These shots are simply stunning and it’s worth hopping over to the catalog just to take them all in.
Martin Chisholm is offering a marvelous 1952 Ferrari 225 Sport Barchetta. She is a beautiful, Rossa Corso wonder. A squat, dense muscle powered by an early iteration of Colombo’s famous V12 that would later prove so successful for the various Ferrari 250 variants that are in such high demand. This version of the V12 was based on the earlier 212, but bored out an extra 10mm and stroked to 58.8 mm for a total displacement of 2715 cc. The extra oomph under the bonnet made 224S #0218ET good for a perfectly reasonable 210 horses at 7200 RPM.
The 225 was developed with the twisty mountain sections of the Mille Miglia in mind, but since she was developed alongside early prototype versions of the 250, she was quickly overshadowed by her big brother in Italy. Fortunately, 0218ET was headed for American shores. This Barchetta, was an Alf Momo car, quickly prepped and ready for club racing in the States.
Of course, what makes this car really desirable was her entry in the ‘53 Sebring 12 Hours Race. Bill Spears shared the car with Phil Hill. Unfortunately, in a rare mistake, Phil had an off-course excursion that cost them the race. In the early days of Sebring, the grass surrounding the course was a very treacherous place and Phil managed to find the foundation of a disused and demolished barracks. The hit to the rear wheel took out the differential, forcing the team to call it quits for the race.
The car bounced around from racer to racer for several years, before becoming a toy of a Hollywood businessman. Finally the car was rescued by noted collector Gary Schonwald who located the long missing original engine and restored 0218ET to the remarkable shape you see her in today. She looks Concours and Historic Mille Miglia perfect.
Carrozzeria Vignale did an absolutely incredible piece of work crafting the body of this little barchetta back in 1952, and despite the more impressive statistics of the scores of Ferrari models that have followed in the wake of the early barchettas, there is no model that I find more romantic than these early V12 series.
Often when you say that a car is ex-racing driver it means that a driver of some note once piloted the machine. By that definition, this is certainly an Ex-Graham Hill. Very rarely however, can that same term be used to describe both the driver and the builder of a racing car. But that, amazingly, is the case with this very special Lotus 11. Graham Hill built this car with his own hands from a Colin Chapman supplied kit in April and May of 1956.
Hill was an employee of Chapman’s at the time, toiling by day at Lotus Engineering as a mechanic in order to stay close to the racing scene he loved so dearly. Hill had been racing for some time by ‘56, but lacked the funds to keep a car together on his own. Taking a day job at Lotus was a great way to be in earshot of an opportunity at some seat time. And I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if Old Colin Chapman kept Hill on for the very same reason.
Hill campaigned this Lotus 11 in the Autosport Production series as a works car. Chapman provided the kit, but maintained sufficient ownership of the car for her to run as a works machine: making this a very busy 11 indeed. Hill put her on the podium 9 times in ‘56, winning 4 races (Hill must’ve loved Brands Hatch, it was the location of all of his wins in this car that year). The car’s work, however, wasn’t done there. Chassis #208 was also the factory’s show car and press mule. And, it is speculated, served as Hill’s road car for the drives to and from the races.
Ian Walker purchased #208 in 1957 and competed with a swapped engine. Eventually the car fell out of competition. Now, however, the car is reunited with her original 1,172cc side-valve and is fresh off a masterful Mike Brotherwood restoration and fantastic, patinad coachwork and paint by Sovereign Coachworks. Together they’ve done a tremendous job of making a complete restoration look lived in and not over-restored. Jan Lühn now offers the car. An amazing vehicle with fantastic history that will surely give the buyer entry in to the races of his choice.
Further reading:
Jan Lühn has photos, with more information to come.
Sovereign Coachworks also features a gallery of the bodywork. Wonderful.
A 1965 Shelby Daytona Coupe serial number CSX2601 finally gives Mecum Auctions a car worthy of the hilarious over-enthusiasm of their Ring Men. Seriously. Watch a single episode of Mecum Auto Auctions: Muscle and More. As far as I can tell, it’s a show about guys with over-gelled hair jumping up and down; with an occasional shot of a muscle car.
The car is a true treasure, especially for American enthusiasts. Bob Bondurant piloted CSX2601 to class victory at Rheims 12 Hours on July 4, 1965—fitting, eh? That class win clinched the Worlds Sportscar Championship for GT+2. The interwebs are all abuzz about the possibility that CSX2601 may bring in the highest ever price for a car at auction, with estimates in 8 figures. Of course, other web sources are speculating that Ferrari Testa Rossa chassis no. 0714TR, also being auctioned this May will be the top draw. I’ll leave that speculation to them.
