Classic Ferrari targets world auction record in Paris

By Greg MacLeman

| 19 Jan 2016

A 1957 Ferrari 335S Spider Scaglietti is widely anticipated to become the most valuable car to ever sell at auction when it goes under the hammer at Artcurial’s Rétromobile event in Paris, which takes place on 5 February.

The car, which has spent the majority of its post-racing career in the Pierre Bardinon Collection, is expected to fetch an incredible £24,600,000, which would comfortably eclipse last year’s late record breaker, RM Auctions’ £18.8m Ferrari 290MM.

The Ferrari’s incredible pre-sale estimate is owed to its original condition, having been retired from racing after a relatively short career, but also the world-class drivers who campaigned it during that time.

It was first driven in anger by Peter Collins and Maurice Trintignant at the 1957 Sebring 12 Hours, where it finished sixth, serving as a suitable warm up for Ferrari’s true prize: the Mille Miglia. Wolfgang von Trips was given the honour of driving ‘0674’ as part of a four-car Ferrari entry, covering the event’s 1600km at a pace only bettered by teammate Piero Taruffi.

Following the race, the car was returned to the factory for upgrades, including increasing its engine capacity to 4.1-litres, effectively taking it from 315 to 335S specification. Now with 400bhp under the bonnet, it was taken to Le Mans, where future Formula One World Champion Mike Hawthorn set the event’s first 200km+ fastest lap. By the fifth hour he was forced to retire due to mechanical problems.

Hawthorn once again teamed up with Luigi Musso for the Swedish Grand Prix, where the pair scored a fourth-place finish, and the Venezuela Grand Prix, where they managed second.

By the following year the car had been sold to Luigi Chinetti, who quickly enlisted the help of Masten Gregory and Stirling Moss to win the Cuba Grand Prix. It then spent a number of years being campaigned in lower level motorsport before heading for France in 1970, and the collection of industrialist and gentleman driven Pierre Bardinon.

An opportunity to own such an original and successful Ferrari comes along very rarely, let alone one that can count Moss, Hawthorn, von Trips, Trintignant, Gregory and Musso among its former drivers.

C&SC EXCLUSIVE: Pick up the March issue of Classic & Sports Car (on sale 4 February) for a full feature on the Bardinon Ferrari 335S, including an in-depth look at the car’s fascinating history and stunning set of studio images.