The Best Possible Way to Buy a Vintage Ferrari

There are a lot of ways to buy a classic Ferrari; dealers, official and unofficial, Internet, Ebay, brokers, or even get a good deal at that most heathen of all meat markets, Barrett Jackson. But we can’t think of a classier, upclass, verifiable and trustworthy way to buy a Ferrari than at the upcoming (May 20th) RM/Sotheby’s “Leggenda e Passione” Ferrari Only auction to be held at, where else, the Circuit Fiorano in Maranello.

So the venue is as good as it gets. The only things better is the list of consignees. First, according to RM, all the cars to be sold have already been through the much vaunted Ferrari certification process. Second, the list is full of mouth watering historic Ferraris. Here's just a few of the headliners.

1962 Ferrari 330 TRI/LM
The star of the show will no doubt be the 1962 Le Mans winning Ferrari 330 TRI/LM, Chassis and engine number 0808 as driven by Phil Hill and Oliver Gendebien. We were there the last time this car was sold, in 2002 at the Monterey RM auction. Thanks to Rick Carey, we shared front row seats as the bidding went well beyond expectations and finally changed hands at 6.5 million.

Even the winners in 1962 could have imagine that their mount would eventually be worth 5-10 million dollars.

Back in those heady days of 1962, as we read the race reports which belatedly arrived some three months after the big event, not in our wildest imagination could we have thought that Phil’s winning car would eventually be worth so much money. Or, for that matter, that we would be there to watch the sale. We won’t be in Maranello to see it happen again, but we might sneak in a willing reporter.

330 TRI/LM at Le Mans, 1962.

The big 330 was the last of the great line of Testa Rossas which started with a variety of prototypes, one being 0600MDTR. In addition to winning at Le Mans, the 330 TRI/LM became a NART car, in actuality owned by Don Rodriguez for use by his more famous son Pedro. The car’s last meaningful competition appearance was in the hands of Roger Penske, who was driving when a rod let loose at Le Mans in 1963.

The Le Mans winning Ferrari is expected to bring 8-10 million USD at the auction.

1970 Ferrari 512S
Vying for the top spot will be the 1970 Ferrari 512, Chassis number 1006, which placed second at Sebring in 1971, and is similar to the 1970 Sebring winning car of Andretti/Vaccarell/Giunti.

The 512 won the closely fought 1970 Sebring event and Chassis 1006, above, placed second in 1971.

The 512 was Ferrari’s last serious venture into sports car racing until the 330SP. This one is reported to be the most original and unmolested examples in existence.

1966 Dino 246 SP
Our hands down favorite, however, is the 1966 Dino 246 206SP, Chassis 008. The 206 was the formidable 330P3 in miniature, and line for line the Dino, at least to our eyes, comes out ahead. It is sheer perfection, while the 330 is a statement of overkill. The body came out of Piero Drogo’s Carrozzeria Sports Cars, and if Drogo never did anything else his place in automotive history is secure. Historian Doug Nye says that about 18 206 Dinos were made, even numbered from 002 through 036, with the usual caveats of course.

Dino's lines were perfection in an era when function still followed form.

Sicilian Nino Vaccarella , Italians Lorenzo Bandini, Giancarlo Baghetti and Ludovico Scarfiotti would take the Dino to new heights in 1966, placing a two liter car second at the Targa Florio, second at the Nurburgring, and a sixth at Spa. In fact, chassis 008, the auction car, placed third in the 1966 Nurburgring, driven by Pedro Rodriguez and Richie Ginther.

1953 Ferrari Touring 340MM
Dropping back a few years to 1953, the Touring 340MM, chassis 0268, is also on the block. And not a bad record for it, either. By 1953, both Touring and Vignale were losing business to the upstart Pininfarina. Chassis 0268 is one of the last Touring Ferraris built with the famous Superleggera bodywork. It was a Ferrari entry in the 1953 Mille Miglia, driven by the 1950 World Champion driver Giuseppe Farina and Luigi Parenti. The pair retired the big 4.1 liter at Aquila after an accident. It was later restored and displayed in the Briggs Cunningham Museum.

The first Gand Prix World Champion, Giuseppe Farina, drove this 340 in the 1953 Mille Miglia.

1953 Ferrari 340/375 PF Berlinetta
Another survivor from that era, is the 1953 340 Pininfarina Competition Berlinetta, Chassis 0322, which was one of four such cars entered in the 1953 Panamericana.

Beautiful brute, the Pininfarina 340/375 Competition Berlinetta.

The car is painted in the livery with number 26, which was driven by Mancini and Serena. While all the 340s and 375s were rightfully described as brutal, these coupes came across as beautiful brutes, and it was clear why Battista “Pinin” Farina was suddenly Enzo’s fair haired boy.

Of course there is more, including two 250SWB Berlinettas, one a Comp, chassis 2209, and another street version, Chassis 3401. An ex Schumacher F1 car, a 2006 248 chassis 252 could be yours, but if ever there was a car of which could be said that the price of admission was cheap compared to upkeep, this has got to be it. No doubt it will be sold, however. A rare Daytona Spider, and that awesome but slightly used 599 GTB Fiorano that headed toward Patagonia in 2006 is going, going and probably will be gone. And perhaps the nicest piece is a 275GTB4 in very, very original condition.

RM has made sure that you will have all the information you need to attend this event, and all of it can be found on their website.

For those of use not getting Wall Street bonuses, there is also an auction of Ferrari, Maserati and Alfa automobilia.

More information can be obtained from the RM Auction website.