Ferrari 375MM: Battista’s winged wonder

| 22 May 2014

Ferrari's fabulous 375MM was king of the autostrada in the ‘50s. Mick Walsh drives the last car built, which has magnificent coupé bodywork by Pinin Farina.

The styling studio at Pinin Farina on Via Lesna in Turin must have been an inspiring place in the mid-1950s. With Battista senior – better known as ‘Pinin’ – still very much the front man, the diversity of design work on the drawing boards and in the model-making workshop ranged from mass-production Alfa Giulietta Spider proposals to bespoke bodywork for Ferrari’s most exclusive clientele. The stocky, silver-haired, golf-loving director was a household name in Italy, regularly in the spotlight with film stars, automotive magnates and racing drivers. Rarely did his team get public credit as Pinin brilliantly marketed the famous ‘F’ crest, which graced the world’s most beautiful cars.

The firm had a great relationship with Ferrari, with beautiful results starting from the elegant 212 Inter. So when Maranello unleashed the spectacular 375 sports-racer as a road car, Farina was the natural coachbuilder of choice for millionaire customers. The last of these fabled 4.5-litre, 340bhp road-rockets to be built was a breathtaking two-tone coupé that wowed visitors to the 1955 Turin Show. Finished in Vanilla with a Blueberry roof, this sleek beauty ended an era of one-off customer cars prior to the more formalised gran turismos of the 250 series. The climax for the 375 was a glorious group, ordered by such renowned customers as Gianni Agnelli, Alfred Ducato and King Leopold. Film director Roberto Rossellini purchased a special-bodied 375 as a gift for his actress wife Ingrid Bergman, and a Farina-bodied 375MM coupé even appeared with Italy’s most glamorous couple Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni in La fortuna di essere donna (Lucky to be a woman).

Ferrari 375MM

While most of these super-exotic machines were ordered by wealthy Ferrari clients, the origins of the final 375MM are unclear. It’s possible that a spare chassis was dispatched to Pinin Farina with an open brief for a show-stopping body to tempt potential buyers. I like to imagine old man Pinin and design director Franco Martinengo sketching ideas for this stunning machine, which features several details that carried through to the 250 GT competizione. The side air vents alone could hang in an art exhibition of Italian Futurist work. Combining such delicate elements as the slender doorhandles and the wafer-thin bumpers with the aggressive promise of the lean, low body, ‘0490’ has a captivating presence. The side profile has even been linked with a formula used by old masters to achieve the perfect balance in composition and, as unlikely as this influence might have been for Pinin’s team, the grid does correspond. Extended lines from various angles including side vents and roof pillars all intersect together at a central point, which gives the car its harmonious focus. Personally, I reckon Pinin had been looking at a few American custom car magazines because the taut, low roof gives this design its rakish, powerful stance. Barely visible is a masterful sill strip under the door, painted dark blue to match the roof, which reduces the depth of the flanks. That thoroughbred poise is enhanced by the bonnet, which extends around the central bulge to almost kiss the windscreen, while such features as the huge filler cap in the centre of the tail, the quick-release bonnet hooks and the vents in the rear screen sides all underline its racing pedigree.

Ferrari 375MM

Fins on Ferraris often look like a contrived nod to post-WW2 American trends, but on ‘0490’ the inspiration came from more muscular wings. “Fins are typically straight, as on rockets, fish and Cadillacs,” says Swiss Ferrari authority Marcel Massini. “But Pinin Farina wanted to express speed, so he picked the Roman god Mercury as a model.” While the wings give ‘0490’ its signature rear, I think the step up to the puny tail-lights looks a shade contrived – but that’s a minor criticism of an amazing design.

Fresh from final detailing in Farina’s workshops, the two-tone coupé made its public debut at the Turin show in April 1955, before being sent to Rome Ferrari agent Inico Bernabei. First owner of this awesome machine was Count Antonio Naselli, a Sicilian nobleman in his mid-50s. No doubt the Duke di Gela, as he was officially known, had a villa with Mediterranean views and it’s easy to picture the Ferrari parked out front as his special guests arrived, but it’s more likely that he kept it secretly garaged in Rome. By the time the Count died in 1961, the exotic 375MM had been sold to Ed Weschler via Chinetti Motors in New York for $8000, and was bizarrely repainted red and black. Long-term Ferrari collector Weschler was also a keen racer, on occasions sharing an Elva-Porsche with Denise McCluggage. He was based in Nashotah, just west of Milwaukee, and no doubt gunned the 375 along scenic Wisconsin back-roads to his local track at Road America. Chassis 0490 remained in the Lake Michigan area for more than four decades, and the car had clocked just 20,990 miles when Lawrence Slattery of Chicago became its fourth owner. Then, after a long hibernation, the highly original machine was acquired in November 2002 by California-based Manny del Arroz, who sent it to Wayne Obry’s respected Motion Products in Neenah, Wisconsin. The brief was to return the car to its Turin show colour scheme and refresh the chassis.
The layers of old paint were carefully removed during the strip-down to bare metal, to determine the correct tones. On the roof, Obry’s team found three shades of blue indicating that Farina had struggled to decide on the correct hue. Small samples were sent off to be computer analysed before the new acrylic paint was mixed.

