This 1957 Ferrari is Expected to Sell for Over $31 Million

BOLD RIDE

Copyright © 2016 Bold Ride LLC.

 

Posted by Zach Doell 

 

                               

                                            

The prospect of vintage Ferrari race cars fetching ten and twenty million dollars at auction is startlingly no longer surprising. In fact, these multi-million dollar auction prices have become de rigueur over the last decades. But when values start to crack the thirty million dollar mark, ears begin to perk, and this is one of those occasions. 

 

A storied 1957 Ferrari 335 Sport Scaglietti will cross the Artcurial auction block in Paris, France, this afternoon with bidding scheduled to start at an eye-opening €28 million, or around $31 million. The auction house expects the race-winning Ferrari could sell for upwards of €32 million, or around $35 million, which would make it one of the most expensive Ferraris ever sold at auction.

This Ferrari 335 Sport’s history begins early in 1957, at which time chassis #0674 was constructed and bodied by Scaglietti, though initially as a Ferrari 315 S with a 3.8-liter Tipo 140 V12 under its snout. Its maiden race took place at the Sebring 12 Hours, managing a sixth place finish, followed by a scintillating second place finish at the iconic Mille Miglia with driver Wolfgang von Trips at the helm.

 

Immediately after the race, #0674 was bestowed a larger 4.0-liter V12 and then campaigned by Luigi Musso and future Formula 1 champion Mike Hawthorn at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The duo broke the lap record at the circuit, though retired after five hours running. It was then off to the Swedish Grand Prix, where the car notched a fourth place finish.

The Ferrari race car was then returned to the Maranello factory for yet another upgrade, a new front end (à la 250 Testa Rossa) to help cool the brakes, before it was sent to the Venezuelan Grand Prix, which would decide the 1957 world title. Musso and Hawthorn would achieve another second place, and help Ferrari take the 1957 constructors championship with a 1-2-3-4 finish.

Another trip back to Maranello saw the Ferrari outfitted with its final engine, the triumphant 335 S Tipo 141 V12, which pumped out 400 horsepower courtesy of dual overhead camshafts and big four-barrel carburetors. It was then sold to famed New York Ferrari importer Luigi Chinetti in January 1958, and raced under his NART racing colors, providing a win at the 1958 Cuban Grand Prix with Masten Gregory and Stirling Moss at the wheel.

Later, it was raced at events across the US, from Road America to Watkins Glen, with names like Lance Reventlow (creator of the Scarab sports cars) behind the wheel.

Its professional racing retirement came about in 1960, as chassis #0674 was sold to an architect in Pennsylvania, followed by a sale ten years later which led to the car’s current owner, notable Ferrari collector Pierre Bardinon. It was restored to original condition in the 1980s, and is said to have remained largely untouched in recent years.

Looking to buy? The auction kicks off at 3pm Central European Time.