1955 Ferrari 410 Sport Spider by Scaglietti
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 18-20, 2022
Enzo Ferrari wanted a car that could win the Carrera Panamericana in 1955. The company developed a new sports car chassis and fitted it with the 5.0-liter V12 from the 410 Superamerica. The twin-plug racing engine produced 400 horsepower, which was 40 more than the two single-plug customer cars that Ferrari delivered to some independent drivers.
Two twin-plug cars were built, with this being one of them. The Carrera was cancelled, so this car was saved for the 1956 World Sportscar Championship. This chassis, #0598, was driven by Fangio at the 1000 km of Buenos Aires before being sold into privateer hands.
From there, it was used at a variety of hillclimbs and SCCA events in the U.S., with wins racked up by Carroll Shelby. Other drivers in period included Phil Hill, Richie Ginther, Masten Gregory, Jo Bonnier, Jim Rathmann, and Fireball Roberts.
The full history of this car is pretty interesting and can be read here. Other notable events include decades under ownership of Luigi Chinetti. It was cosmetically refreshed in the 1980s, and the engine was rebuilt in 2012. With only four produced, and only two in this specification, this is a monster among golden-era Ferrari sports racing cars. RM won’t even publish an estimate.
Update: Sold $22,005,000.