1950 Ferrari 166 MM/212 Export by Fontana

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 18-19, 2017

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

This early Ferrari is certainly a unique design. Check out how short that windshield is. Driving it has to feel as if you are just strapping yourself to an engine and hanging on for dear life. It sort of has a proto-pontoon fender look to it, but it all curves inward at the passenger compartment before the bobbed rear end. It’s aggressive, racy, and screams “competition Ferrari.”

This car was purchased new by the Marzotto brothers in Italy in 1950. It has serious competition history in period, including:

1950 Targa Florio – DNF (with Umberto Marzotto)
1950 Mille Miglia – DNF (with Umberto Marzotto and Franco Cristaldi)
1951 Mille Miglia – DNF (with Giannino Marzotto and Marco Crosara)
1952 Mille Miglia – DNF (with Guido Mancini and Adriano Ercolani)

Okay, so maybe it wasn’t super successful in it’s day, but it still ran at the biggest races in the world. After the 1950 racing season the car was rebuilt by Carrozzeria Fontana, with the body you see here having been constructed at that time. Dubbed “L’uovo,” or the egg, it was designed to be aerodynamic and light.

After the 1952 season, the original 166 MM engine was replaced by an engine from Ferrari’s newer 212 Export model, which would mean that it carries a 2.6-liter V-12, which makes 175 horsepower (though this is unclear from the catalog description). In 1953 the car made it’s way into Californian ownership. In 1986, an Italian buyer brought the car home from the U.S. and had it restored. Displayed infrequently, the car has competed in the modern Mille Miglia a few times in the last 20 years.

This one-off, big money Ferrari will go under the hammer next month. For more information, check out RM Sotheby’s site here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $4,500,000.

1952 Ferrari 212 Export Barchetta by Touring

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Lake Como, Italy | May 23, 2015

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

What’s great about these old Ferraris is that they were built for sport but are totally street-able. They are sports cars. But there’s nothing outrageous about them and they look like an early post-war convertible car from Europe.

The 212 Export (which differs from the 212 Inter, which was marketed as Ferrari’s grand touring model while the Export was being built as a racing car) was built in 1951 with a at least a couple finished in 1952. This is actually the final 212 Export to be bodied by Touring and is one of only 28 ever built. It is powered by a 160 horsepower 2.6-liter V-12.

This car has period race history, including:

1952 Targa Florio – 10th (with Baron Luigi Bordonaro di Chiaramonte)

1953 Targa Florio – 16th (with Bordonaro)

1956 Mille Miglia – DNF (with Edouard Margairuz)

Those are some pretty important races and it’s 1952 Targa Florio finish is most impressive. The car spent 30 or so years in the hands of American owners before being shipped to its next owner in Madrid. It then moved to London before returning to the States, where it resides today. It was restored years ago but looks great. It’s eligible for nearly every great historic racing event and will command a nice sum at auction. Click here to read more and here to see more from this sale.

Update: Sold $7,593,600.