spot_img
HomeMediaArtcurial expects '57 Ferrari 335 S Spider to bring $30 million at...

Artcurial expects ’57 Ferrari 335 S Spider to bring $30 million at Retromobile sale

-

1957 Ferrari 335 S Scagliati Spider on display in Rome in 1997 | Marcel Massini photo courtesy Artcurial Motorcars

Yes, we know we’re still a couple of months away from the annual Salon Retromobile classic car gathering in Paris, but we think you would be interested to know that Artcurial Motorcars auction there February 5 will include a 1957 Ferrari 335 S Spider Scaglietti from the Pierre Bardinon Collection.

The car was driven at Le Mans in 1957 by Mike Hawthorn and Luigi Musso and has a pre-auction estimated value of — gulp — $30 million to $34 million.

Von Trips and the Ferrari in Mille Miglia | Ted Walker, Ferret Photographic

Matthieu Lamoure, managing director of Artcurial Motorcars, called the Ferrari “both a work of art and the queen of speed,” in the news release announcing the car’s offering at auction. “This represents the elixir of the exceptional — beauty, rarity, racing success, history, authenticity and provenance!”

The car, powered by a 360-horsepower, 3.8-liter V12 Tipo 140 twin-cam engine, finished sixth in the 12-hour race at Sebring, where it was driven by Peter Collins and Maurice Trintignant.

With Wolfgang von Trips at the wheel, the car was runner-up to another Ferrari entry, driven by Piero Taruffi, in the Mille Miglia. After that race, Ferrari replaced the original engine with a 4.1-liter with nearly 400 horsepower, enough to boost top speed to nearly 190 miles per hour for Le Mans.

In France, Hawthorn set a record for fastest first lap, averaging 203.015 kph (126.147 mph), but mechanical issues sidelined the car in the race’s fifth hour.

With Hawthorn and Musso as drivers, the car finished fourth in the Swedish Grand Prix and second in the Venezuela GP, helping Ferrari win the world manufacturers championship.

In January 1958, the car was sold to American Ferrari importer Luigi Chinetti, who turned it over to Masten Gregory and Sterling Moss for the Cuba Grand Prix. It also was driven that season by Gaston Andrey and Lance Reventlow.

The car sold in 1960 to Robert Dusek, an architect in Pennsylvania. After a decade in the U.S., the car returned to France when it was purchased by Pierre Bardinon, whose collection based near Aubusson, eventually would swell to some 50 factory Ferrari racing cars.

According to Artcurial’s news release, Enzo Ferrari was asked one day about why there was no car collection at the Maranello factory.

“No need,” he reportedly replied, “Bardinon has done it for me.”

Another race on another track | Artcurial Motorcars photo

Bardinon, an industrialist, first collected Bugattis and then Jaguars before turning his devotion to Ferrari. His collection at one point included four Ferraris that had won at Le Mans. To exercise those cars, Bardinon designed his own private racing circuit, his “speed garden,” and invited various factory racing teams — Matra, Alpine, Ferrari and others — to exercise their cars.

The 335 S Scaglietti Spider was part of Bardinon’s collection for more than 40 years.

In addition to Barinon’s car, Artcurial said the catalog for its Retromobile sale February 5 also will include:

  • A 1963 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta from the Antoine Midy collection (pre-auction estimated value $10 million to $13.2 million).
  • A 1986 Ferrari Testrossa Spider built for Gianni Agnelli ($750,000 to $1 million).
  • A 1962 Ferrari 250 GT cabriolet Series 2 formerly owned by the king of Morocco and the Adrien Maeght collection ($1.5 million to $1.9 million).
  • A 1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona ($800,000 to $950,000).

 

The day after the primary sale, Artcurial will celebrate French automaker Citroen by offering some 40 models from the Andre Trigano collection as well as nearly a dozen other cars bearing the double-chevron emblem.

 

spot_img
Larry Edsall
Larry Edsall
A former daily newspaper sports editor, Larry Edsall spent a dozen years as an editor at AutoWeek magazine before making the transition to writing for the web and becoming the author of more than 15 automotive books. In addition to being founding editor at ClassicCars.com, Larry has written for The New York Times and The Detroit News and was an adjunct honors professor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.

1 COMMENT

Comments are closed.

- Advertisment -