A stunning group of star cars showcasing the very best of Italian engineering and automotive styling has been announced for Gooding & Company’s Pebble Beach Auctions. On Friday, August 19, and Saturday, August 20, the official auction house of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance® will present a host of icons from marques including Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, and Lancia during its two-day signature event.
“This year, we look forward to continuing our well-established tradition of presenting the finest classic Italian sports cars available on the market at Pebble Beach, where we have cultivated a reputation for sourcing the rarest and most desirable offerings,” said Gooding & Company President and Founder, David Gooding. “This fantastic selection is no exception, from the special Ferraris on offer, to the exquisite Alfa Romeos and innovative one-off, Pininfarina-bodied designs. Many of these examples come from some of the world’s most committed and caring collectors who have employed great time and effort into maintaining these historical treasures in only the best of conditions.”
Image: 1950 Ferrari 166 MM Berlinetta Le Mans (Estimate: $5,500,000 – $6,500,000)
Introduced in 1948, the Tipo 166 set off a course of development that would define the look, sound, and character of Ferrari automobiles for decades to come. The 166 Mille Miglia, or MM, specifically dominated sports car racing in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and at the time was the only car to win all three of the great European sports car races: the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Targa Florio, and the Mille Miglia. Unveiled at Geneva in 1950, the 166 MM Berlinetta Le Mans was the happy result of the collaboration between Ferrari and Carrozzeria Touring, boasting a beautiful fastback body sculpted from lightweight aluminum. Designed specifically for high-speed endurance racing, the Berlinettas featured a business-like cockpit, and came equipped with leather tie-down straps, large external fuel fillers, and lightweight Plexiglass windows.
The 1950 Ferrari 166 MM Berlinetta Le Mans presented here, chassis 0066 M, is the last of just five 166 MM chassis originally fashioned with Touring’s Berlinetta Le Mans coachwork. Since its completion, 0066 M has led an extraordinary existence, competing in European rallies and Italian hillclimbs with its first owners, including the Trieste-Opicina Hillclimb and the Coppa d’Oro delle Dolomiti in the early 1950s. In the US, 0066 M has been a fixture in the collections of notable enthusiasts, including Fred Leydorf, John Bond, and Chip Connor, during which time it has been meticulously cared for, and even featured in the pages of significant motoring magazines like Road & Track and Prancing Horse. This important, even-serial-number Ferrari competition car beautifully presents today in traditional Italian racing red, and is Ferrari Classiche Red Book certified, confirming that it retains its original chassis, body, engine, gearbox, and rear end. This rare competition Berlinetta, which has remarkably survived the past seven decades, presents the chance of a lifetime to acquire an important piece of early Ferrari history at auction.
Lots also include:
1961 Ferrari 400 Superamerica Series I Coupé Aerodinamico (Estimate: $4,000,000 – $5,000,000)
Ferrari’s “America” series of custom-bodied, large-displacement grand touring cars were built for the most elite clientele, including international royals, Italian industrialists, and American sportsmen, among others. Included in this group of customers was Count Giovanni Volpi di Misurata, the Italian nobleman who founded Scuderia Serenissima, one of the top privateer racing teams of the early 1960s. As one of the most important figures in the history of postwar Italian motorsport, Count Volpi was one of the first customers to place an order for a 400 Superamerica, Ferrari’s latest and most expensive gran turismo, a new model only recently introduced to the public. Volpi’s 400 Superamerica presented here, chassis 2809 SA, was one of the first examples to wear the new Coupé Aerodinamico body style, which was inspired by Pininfarina’s sensational Superfast II show car. In total, Pininfarina built just 14 examples on the original short-wheelbase chassis, and of these, seven were completed with the desirable covered headlamp treatment, including the car offered here. The body of 2809 SA is especially noteworthy, as it was the sole example built from lightweight aluminum rather than the default steel.
Count Volpi also ordered his car in the striking, one-off color scheme of Nero Tropicale over Tobacco Connolly leather, and had it equipped with detachable headrests, lockable interior storage compartments, seatback pockets, Klippan seat belts, and a Blaupunkt radio. Once completed in 1961, this Coupé Aerodinamico was photographed by Pininfarina for promotional purposes, and also exhibited at the Concorso d’Eleganza di Rimini, where it was awarded Best of Show. More recently, following a careful preservation-minded detailing in 2015, 2809 SA was showcased at several important events, and was the recipient of awards at Pebble Beach, Cavallino Classic, and the Ferrari Club of America International Meet Concours. Today, 2809 SA remains in well-preserved, largely unrestored condition, possessing an irreplaceable patina and showing less than 24,000 Km at the time of cataloguing. Sensational in both appearance and history, this utterly unique 400 Superamerica is sure to captivate any collector with a reverence for preservation-quality Ferraris.
