At the end of May, RM Sotheby’s announced that it would stage an all-Ferrari auction as part of the Italian sports car maker’s 70th anniversary celebration, and that the sale would take place at the historic Ferrari factory in Maranello, Italy.
Now, the auction house has started to reveal consignments for that sale, Ferrari — Leggenda e Passione, and they include a long-wheelbase California Spider and a 288 GTO that has been driven fewer than 500 miles since new.
The 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider has coachwork by Scaglietti and is chassis No. 1503 GT. It was the 35th of 50 such long-wheelbase convertibles produced and was originally purchased by Venezuelan doctor and “young socialite” Otto Rodriguez Vincenti.
RM Sotheby’s notes in its description of the car that one evening while visiting Caracas nightspots, the doctor was robbed and murdered, his body found behind the wheel of the car.
The car went back to Venezuelan importer Carlos Kauffmann for repair and reconditioning and was sold, showing 7,500 kilometers on its odometer, in 1963 to Arthur Dennis Stevens, a Venezuelan living in Illinois. Stevens reportedly drove the car for his short daily commute, then put it into storage for two decades before selling it in 1985 to Ferrari collector Richard Freshman in California. The car had been driven around 31,000 km when Freshman bought it.
It went through two more owners before being purchased in 1987 by L. Jack Russelli of Ohio, who commissioned a full restoration by Motion Products of Neenah, Wisconsin. Afterward, the car won class honors at Pebble Beach and Meadow Brook. The consignor acquired the car in 1998 and has shown it only once, immediately after its purchase. The car goes to auction with only 32,586 km on its odometer.
It also goes to auction with an estimated pre-sale value of €7,500,000 ($8.85 million) to €9,500,000 ($112 million).
The 1985 Ferrari 288 GTO on the docket is the 255th of 272 produced, has been owned by the consignor since 1993, and was immediately placed into storage after being driven only 729 kilometers since it rolled off the assembly line. The car has a pre-sale estimated value of €3,250,000 ($3.8 million) to €4,000,000 ($4.7 million).
RM Sotheby’s also announced several other consignments for the auction, and they date from 1950 to 2012:
The ’50s
1950 195 Inter Coupe (No. 0081 S)
1953 250 Europa Coupe (No. 0313 EU)
1955 750 Monza (No. 0534 M)
1955 500 Superfast Series II (No. 8897 SF)
1958 250 GT Cabriolet Series I (No. 0791)
The ’60s and ’70s
1960 250 GT Cabriolet Series II (No. 1779 GT)
1966 275 GTB Alloy (No. 08111)
1967 330 GTS (No. 09481)
1973 Dino 246 GTS (No. 07214)
The ’80s, ’90s and Today
1989 F40 (No. 83572)
1994 348 GT/C LM (No 97553)
1994 333 SP (No. 006)
2004 Enzo (No. 136733)
2012 599 GTO (No. 174698)
