Tag Archives: pinin farina

6C 2300 B Turismo Cabriolet

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1937 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300 B Turismo Cabriolet by Pinin Farina

Offered by Gooding & Company | Amelia Island, Florida | February/March 2024

Photo – Gooding & Company

Alfa’s 6C 2300 model was short lived compared to the 2500 model that followed. It was in produced from 1934 through 1938. In that time, the company turned out just 760 examples, with the “B” variants coming into the line in 1935.

These 2300 B variants still used the same 2.3-liter DOHC inline-six that produced 70 horsepower on this single-carburetor unit. This long-chassis Turismo model wears one-off coachwork by Pinin Farina.

The car was later on display at the 1938 International Motor Show in Berlin and then spent decades in Switzerland and later France and Italy. It is one of 81 Turismo cars built between 1936 and 1937, and it was restored in the 1990s. The estimate here is $900,000-$1,200,000. Click here for more info.

Coachbuilt Corvair

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1960 Chevrolet Corvair Coupe Speciale by Pinin Farina

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 19-20, 2022

Photo – Gooding & Company

The first Corvairs were sold for the 1960 model year, which is when GM Styling VP Bill Mitchell shipped this example to Italy to have Pinin Farina take a stab at designing around the platform.

That platform featured a rear-engined flat-six that, on this example, displaces 2.4 liters and makes about 80 horsepower. The car was shown at the 1961 Paris and Turin Motor Shows before being revised by Tom Tjaarda. It re-debuted at the 1963 Geneva show in its current 2+2 configuration.

Then Pinin Farina kept it in their private collection until 1996. But the exercise wasn’t for nothing: the second-generation Corvair rolled out in 1965, with some styling cues lifted from this car. It’s now one of the most expensive Corvairs anywhere in the world, with an estimate of $300,000-$500,000, which seems… steep. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $315,000.

XK120 by Pinin Farina

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1955 Jaguar XK120 SE Coupe by Pinin Farina

Offered by Bonhams | Amelia Island, Florida | March 3, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

This is the third Jaguar XK120 we’ve featured, and all three have been coachbuilt cars with bodies that would not have come from the Jaguar factory. The XK120 launched in 1948 at the London Motor Show. Roadsters came first, and coupes and drophead coupes followed thereafter.

This coupe is the only XK120 bodied by Pinin Farina. It was at shows in 1955, which would’ve been after the XK140 entered production. It is an SE, or Special Equipment, model, meaning that the 3.4-liter inline-six was modified with higher-lift camshafts and a dual-exit exhaust for a horsepower bump to 180.

This car came to the U.S. via Max Hoffman, and a restoration was carried out in 2015. The result was a second-in-class at Pebble Beach in 2017. This one-off Jag has an estimate of $900,000-$1,300,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $940,000.

250 GT Series II Cabriolet

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1960 Ferrari 250 GT Series II Cabriolet by Pinin Farina

Offered by Gooding & Company | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 17, 2020

Photo – Gooding & Company

There were quite a number of models in Ferrari’s 250 GT range, but only four drop-top models: the short- and long-wheelbase California Spider, and the less pricey Pinin Farina Cabriolets, which were offered in two series.

Pinin Farina’s Series II 250 GT Cabriolet was introduced in October 1959 and was the most expensive car in the 250 GT line when new. It is powered by a 240 horsepower, 3.0-liter V12. The differences between the Series I and Series II were slight but included revised front-end styling and four-wheel disc brakes from Dunlop.

This dark red example has had four owners since new and is the 68th of 200 examples produced. It should sell for between $1,300,000-$1,500,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $1,462,500.

Ferrari 250 Monza

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1954 Ferrari 250 Monza by Scaglietti

Offered by Mecum | Monterey, California | August 15-17, 2019

Photo – Mecum

It’s a little amusing how much the Mecum catalog is hedging on the description of this car. It is in the catalog as “1954/1959 Ferrari 0432M.” Which is useless info. This car has a nuanced history, that’s for sure. I guess when you own the auction house you want to lay out the facts and let others draw their own conclusions – which I will now do. This car was born in 1954 as a Pinin Farina-bodied 250 Monza Spider.

Only four examples of the 250 Monza were built and they were essentially the 750 Monza with a 3.0-liter V12 instead of a 3.0-liter inline-four. Output was 260 horsepower. This particular car won the 1954 12 Hours of Hyeres with Maurice Trintignant and Luigi Piotti.

Sometime in 1956 or 1957, the car returned to Ferrari, who had it re-bodied by Scaglietti with the pontoon fender-style body you see here. The interesting bit is that this was done at approximately the same time Scaglietti was designing the 250 Testa Rossa. Maybe it’s like a proto-Testa Rossa?

In 1959, it arrived at Luigi Chinetti’s place in New York, and it was shown at the 1959 New York Auto Show. From there it’s had a few owners, including Dana Mecum who had the car restored in 2014. The catalog makes this car seem mysterious. But old cars changed bodies here and there. No big deal. It’s a factory-re-body of a 250 Monza. And it’s wonderful. I look forward to your hate mail telling me why my assumptions are wrong. Check out more info on this car here, and see more from Mecum here.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $20,000,000.

