This twisted hunk of metal that used to be a Ferrari just sold for nearly US$2 million. Here's why
CTV
A hulk of dented, torn and scorched metal that was, decades ago, a Ferrari race car just sold at an RM Sotheby’s auction in California for $1.9 million.
A hulk of dented, torn and scorched metal that was, decades ago, a Ferrari race car just sold at an RM Sotheby’s auction in California for $1.9 million.
While that may be surprising, it’s not quite as horrible an investment as it looks, especially if the buyer is after something more than money: racing history and, for the new owner, a shot at a glory all their own.
One of only 13 made, this 1954 Ferrari Mondial Spider Series I wasn’t one of Ferrari’s fabled V12 models but an entirely different design. The four-cylinder car was designed for driving on twisting tracks with lots of curves and few straightaways, where a smaller, lighter engine was desirable.
Ferrari won world championships in 1952 and 1953 with cars of this one’s design, hence its name “Mondial” or “World.”
Known by its chassis number, 0406 MD, it was originally built with a body by the famed Italian design firm Pinin Farina. (The company name would later be changed to Pininfarina.) Back in 1954 it was driven by Franco Cortese, the same man who had, years earlier, driven a Ferrari to the brand’s very first racing victory.
As with many vintage racing cars, this one had a complicated life. A year or so after it was built, it was given a different body by the firm of Scaglietti, before being shipped to the United States in 1958.
At some point in the late 1950s or early ’60s the Mondial was crashed and burned, not necessarily at the same time. Decades later, the details are unclear. By then, its original engine had also been replaced.