1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial Series I Spider (Estimate: $2,500,000 – $3,000,000)
In December 1953, Ferrari unveiled its first four-cylinder production sports car, the 500 Mondial, named in honor of Alberto Ascari’s back-to-back World Championships. Featuring a two-liter, twin-cam, four-cylinder engine designed by Aurelio Lampredi, the Mondial was constructed on a tubular steel chassis with independent-transverse leaf-spring suspension, a rear De Dion axle, Houdaille shock absorbers, and a rear-mounted, four-speed transaxle. In total, Ferrari built 22 examples of the Series I 500 Mondial for the 1954 season, capturing class wins with the successful new model at Barcelona, Casablanca, Imola, and the Mille Miglia. The example presented here, chassis 0430 MD, is among the 13 examples built with aluminum coachwork by Pinin Farina, and one of only five Mondial Spiders with low-grille, covered-headlamp frontal treatment.
Initially finished in red with a central white stripe, the Mondial was conscripted into duty by Scuderia Ferrari, and in June 1954, driven to victory by Mike Hawthorn and Umberto Maglioli at Monza. After its victory, the 500 Mondial received a factory refresh, being fitted with a proper two-liter tipo 110 engine and repainted in dark blue. Once it made its way into the hands of serious American collectors, 0430 MD compiled an enviable racing record, extensively competing in leading North American venues between 1954 and 1958 and raking in several wins as the 1957 SCCA E-Modified National Champion with famed Swiss driver Gaston Andrey. Today, this pedigreed Mondial presents in a red livery, and comes to market from over four decades of single family ownership, offering its next caretaker a most compelling opportunity.
1931 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Series V Gran Sport (Estimate: $2,700,000 – $3,200,000)
The rare and desirable Alfa Romeo six-cylinder (6C) Super Sport and Gran Sport 1750 models were among the greatest high-performance automobiles of their day, possessing excellent roadholding qualities and reliable power. According to marque expert Cristián Bertschi’s report on file, this extraordinary 1931 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Series V Gran Sport, chassis 10814311, is one of the finest and most well-documented 6C 1750s in existence. Completed in March 1931, this example, sporting coachwork by Zagato, was sold new to privateer racer Sergio Rusca of Milan, who kickstarted the car’s illustrious racing career. This 6C 1750 was an entrant in the 1931 and 1932 Mille Miglia, placing 13th overall at the 1931 event. In more recent years, this example participated in the Colorado Grand and Mille Miglia Storica, and was a three-time winner of the 1000 Millas Sport in Patagonia in 2005, 2008, and 2015, respectively. With an expert restoration conducted by the Alfa Romeo 6C specialists at Phil Reilly & Company under its belt, this impressive and well maintained collectible is certainly in the very upper echelon of surviving 6C 1750 examples.
1950 Gilco-Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Supergioiello Coupe (Estimate: $1,400,000 – $1,800,000)
In 1950, Carrozzeria Ghia built a series of four Supergioiello (“Super Jewel”) Coupe bodies with Alfa Romeo 6C underpinnings, featuring a clean, modern profile, steeply raked windscreen, compact greenhouse, and wheel discs. These one-of-a-kind Italian specials, stylized by Giovanni Michelotti, combined a Gilco tubular chassis with Alfa Romeo mechanicals and Ghia coachwork, bringing together some of the finest names in Italian motoring. The car presented here is the fourth and final Supergioiello Coupe in this series, easily identifiable by its two-tone color scheme, redesigned frontal treatment, flush door handles, and subtle tail fins. Further distinguishing it from the other three cars is its unique, state-of-the-art tubular steel chassis manufactured by Gilberto Colombo, or Gilco. This example, chassis 0064251, has a well-documented provenance, including single family ownership from 1971 to 1995. More recently, once the car was acquired by the current consignor in 2016, a concours-quality restoration was commissioned by the renowned RX Autoworks of North Vancouver, British Columbia. Following its restoration, the Supergioiello Coupe debuted at the 2019 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance®, where it was awarded First in Class and Most Elegant Closed Car. This splendid, rare one-off Italian special will surely reward its next owner with its unmatched sophistication and appeal.
