Burnt Ferrari to Fetch Eye-Popping Price at Auction

The crispy shell of a vintage Ferrari is expected to sell for over $1 million at auction.

Sotheby’s estimates that the burnt-out vehicle will fetch somewhere between $1.2 and $1.6 million at their Monterey auction, which is being held August 17–19. This 1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial Spider Series is the second of 13 identical models produced in the 1950s. Their engine was a 170-hp variant of a Tipo 500 engine. It contained a de Dion rear suspension setup and Pininfarina coachwork.

Though it’s barely recognizable, reduced to an ashy pile of twisted metal, the car’s VIN plate is still intact. That means a collector with deep pockets will undoubtedly shell out a lot more than $1 million to restore the vehicle. The purchase does come with a major bonus—a bigger version of the Ferrari Lampredi’s engine—as well as rear-axle corners and a number-matching gearbox.

Over the course of 11 years, the Mondial won a great many races. It was sold new to Franco Cornacchia, who ran one of the most successful car racing teams in Italy. It was driven in its first tournament by Franco Cortese, the racer who had driven Ferrari’s very first car to its very first victory. 

The 500 tore through Europe until 1958, when it was sent to America. In 1963, it was sold to Stanley Surridge, who swapped the car’s engine for that of an American V-8. The Mondial crashed and burned during a race in 1965, and it's remained in that condition ever since.

The vehicle is on the block with 20 more vehicles, or at least the remnants of them.

from Men's Journal https://ift.tt/JkhE8SL