Two of the most magical names in auto racing history are intertwined in a single car that will be offered for sale at RM Sotheby’s “Driven by Disruption” sale December 10 in New York City. The car in question is an ex-works Ferrari 290 MM, chassis #0626, with body by Scaglietti that was built specifically for five-time Argentine Word Champion Juan Manuel Fangio to race in the 1956 Mille Miglia. Driving solo in the rain-soaked 1,000-mile contest over open Italian roads, Fangio finished a fine 4th, and the car will be offered in the distinctive Argentine livery it wore that day, standard Ferrari red bodywork with blue and yellow flashes surrounding the radiator opening in its nose.
Apart from Fangio, others who raced the car included America’s first World Champion, Phil Hill, his great mate Olivier Gendebien, Peter Collins, Alfonso de Portago and Joakim Bonnier, as well as Eugenio Castellotti, Luigi Musso, and Masten Gregory who teamed to take it to victory in the Buenos Aires 1000 Kilometers in 1957.
One of only four 290 MMs built, it features a matching numbers 3.5-liter V12 and gearbox, and is, according to RM Sotheby’s, “one of the most original and most valuable cars ever offered at public auction.” For more information please visit www.rmsothebys.com
Tim Scott of Fluid Images provided the photo above courtesy RM Sotheby’s.