1961 Maserati 5000 GT Indianapolis Coupe (Estimate: $1,300,000 – $1,600,000)
Dubbed Maserati’s “Car of Kings,” the 5000 GT was an extremely limited offering based on a supercar concept from Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, brought to life by Adolfo Orsi and Alfieri Maserati. Between 1960 and 1965, Maserati produced just 34 examples of the 5000 GT, including the chassis presented here, AM103.014. This example was the first of 22 to receive elegant coupe coachwork by Carrozzeria Allemano, a Turin-based firm that had worked closely with Maserati since the A6G series of the mid-1950s. Unlike the Allemano Coupes that followed, this 5000 GT carried the “Indianapolis” name and had unique features, including a different grille design, dashboard arrangement, and unique script on the rear quarter panel. Presented in its original colors of Grigio Montebello (Montebello Gray) with red leather upholstery, this Indianapolis Coupe was the only car illustrated in Maserati’s original factory brochure for the 5000 GT model. Throughout the past half century, AM103.014 has been owned by top collectors, and was even part of the renowned John F. Bookout Maserati Collection, during which time it underwent a thorough restoration. Since then, it has been exhibited at prestigious events, and even represented the 5000 GT line at the Maserati 100 – A Century of Pure Italian Luxury Sports Cars held at Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari in Modena between June 2014 and January 2015. This one-of-a-kind, coachbuilt 5000 GT truly embodies prestige, glamour, and sophistication.
1955 Lancia Aurelia B24S Spider America (Estimate: $1,400,000 – $1,800,000)
The Lancia Aurelia was immediately hailed as a technical tour de force upon its debut at the Torino Motor Show in May 1950. Spearheaded by legendary engineer Vittorio Jano, the Aurelia introduced a rear-mounted transaxle, four-wheel independent suspension, inboard rear brakes, and a narrow-angle V-6, along with an elegantly designed Pinin Farina body. The world class example presented here, chassis B24S1021, is one of just 181 Spider Americas configured in left-hand-drive, and was originally delivered new to the US in 1955. Today, B24S1021 presents in its original color of Aquamarine, as it was recently restored by the renowned Quality Cars in Venice, Italy. The rest of the vehicle was also treated to a show-quality restoration performed by Italy’s most capable craftsmen: the engine was rebuilt by Mechanics Motor Holding Snc in Padova, the electrics were done by a specialist in Vicenza, and the upholstery was restored to its original green color by an expert in Mantova. The restoration was completed in 2022, and consequently, the car presents stunningly today, with a rare and striking color and Fontana hard top. This is certainly one of the finest and most freshly restored Spider Americas in the world.
Gooding & Company’s Pebble Beach Auctions will also present a pair of Pininfarina-bodied specials offered from a private collection. Designed by the notable Tom Tjaarda, the 1964 Mercedes-Benz 230 SL Coupe Speciale (Estimate: In Excess of $1,000,000) and the 1960 Chevrolet Corvair Coupe Speciale (Estimate: $300,000 – $500,000) are treasures of the highest order, epitomizing the height of 1960s automotive innovation and collaboration. The spectacular, one-off Mercedes-Benz 230 SL Coupe Speciale gained notoriety as the show car on the Pininfarina stand at the Paris and Torino Motor Shows, and subsequently was housed in a total of just four private collections. Today presented in its original color of German Racing Silver following a concours-level restoration by Hjeltness Restoration, this cherished vehicle comes to public auction for the very first time this August. The Chevrolet Corvair Coupe Speciale also represents a one-off design concept by Pinin Farina, this time for Chevrolet, highlighting a fascinating chapter in General Motors history. Unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in 1963, this Pinin Farina-bodied Corvair Coupe Speciale was a pivotal design, influencing a generation of automotive stylists at the major American manufacturer.
In addition to these spectacular Italian offerings, the Pebble Beach Auctions will present a highly original 1970 Iso Grifo Series I Targa (Estimate: $600,000 – $800,000) featuring the best of Bizzaririni engineering coupled with Bertone styling. This Series I Targa, just one of 14 built, is offered for sale for the first time in over 42 years, and is one of the most significant examples in Iso’s history. Also offered is an exceedingly rare, one of 67 built, sparingly used and well-preserved 1993 Ducati Supermono (Estimate: $150,000 – $200,000, Without Reserve) motorcycle, certainly one of the most beautiful and collectible Ducatis ever built. The auction house will also present a hand built 1985 Allegretti 250F Child’s Car (Estimate: $60,000 – $80,000, Without Reserve) beautifully presented in traditional Italian racing red with black upholstery.
Pebble Beach Auctions
Date: Friday, August 19, at 5 p.m. PDT, and Saturday, August 20, at 11 a.m. PDT
Location: Pebble Beach Parc du Concours
Public Preview: Wednesday, August 17 through Saturday, August 20
Auction Catalogues: $100, includes admission for two to the viewing and the auction
General Admission: $40, includes admission for one to the viewing and the auction
Bidder Registration: www.goodingco.com/register
Live Auction Broadcast: www.goodingco.com
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