Ferrari 375MM

The interior looked tired and dried out after 45 years, but was complete and provided the ideal reference for top trimmer John Kies. Finding the correct brown rubber matting proved the biggest challenge. The headlining and stylish sunvisors were done in cream leather, while the gauges were carefully cleaned and checked. Due to the low mileage, the mechanical work was straightforward. The 4.5-litre V12 yielded 340bhp at 6300rpm on Motion Products’ dyno, with a muscular 300lb ft torque peak at 4300.

The fastidious restoration was completed in May 2004 and ‘0490’ made its debut at Pebble Beach, where it took a perfect 100-point score in the Ferrari Speciale class. Amazingly, a post-war car has never won this premier concours (not counting the first five years, when new models won), which seems somewhat short-sighted. When Phil Hill’s Pierce-Arrow won Pebble in 1951, it was just 24-years old yet, at 52, this gorgeous Pinin Farina design isn’t eligible for the top award. For me there’s no question that the unique Ferrari is more elegant than that year’s winner, the flamboyant ’38 Horch 853A Erdmann & Rossi cabriolet. In terms of form, detail and significance, there’s no comparison between coachbuilt excess and this sleek classic.

Ferrari 375MM

The following January, ‘0490’ won the Gran Turismo Cup at the Cavallino Classic in Palm Beach, before being flown to Europe for Villa d’Este where, almost 50 years to the day after its Turin debut, it was once again the talk of an Italian event. But it was another Ferrari, the gorgeous ’51 Vignale-bodied 212 Export Spider (C&SC, Sept 2007), that pipped ‘0490’ to the Coppa d’Oro at the lakeside concours. Fierce competition for the GT class in Farina’s 75th anniversary year came from another Obry restoration, the 250GT Europa ‘0403’, with one-off coachwork similar to the ex-Rossellini 375MM.

The majestic Berlinetta was then hidden away again, until rumours filtered through to the C&SC office that a 375MM coupé had arrived in England, heading for Martin Chisholm’s Cotswolds base. This hugely valuable machine doesn’t venture out in the rain and, predictably, the first two trips were thwarted by gloomy forecasts. Third time lucky, and when ‘0490’ rolled out into the bright daylight it looked as dazzling as reports from Chisholm had predicted. Walking around its dramatic form, you spot clever details only previously known to owners, restorers and marque experts. The attention to unseen brackets such as those that support the bumpers, or the inner sections that mould these slim chrome features into the body, all add to the harmony. Unlike modern Ferraris, the 375MM has true class with minimal branding. Enzo knew that his cars had enough sheer presence and aural drama to separate them from other marques.

Ferrari 375MM

Does this fabled machine live up to its road-racing origins? The competition pedigree is clear as soon as you pull open the flyweight aluminium door. It may have been a motor show sensation, but this 375’s roots lie in a Grand Prix-based, Aurelio Lampredi-designed engine and a chassis honed on epic enduros at Spa, Le Mans and the Carrera PanAmericana. Inside, there are deep, open door pockets and shaped, triple-vented bucket seats with the exposed Borrani spare mounted behind. As in a Formula 1 Ferrari, the three-spoke, wood-rimmed steering wheel has those classic metal studs on the back for extra grip. The trim could have inspired any one of the recent crop of retro-moderns with its deep, navy-blue dash, tan leather, polished steel and cream headlining. Ribbed brown rubber mats edged in leather complete this gorgeous cabin. Straight ahead are two large Veglia dials: a 300kph speedo and a rev counter that registers all the way to 8000rpm. To the left, in moulded housings, are oil pressure, water temperature and fuel gauges, relaying everything the lucky driver needs to know, while chrome switches are neatly hidden under the dash. The recent fad for mounting the ignition switch and starter button on the centre console is nothing new, and I’m confused at first as I look in vain around the column for key hole and fuel switches.

Ferrari 375MM

This car’s huge value restricts my drive to a private estate, but the route is long enough to get a feel for the 375MM’s rich character. The all-synchro four-speed gearbox has a smooth action through its slightly angled gate and, combined with the light clutch, it’s a treat to work. The steering feels vague compared to the joyous action of younger 250 models and, if you push a little harder, predictable understeer forces the front wide into bends. Tall ‘Mexican’ gearing requires you to engage first for sharp corners, but as you accelerate out the big V12 pulls strong and clean once those Weber butterflies are fully open. At 3000rpm the engine really gets into its stride and the mid-range surge is mighty as the V12 thrums through the elegant cockpit, its yowl tuned by the four small pipes out the back. As the tall Avons pound across bumps, the suspension offers a surprisingly refined ride in contrast to the bare-bones racing 375s, so you’d never tire of this big-bore beauty on a continental run.

Ferrari 375MM

Depressingly, however, it’ll rarely be seen at speed because ‘0490’ is destined for static display in a private collection, with occasional concours outings. Somehow, this ’50s supercar looks wrong parked and silent on a neat grass fairway, like racers locked up in museums. Perhaps one day their millionaire owners will follow the example set by lucky Alfa 8C drivers and organise a special rally exclusively for Ferrari 375s. Just imagine a convoy of these ’50s exotics – Bergman coupé and ‘0490’ trailing PanAmericana racers – blasting across Montana or Arizona.

This article was originally published in the July 2010 issue of Classic & Sports Car magazine, which retains the copyright to all words and images. Click here to see the terms and conditions.

Words: Mick Walsh; pictures: James Mann