The Shelby has the more important race history, clinching the World Sportscar title isn’t something to take lightly. The car was driven to 5 class wins and a 3rd overall finish at the 1965 Coppa Citta di Enna behind a pair of Ferrari 250 LMs. She was entered in 8 races, all of them World Championship events, finishing 6, taking class victory in 5. That’s a very good history in anyone’s book.
In contrast, the Ferrari was entered in 34 races, taking class victories in 4, with a highest result of 4th in her debut: the 1958 Argentina 1000km.
Only time will tell which of these remarkable cars will take the top money. I must admit that I have less interest than many online speculators on the actual dollar value these very different, but significant cars bring in.
Either way, I lose. I take consolation, however, that even without the 8 figure investment, I can still get my own. Sorta.
Update:
Rumor has it that CSX2601 failed to sell on Friday night, with bidding stalling out around $6.8Million; well below reserve. Mecum folks have said that they had several bidders with $10Million lines of credit that failed to bid at all. What kind of world do we live in when a handful of Ferraris can bring in much more money that this tremendous Daytona Coupe?
I know when we see “Dino”, we automatically think of the simply stunning 60s-70s mid-engined, Pininfarina designed, Dino 246, and with good reason; the 246 is an absolute masterpiece of automotive design. This Dino, however, is a bit earlier and every bit as beautiful. The 1959 296S Dino (chassis # 0746) has a fascinating history of her own to be proud of.
She debuted at the 1958 Silverstone race with racing’s best dressed driver Mike Hawthorn at the wheel pushing her hard to a 3rd place finish. Some sources, however, claim 0746 actually had an earlier race at the hands of Wolfgang Von Trips; finishing 3rd at the January, 1958 Nurburgring 1000km. In either event, the Scuderia quickly sold 0746 to retired racing driver, N.A.R.T. founder, and America’s first Ferrari distributor, Luigi Chinetti. Luigi soon had a handful of North American talent driving talent throughout the US and beyond. The car’s primary drivers in this era were Mexican phenoms the Rodriguez brothers, who had early success with 0746 in Nassau (1st and 2nd in various races that weekend) and Sebring (3rd).
Pedro Rodriguez, of course, went on to major international success as a Formula 1 driver for the Scuderia, Lotus, and BRM in various seasons from 1963-1971. He also won the LeMans 24 Hours race in 1968 with co-driver Lucien Bianchi in a Mk. I Ford GT-40. His brother, Ricardo, had his promising career tragically cut short in a fatal crash in 1962 during a practice session for the Mexican Grand Prix. Ricardo’s potential was staggering, barred by the LeMans officials from driving in 1958 because he was too young, Ricardo returned in ‘59 to claim 2nd in an OSCA with co-driver André Pilette. A string of Formula 1 races for Ferrari followed, making Ricardo the youngest-ever Formula 1 driver at the time. He also claimed outright victory in a Ferrari Testa Rossa in the 1962 Targa Florio. With such an amazing string of successes, it’s all the sadder to think of the amazing career he might have had.
Following Luigi Chinetti’s stewardship of 0746, The car went on to further successes with American driver, George Constantine, who had top-five finishes with the car in three 1961 SCCA National races and won the 1961 Grand Prix Watkins Glen.
Today, UK dealer Duncan Hamilton offers Ferrari 296S #0746 in fantastic condition in her Rossa Corso N.A.R.T. livery. She’s a sight to behold. Included with the car are two of the underrated Ferrari V6s and wrapped in disc brakes all around. Sure, Ferrari means V12 to most, but I have an affinity for the early 6 and 8 bangers. She’s an absolute beauty and I hope to see her slicing around Goodwood or the Monterrey Historics soon.
A Lotus Chassis. A Porsche 4-cam. Is it the best of both worlds?
George Follmer probably thought so.
George spent a good bit of the early 60’s lapping Southern California tracks in a variety of Porsches before he got the itch to move into sports prototypes. Naturally, a Lotus 23 fits the bill nicely. He set about modding the chassis to accept a Porsche 550 motor, before ultimately swapping it for the newer 904 powerplant. With the help of former Shelby American team-member, Bruce Burness, George knocked together one hell of a combination.
The 1,966 cc motor just eeks under 2-liters, and soon proved to be highly competitive in the class; taking 3rd in her debut race. The real beauty of the car though, was it’s consistency. Several weeks later, after a string of podiums and after their first class-win, the team realized that their point totals put them not only at the top of the class, but in the outright points lead for the the USRRC series. After an additional string of class wins at Bridgehampton, the Glen, and others; one maneater of a race was all that remained to determine if this little scrapper of a 2-liter car would steal the outright championship away from the big-bore boys. The Road America 500 Miles race.
