Gooding & Company will Feature Trio of Historic Competition Powerhouses at Salon Rétromobile 2023

Image: 1927 Bugatti Type 35B Grand Prix (Asking Price: £2,400,000) Photo copyright and courtesy of Gooding & Company. Image by Matt Howell.

The international auction house will host a display featuring the 1953 Ferrari 250 MM Spider Series II from the forthcoming Amelia Island Auctions, along with two private treaty offerings.

 World renowned auction house and private brokerage firm Gooding & Company will be hosting its second ever display at this year’s Salon Rétromobile in Paris. The trio of cars featured include the 1953 Ferrari 250 MM Spider Series II from the firm’s upcoming Amelia Island Auctions, along with two private sale offerings: a 1927 Bugatti Type 35B Grand Prix and a 1961 Jaguar E-Type Series I ‘Competition’ Roadster. 

From February 1 to February 5, 2023, attendees, collectors, enthusiasts, and members of the press are invited to visit the company’s display at stand no. 1 K 080 at the Paris Expo, Porte de Versailles. 

“We are delighted to return to Rétromobile this year with a trio of exceptional offerings, particularly in the realm of historic competition cars,” said David Gooding, Gooding & Company President and Founder. “Our team looks forward to connecting with our worldwide clientele and presenting one of the star Ferraris in our upcoming Amelia Island sale this March, as well as two private treaty cars, all offered from very important European and English collections.” 

1953 Ferrari 250 MM Spider Series II (Estimate: $3,000,000 – $5,000,000)
This 1953 Ferrari 250 MM Spider Series II, being offered for sale at Gooding & Company’s Amelia Island Auctions, set to take place on Thursday, March 2 and Friday, March 3, is one of just 12 Vignale-bodied Spiders built on the 250 MM chassis. Further, it is one of just 10 fashioned in the updated “Series II” style, featuring compact proportions, rounded forms, and imposing grilles. This Spider, chassis 0274 MM, was the first of three examples built with dramatically staggered seating and a long-range 150-liter fuel tank, a configuration that was almost certainly built at the request of the car’s first owner, Florentine racing driver Piero Scotti. 0274 MM quickly garnered an extensive international race history in the 1950s, and was frequently entered in hill climbs, circuit races, and major events including the Mille Miglia and the Targa Florio. 

After passing through the hands of several notable owners, including American collectors P. Paul Pappalardo and Bob Rubin, this 250 MM Spider joined the famed Jess Pourret Ferrari Collection in 1987, where it remained for over three decades. During this time in the renowned French collection, 0274 MM underwent a complete restoration carried out by noted Ferrari specialist DK Engineering, repainting the car in the appealing two-tone livery it presents in today. This incredible 250 MM Spider Series II is now being offered for sale for the first time in over 35 years, presenting an enticing auction opportunity for a beautiful, significant early Ferrari with fantastic period race history, exceptional provenance, and mechanical refinement.
 

1927 Bugatti Type 35B Grand Prix (Asking Price: £2,400,000)
This historically significant 1927 Bugatti Type 35B Grand Prix is a remarkable example of the definitive Bugatti, considered by many to be the finest car of its period and one of the most enduring automotive designs nearly a century after its introduction. The Type 35B Grand Prix offered here, chassis no. 4848, is one of an approximate total of 350 Type 35s built by the Bugatti factory at Molsheim between 1924 and 1931, when the model was replaced by its successor, the Type 51. Undoubtedly a modern marvel of its time, the Type 35 model utilized advanced engineering to fuel its performance capabilities, and dominated racing throughout the late 1920s and early 1930s, with over 1,000 wins in a variety of competitions. Chassis 4848 is no exception to this rule, and boasts an incredibly robust history as both a prewar and postwar race car. First delivered to Leo d’Erlanger in London, 4848 was driven by Captain George Eyston to many of its early successes, which included holding multiple speed records at Brooklands. 4848 would go on to be owned by several notable collectors, including Clifford Penn-Hughes, RL “Jack” Duller, Jack Fairman, Peter Stubberfield, and Frank Wall, and was frequently campaigned in races and events throughout the decades. 

This example was acquired by the consignor’s family, one of the leading UK-based collectors, in 1982, and has remained in that ownership since. 4848 remarkably presents with a continuous, recorded history from 1927, documented in a report by Bugatti historian Mark Morris. Per factory records, the car also retains its original, matching-numbers engine, Grand Prix scuttle, and tail panels, and is also offered with an alternative monoposto body. Today presenting in unrestored condition, the Type 35B Grand Prix appears largely complete but will require recommissioning to allow its next faithful custodian the opportunity to enter it in some of the world’s finest historic racing events, such as the Goodwood Revival or Monaco Historique. Its next fortunate owner will enjoy the opportunity of purchasing a world-class Bugatti Grand Prix and returning it to its competition glory, which it so actively enjoyed for many years. 

The 1961 Jaguar E-Type Series I ‘Competition’ Roadster, driven by Andre Lotterer, mid-race at the RAC TT Celebration at 2022 Goodwood Revival.The worldwide popularity and appeal of the Jaguar E-Type as an automotive icon is virtually unrivaled. First unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1961, the E-Type took the racing world by storm after Graham Hill steered a modified example, entered by John Coombs, to victory at Oulton Park that very same year. The 1961 Jaguar E-Type Series I ‘Competition’ Roadster presented here, chassis no. 875073, is a left-hand-drive roadster originally supplied on June 1, 1961 to Jaguar Cars of New York. Originally finished in Opalescent Gunmetal over a Light Blue interior, the roadster would go on to become the property of racing driver David Dooley, who had the car prepared for the 1964 SCCA season. Dooley went on to enter 875073 in a myriad of SCCA events, consequently securing an impressive 15 wins and an SCCA Championship. Later owners, including Robert Ladd and Bob Bodine, also extensively campaigned the E-Type. 

In 2020, 875073 was purchased by Rupert Clevely and three-time Le Mans winner and former Formula 1 driver Andre Lotterer. The co-owners intended to race this historic example at the Goodwood Revival’s The RAC TT Celebration, considered to be the “Jewel of the Crown” of the event’s race lineup. Clevely and Lotterer tasked the renowned specialists at Valley Motorsports to restore and prepare the car to a “Semi-Lightweight” specification using its original monocoque and FIA-correct parts, including an alloy block engine. The E-Type was also finished in a livery celebrating David Dooley’s in-period successes, paying homage to its victorious past. In 2022, at the RAC TT Celebration, Lotterer qualified 875073 on the front row, and the owners netted a very respectable Top 10 finish in one of the most competitive historic races worldwide. Speaking on the incredible appeal of the car, Andre Lotterer said, “Not only am I in love with the way this car looks, but it is also perhaps the best balanced and comfortable historic GT car to drive and push on the limit.” Today, Gooding & Company is proud to offer this wonderful, front-running racing E-Type with robust competition history, accompanied with a wealth of paperwork and documentation dating back to 1961. 

Salon Rétromobile 2023
Dates: Wednesday, February 1 to Sunday, February 5 
Location: Stand no. 1 K 080 at the Paris Expo, Porte de Versailles
Tickets and More Information: https://www.retromobile.com
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