Two ‘50s racing Ferraris lead Monaco sales

Race-proven Prancing Horses could go for a combined £13m

For most people, the biggest shopping choice each month is whether to buy a dozen eggs or two. For Ferrari fans with readies to spare, though, things are altogether different.

Far from being beset by a dairy decisions, those with a penchant for the Prancing Horse will have a far trickier decision to make in Monaco this May: which of a pair of 1950s racing Ferraris to bid on.

Unless, of course, they happen to have £12m going spare – in which case they could buy both the 1953 625 Vignale on offer at Bonhams’ auction and the 1957 250 GT ‘Tour de France’ being sold by RM Sotheby’s.

For the rest of us? Best put down the shopping list and peruse this fine gallery of both machines.

Not a bicycle

First up is this 250 GT ‘Tour de France’.

Numerous variants of Ferrari’s stunning 250 made it on to the track in the middle of the 20th century, but few are more prized today than the Berlinetta, which gained its popular moniker following its dominance of the 10-day Tour de France rally in the late 1950s.

Very limited numbers

While 72 of the long-wheelbase Berlinetta were built, just 17 left the factory in Series III guise – of which this example, up for sale at RM Sotheby’s Monaco auction on 12 May, was the 15th to be built.

Survey its stunning Scaglietti-designed curves and you can distinguish its 1957 body style by the presence of three louvres and covered headlights.

Early success

Delivered new in 1958 to racer Wolfgang Seidel, the 250 GT competed in some 22 events over the following few years, ranging from hill climbs to airfield races.

Starting out with a 2nd place finish in Pau, the Tour de France went on to claim 11 victories – not to mention a fair few podiums to boot.

Changing places

Come the mid-’60s, chassis 0879 GT passed through several pairs of hands until, in 1966, it came to be stabled with Gary Schmidt.

It was sold on again in 1974 to Christer Mellin, but not before the American commissioned a full engine rebuild in Switzerland – with the help of the Ferrari factory.

Slow and steady

Mellin, founder of the Ferrari Club Svezia, then set about his own restoration.

In close contact with the Ferrari factory, he painstakingly sourced parts over the course of 20 years in order to complete a thorough, meticulous and authentic restoration that maintained as much of the original machine as possible – all of which was documented with photographs.

Two careful owners

Overhaul complete, the Tour de France was then sold by Mellin to the current owner, under whose stewardship it was entered into a host of period events, including several Ferrari anniversary celebrations and the 1999 Mille Miglia Storica.

Stabled with that same owner for more than two decades, this 250 GT has, remarkably, had just two custodians in the past 45 years.

All adds up

Duly maintained and in outstanding condition to this day, chassis 0879 GT was recently authenticated by Ferrari Classiche to confirm that the V12 engine is original, as are the gearbox and rear axle – making this a truly rare example of a full matching-numbers 250 GT Tour de France.

Always keep the receipt

Set to be auctioned with a raft of invoices and restoration documents – ranging from photographs to letters exchanged with the Ferrari factory – this is an outstanding Prancing Horse machine, the likes of which rarely go to auction.

Which probably explains the €9m (£7.9m) upper estimate for its Monaco sale.

One of three

Second of the Prancing Horses is this 1953 Ferrari 625 Targa Florio Vignale, set to go under the hammer at Bonhams’ auction on 11 May.

One of just three 2.5-litre 4-cylinder twin-overhead camshaft 625 Targa Florio machines made, this 625 was the only one of the three to be remodelled by Vignale into a two-seater spider – on the instruction of a certain Enzo Ferrari.

Notable pilot

Its first public outing in its new bodywork came on 29 June 1953 at Monza, with none other than Mike Hawthorn at the helm.

The future Formula 1 World Champion, fresh from competing in the Rouen Grand Prix, staved off exhaustion to steer his 625 to two respectable fourth place finishes.

Nose job

Not quite done with the remodelling effort, Enzo then instructed coachbuilder Scaglietti to reshape the nose of the 625 with a smaller air intake – as can be seen on the car today – ahead of the Coppa d'Oro delle Dolomiti, where it was driven to third place by Umberto Maglioli.

New number

After a final outing at the 1953 Susa-Moncenisio hill climb, the Targa Florio retired from racing to be sold to Argentinian Luis Milán – though not before a comprehensive overhaul back at the Ferrari factory.

It was at this time that the chassis number 0306TF appears to have been added alongside the original 0304TF serial.

Lots to endure

Shipped to Buenos Aires with minor bodywork changes, Milán promptly piloted the 625 to fifth place in the 1000kms de Buenos Aires – signalling the start of a period of gruelling endurance racing for the Ferrari, before it was sold on several times to eventually arrive, engineless, in an Italian junkyard.

Becoming a barn find

Left unloved for many years, in the mid-’70s Ferrari historian Franco Lombardi unearthed the Targa Florio in Naples.

Its original aluminium skin might have been intact, but the 625 was in a truly sorry state – and, as if to add insult to the injury of neglect, it had been fitted with a Ford Lincoln V12.

Lovingly restored

Mercifully, the ailing Ferrari was picked up by one Giuseppe Medici, who set about restoring the 1953 machine. A Tipo555 F1 engine was installed and the bodywork was fully restored ahead of its entry into the 1984 and '86 Mille Miglia Retro races.

Subsequently sold on again, it was bought by the current owner in 2002 and subjected to an even more comprehensive overhaul.

Show stopper

It then went on to race in numerous prestige events, including the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique and the Mille Miglia.

It goes to market in Monaco as a truly rare and storied machine in outstanding condition – hence estimates that the sale price could top €6m (£5.2m).