Road America remains a giant of a track by American standards. For a low-powered (comparatively) car, 500 miles of it would be quite a task. But George finished 3rd behind Jim Hall’s mighty Chaparrals, clinching both the class and overall championships. George Follmer, of course, went on to a very successful career through the 70’s; racing everything from Formula 1 and Can-Am, to Nascar and Trans-Am. I’m guessing this little Lotus-Porsche remained a favorite of his despite the impressive array of machinery he would later compete in.
Today, Gooding & Co. offers the ex-George Follmer Lotus 23 through their private sales department. Wearing it’s original Trans Ocean Motors team livery, she’s a remarkably beautiful car. I particularly like the hand painted team logo and engine-turned gold leaf number 16. Gorgeous!
Actually it means “little boat”; but still, have you ever seen a barchetta that wasn’t absolute beauty on wheels?
Take this 1949(!) Stanguellini Barchetta Sport Colli 1100 currently in the inventory of Digit Motorsport in Arizona. In a method that Carlo Abarth would perfect decades later, the car is based on a Fiat chassis with an 1100 cc Fiat motor—both heavily modified by the Stanguellini crew in Modena. This is a pure Mille Miglia machine, with FIA papers tracing it’s history all the way back to it’s 1948 build date.
While there doesn’t seem to be any specific provenance placing this car at the Mille or Targa Florio, it’s hard to imagine that it never competed in either. 1949 was, after all, very early in sportscar manufacturing. It may only make a whopping 60 horses, but I imagine the thrill is every bit as visceral as driving the latest from Lamborghini or Ferrari.
I fell in love with the barchettas fully and completely at this year’s Continental Grand Prix at Autobahn Country Club at the foot of a Siata 300 Barchetta. I could barely tear myself away from it. Is there any barchetta of any make that isn’t magnificent? The Ferrari 166MM. The Maserati A6. The OSCA MT-4. The Siata I love so dearly. Each deserving of their own posts in a future installment of The Chicane. Hmm.. that’s a good idea.
The early Italian carrozzerias had it right, small engine, small body, beautiful lines.
Don’t get me wrong, I like Rosso Corso as much as the next guy. Isn’t it a bit refreshing though, to see a classic Ferrari in a color other than red? This French racing blue 250 GT LWB on offer from Symbolic Motors looks fantastic with it’s tri-color French racing stripes. The long wheel base cars don’t seem to get as much respect as the ridiculously popular 250 SWB, the 250 GT California, and the later GTO; but the extra 8 inches hardly seems worth quibbling about when a car looks as absolutely fantastic as this.
Like all 250s, the Tour de France draws power from the Colombo designed 3-liter V12. Although restricting engine size in the wake of the tragedy at the ‘55 Le Mans was a bit unpopular at the time, the engine is still impressive, drawing 240 hp in the early Tour de France configuration. This, coupled with the very lightweight body, allowed to 250 Ferraris to be strong GT competitors.
This car, chassis 508, is the 8th Tour de France of 9 bodied by Carozzeria Scaglietti using the original Pinin Farina designed body style. True to its name, gentleman racing driver Jacques Peron and his co-driver, Jacques Bertrammier, debuted #508 in the 5th annual Tour de France Auto, placing 8th. Peron continued to track the car, largely in mainland Europe, for another 2 years with fairly high levels of success. Notable races include wins at the ‘56 Rallye des Forets, ‘56 USA Cup at Montlhéry, ‘57 Grand Prix of Paris, and what must have been an exotic rally indeed, the 1957 Rallye Allier in Algier.
After Peron returned the car to it’s lessor (who knew you could lease Ferraris in 1956?), the car was sold to Bruce Kessler in the States and dropped out of competition. Damaged in the 1970’s the car sat dormant until a series of restorations in the 80’s and 90’s brought it to the concours quality you see today. 508 took 2nd in it’s class at the 2003 Concours at Pebble Beach and since then has been bouncing around from auction to auction.
There’s no question that the car is beautiful; and a 250GT is an impressive addition to any collection. I’d prefer the car’s interior was kept the original black in the restoration. And the current climate of 250GT sales is atmospheric, even for cars without long racing provenance (the ridiculous price brought in by the ex-James Coburn 250GT California comes to mind). I say that, of course, but if I had the funds I’d be jumping on the opportunity to put this amazing car in my garage. The car last sold for $4.5 Million; certainly a princely sum, but given recent 250 prices, I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if it breaks that price.
Here’s some footage of the ‘56 Tour de France Auto. Keep your eyes peeled for #75—the number this car wore for the race.
