Ex-Works 1956 Ferrari 290 MM Heads to Auction
Images by Remi Dargegen ©2018 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
This 1956 Ferrari 290 MM was piloted in period by legends like Juan Manuel Fangio and Sir Stirling Moss in epics like the Mille Miglia and Targa Florio. It will head to auction at RM Sotheby’s’ Petersen Museum sale this December.
The car, chassis 0628, is the fourth and final built by Ferrari and bodied by Scaglietti for the 1956 World Sports Car Championship season. Entered by works team Scuderia Ferrari, it debuted in the 1956 Mille Miglia in 860 Monza specifications. There, Peter Collins and Louis Klemantaski drove it to second place.
1956 Ferrari 290 MM by Scaglietti, Remi Dargegen ©2018 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Later in 1956 it was driven by Olivier Gendebien and Hans Hermann to fourth in the Targa Florio before Umberto Maglioli drove it to second in the XVIII Aosta-Gran San Bernardo Hillclimb. Juan Manuel Fangio got his hands on it later in the year, driving a stint in a Swedish Grand Prix that saw all manner of Ferrari works drivers hopping between different cars.
Ferrari upgraded 0628 to 290 MM specs early in 1957, sending it to the 1000 Kilometers of Buenos Aires, where Alfonso de Portago, Wolfgang von Trips and Eugenio Castellotti claimed third, and the 12 Hours of Sebring, from which Phil Hill and Wolfgang von Trips unfortunately retired early.
1956 Ferrari 290 MM by Scaglietti, Remi Dargegen ©2018 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
The 12 Hours of Sebring would be the 290 MM’s final race as a factory Scuderia Ferrari team car, as it was then sold into private ownership. Its next outing saw it handed to Sir Stirling Moss for the 1957 Bahamas Speed Week, and he added a few more trophies to its cabinet, claiming victory in the Memorial Race and Nassau Trophy. The car would continue competing in the United States until 1961, when it moved into private collections for some time.
In 2008 it was purchased by a collector in England, who entered it in the 2011 Goodwood Revival for the Tribute to Juan Manuel Fangio Parade. Its current owner took custodianship of it in 2011, committing to a full restoration back to its 1957 12 Hours of Sebring specification.
1956 Ferrari 290 MM by Scaglietti, Remi Dargegen ©2018 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
This beautiful factory Ferrari 290 MM has an impressive period history, including a list of pilots that reads like a roll call of ’50s motorsport legends. In concours condition, it will head to auction on the 8th of December, 2018 at RM Sotheby’s’ Petersen Automotive Museum Auction at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. For more details, see the RM Sotheby’s website here.
Images by Remi Dargegen ©2018 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
1956 Ferrari 290 MM by Scaglietti, Remi Dargegen ©2018 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
1956 Ferrari 290 MM by Scaglietti, Remi Dargegen ©2018 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
1956 Ferrari 290 MM by Scaglietti, Remi Dargegen ©2018 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
1956 Ferrari 290 MM by Scaglietti, Remi Dargegen ©2018 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
