For sale: A Works 1950 Ferrari 275S/340 America Barchetta by Scaglietti
Images: RM Sotheby’s by Darin Schnabel
Alberto Ascari drove this beautiful Works 1950 Ferrari 275S/340 America Barchetta by Scaglietti in the 1950 Mille Miglia. You could be driving it next, once it goes up for auction at RM Sotheby’s’ Monterey Sale.
The car is chassis 0030 MT and is one of just two 275S Barchettas built. It was originally bodied by Carrozzeria Touring and was the first Ferrari sports racer to house a Lampredi engine.
It started its life testing at Maranello and then immediately traveled to Brescia where Alberto Ascari raced it in the 1950 Mille Miglia. Glory in that race, however, was not to be. Ascari and navigator Senesio Nicolini failed to finish.
The car then went back to Maranello where it was upgraded with 340 America 4.1-litre V12 specs. It was also shown at the 1950 Salon de l’Automobile at the Grand Palais in Paris.
Scuderia Marzotto then purchased the car and set about racing it throughout Italy. It would return to the Mille Miglia in ’51 and ’52, and race in the Targa Florio as well.
By 1957 the car’s period racing career was wrapping up and it was sold to the United States. Peter Markowski purchased it in 1967 and would own it for the next three decades keeping it involved in the community but not racing it extensively.
From here 0030 MT would head back to Europe and resume its racing career, now in historics. It was a frequent competitor at headline events including the Mille Miglia Storica and the Shell Ferrari Maserati Historic Challenge.
This beautiful old racer has an excellent history and is a significant piece of Ferrari’s motor racing story as demonstrated by Ferrari Classiche classification. It will be welcome at historic racing events the around the world and make a great entrant in any of them!
It will head to the auction block at RM Sotheby’s’ Monterey Sale over the 14th and 15th of August, 2015. Head to their site here for more information.
Images thanks to RM Sotheby’s by Darin Schnabel