Alfa Superflow IV

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1953 Alfa Romeo 6C 3000 CM Superflow IV by Pinin Farina

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 17, 2019

Photo – Gooding & Company

The Alfa Romeo 6C was first introduced in 1927. That it was still in production in 1954 is kind of crazy, but in Alfa’s defense, the model went through quite a few rounds of changes before it was discontinued. The last iteration of the model was the 6C 3000, which was introduced in 1948.

Three passenger car prototypes were built before Alfa focused the model exclusively on racing. The first racing car was a one-off, and then the company moved to the production of the CM, or Competizione Maggiorata. The engine is a 275 horsepower, 3.5-liter inline-six. Only six were built.

This car began life as a Colli-bodied Berlinetta. After its use as a Le Mans test car, it was shipped to Pinin Farina and re-debuted at the 1956 Turin Motor Show as the “Superflow.” The car was re-bodied in quick succession as the Superflow II and the Super Spider before it culminated, in 1960, as the Superflow IV design you see here.

Passing through a few private owners, it later wore a replica of the Super Spider body before it was restored with its original Superflow IV body in 2013. This is the first time it’s ever been to auction, and it’s one of those cars you never see trade hands publicly. It is expected to sell for between $6,000,000-$8,000,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

250 GT Speciale

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1957 Ferrari 250 GT Coupe Speciale by Pinin Farina

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Phoenix, Arizona | January 18, 2019

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Pinin Farina was responsible for what we’ll call the “base” Ferrari 250 GT Coupe. Produced from 1958 through 1961, these cars were the volume-leader model among so many special, limited-edition 250 GTs.

The car pictured here is about the farthest possible thing from a “base” model. This particular car was built specially for a Belgian Princess by Pinin Farina and has known ownership history from new. A restoration was completed in 1997 and it’s been on the show field at Pebble Beach.

Somehow, RM’s catalog entry is completely devoid of any technical information on the car. Power is likely from a 3.0-liter V-12, and this is thought to be one of four Coupe Speciales bodied by Pinin Farina, though the coachwork is unique. It should sell for between $11,000,000-$13,000,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Ferrari 250 MM

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1953 Ferrari 250 MM Berlinetta by Pinin Farina

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 24-25, 2018

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

There are a lot of different “250” models from Ferrari. It started with the 250 S, then came this, the 250 MM. It would evolve into cars like the 250 Testa Rossa, 250 GTO, 250 P and 250 LM. And those are just the racing variants.

The 250 MM was a stout little thing produced in 1952 and 1953. The Colombo V-12 was enlarged to 2.5-liters and produced 237 horsepower when it was dropped into the slightly longer (than the 225) wheelbase of the 250 MM. Named for the famous Mille Miglia road race in Italy, and to commemorate Ferrari’s recent victory there, the 250 MM was one of the premier racing cars for independent drivers of the early 1950s.

This particular car saw action on the privateer sports car circuit in Sweden when new. Down the line, this car was owned by racing driver Jo Bonnier and was eventually registered in Switzerland. Later owners had the car in Italy, England, France, Germany, and finally the United States. In beautiful condition after a recent cosmetic freshening, this will be another of RM’s mega-dollar cars in Monterey. It is one of just 31 250 MMs built and one of only 18 such cars that wear a Pinin Farina Berlinetta body. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Alfa 6C 2500 Speciale

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1942 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Cabriolet Speciale by Pinin Farina

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 9, 2018

Photo – Artcurial

The 6C was a long-lasting Alfa Romeo model, having been built in a variety of different series between 1927 and 1954. What we have here is a 6C 2500, which were built between 1938 and 1952. It was the ultimate 6C model as the 6C 3000 never really went beyond the prototype stage.

This 6C 2500, which is powered by a 2.4-liter straight-six making 90 horsepower, was delivered as a bare chassis to Pinin Farina in 1942 (along with 13 other chassis). The first owner, a wealthy Milanese woman, had Pinin Farina body it for the first time in 1946. The body was an instant hit, winning awards at car shows upon introduction.

It had a slew of American owners later on before being faithfully restored between 2008 and 2013. This is an extremely stylish car wearing a unique, one-off body that was way ahead of its time (for comparison, here is what the standard Pinin Farina Cabriolet looked like from this same era). As a rolling piece of art, this car is expected to bring between $1,225,000-$1,600,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Artcurial.

Update: Not sold.

Ferrari 500/735 Mondial

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1954 Ferrari 500/735 Mondial Spider by Pinin Farina

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

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The car in this photograph definitely has the look of a child’s car. But it is not, as it is a true Ferrari race car. It started life as a 500 Mondial, the third car in Ferrari’s Monza line of sports racers. Bodied by Pinin Farina, it doesn’t quite resemble other 500 Mondial Spiders by the same coachbuilder.

Before it left the factory, Ferrari installed an engine from the slightly-earlier 735 S race car. That means this 500 Mondial is powered by a 2.9-liter straight-four that puts out 225 horsepower. That’s actually quite an upgrade over the Mondial’s comparatively weak 170 horsepower, 2.0-liter unit. To this day, no one knows why Ferrari built this car this way.

Sold new to a man in California, it spent its early days tearing around tracks on the West Coast in regional sports car races. The current owner has had the car since 1999, meaning it is being offered from relatively long-term ownership. It’s one of only 13 Pinin Farina Spider-bodied 500 Mondials. And possibly the only one with a 735 S engine. It should bring between $4,000,000-$5,500,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $3,850,000.