The beauty of the past. The beauty of decay. The beauty of the abandoned, devastated and that which life has passed over. The beauty of an abandoned Ferrari chassis, eaten by rust and even devastated by a hurricane. That is what he has put on the table this August at Sotheby’s, a famous auction house for luxury products. And it has been very profitable.
There are entire cities that sell themselves to the world with this tourist attraction. Why would the chassis of a Ferrari be less? Especially when they are Ferraris that were thought lost, which are rare and almost unique units. Supercars of which barely a skeleton remains and for which, however, the million euros have been far exceeded.
This August we have experienced one of the most curious auctions in recent times.
20 million for 20 Ferraris (or what’s left of them)
Accompanied by other attractive units, Sotheby’s put several units of Ferrari that were believed to be completely lost and that can hardly be brought back to life, even passing through the official workshops that the brand has dedicated to the restoration of old glories.
Of the 20 vehicles delivered to the highest bidder, some of them have suffered considerable neglect for decades. Part of the collection was completely abandoned before the turn of the new century and the early 2000s did not bring them better news. In 2004, Hurricane Charley (which left 131 deaths in its wake) passed over some units.
The collection was moved to an industrial warehouse in Indiana, where it had fallen into oblivion. And when everything seemed over for these 20 Ferraris, the auction house has given them a new life, finding buyers for them who have put good money by vehicles of which only a few details are recognizable.
For example, the most striking case is the one illustrated in this article. A buyer has paid $1.875 million for the chassis of a 1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial Spider Series I designed by Pininfarina. The reason: it is the second unit of the thirteen sports cars built to compete in competitions such as the Mille Miglia or the Targa Florio. Obviously, it has all the brand’s certificates of authenticity.
1956 Ferrari 250 GT Coupe Speciale acquired for $1.655 million
A similar price ($1.655 million) has been paid for this 1956 Ferrari 250 GT Coupe Speciale, also bodied by Pininfarina. Only four units of this beautiful sports car were manufactured and, despite the image, it is the only unit that could receive a complete restoration to make it like new.
Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 Series II purchased for $182,000
Much more accessible has been this Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 Series II from 1956 and, once again, designed by Pininfarina. The $182,000 that has been paid for it is a consequence of the fact that, in this case, up to 36 units of these Series II were built. Finally, it is a car that reached 1,000 units manufactured, so it is much less rare than previous units.
Ferrari 275 GTB/6C Alloy
But the supercar that attracted the most attention was this Ferrari 275 GTB/6C Alloy, this time designed by Scaglietti. Placed by 3,305 million dollars It has been the sports car that has fetched the most money in its auction. It is considered one of the precursors of Ferrari’s grand tourers and this unit officially competed in the 1966 Targa Florio. Its 12-cylinder engine with six carburetors was one of its greatest attractions.
All of these units were accompanied by another handful of more or less exclusive models that ended up raising the auction total to around $20 million. Some sports cars like this Ferrari 410 Superamerica Coupe Series I, better preserved and a member of exclusive clubs like the 12 units that were manufactured of this model, managed to sell the unit for 2.81 million dollars.
A rare Ferrari 512 BB Competizione, a Ferrari 275 GTS or a Ferrari 330 GTS also went well over $1 million at the auction.
In Xataka | One in six Ferraris already ends up in the hands of a Chinese billionaire. And the government looks at them with suspicion
Photos | Sotheby’s
