It is probably not so easy to tell that the car on offer is a valuable racing car: the chassis is rusted, damaged and most of the components are missing. Nevertheless, the Canadian auction house RM Sotheby’s estimates the price of the “wreck” at between 1.2 and 1.6 million US dollars.
The remains of the old vehicle are namely a Ferrari 500 Mondial Spider by the Italian design company Pinin Farina. According to RM Sotheby’s it is the second Mondial model built. A total of only 13 copies of the first series are said to have been manufactured. This makes it “an extremely coveted collector’s item”.
At its best, the 500 Mondial was a sought-after player in racing with prominent drivers at the wheel. According to research and copies of factory blueprints, the racing car built in March 1954 with the Rosso Corsa paint job and the vinyl interior in Similpelle beige was sold to a sports car dealer in Milan. The car was then driven by former Scuderia Ferrari team driver Franco Cortese. He was an important driver for Ferrari in the early days and, according to the sales information, is listed as the vehicle owner in the factory building plans.
In addition, the 500 Mondial drove in the Mille Miglia race, for example, before it was subsequently converted by the design company Scaglietti. When participating in the Imola Grand Prix, the sports car was painted in white and had three-color stripes on the hood. In 1958 the vehicle was exported to the USA, where it drove in the Evergreen Trophy race at Pacific Raceways. Eventually, the original engine was replaced with an American V8 before the car crashed and suffered fire damage. The 500 Mondial changed hands several times and was later resold without an engine. Eventually the roadster was kept in its damaged condition.
Now the rusty remains of the Ferrari with chassis number 0406 MD are for sale. Although the original engine is missing, a larger 3.0-liter inline-four engine is sold along with other components such as rear axle parts and a matching-numbers gearbox. RM Sotheby’s is aware that it needs a “major restoration”. In addition to the expected seven-figure purchase price, the buyer will still have to invest a large sum of money in order to turn the “wreck” into a functional and handsome Ferrari again. Whether the remnant of the 500 Mondial will actually sell for more than $1 million, as well-preserved cars of this type do, will be seen at the August 17 auction in Monterey, California.
