by Mike –
I saw this beautiful Ferrari at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in August 2013. Known as the “Geneva Coupe” it was shown at the Geneva Auto Salon in 1952!
A striking car in person it attracts much attention. I love the two tone colors in addition to the beautiful body shape. It has small tail fins that are attractive to my eye.
It is now up for auction by Gooding in Arizona this month.
Estimate: $1,700,000 – $2,200,000.
Gooding says,
* A Spectacular Example of Italian Custom Coachwork
* The First of Six Such Vignale- Bodied Coupes
* Displayed at the 1954 San Remo Concours d’Elegance
* Fascinating, Well-Documented Provenance
* Exquisite Restoration to Original Appearance
* Retains Original, Matching-Numbers Engine
* FCA Platinum Award Winner at the 2013 Cavallino Classic
* Displayed at the 2013 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
* Offered with Tool Roll, Owner’s Manual, and Extensive Historical File
* Documented by Ferrari Historian Marcel Massini
The original owner of this Ferrari was an American yet it is right-hand-drive. It is not a race car and as far as I can tell it was always a street car.
Why was it right-hand-drive? Let us know what you think in the Comments.
Sell your classic car on My Car Quest – click here.
The Italians drove on the right in right hand drive cars long after they stopped driving on the left side of the road.
It took some time for car manufacturers there to accept that a left hand drive car was better suited to the new road system.
Quite a few `1950’s Italian made cars display these characteristics and Italian car makers Alfa Romeo and Lancia did not produce LHD cars until as late as 1950 and 1953 respectively even though the whole of Italy was driving on the right of the road by 1926.
Milan, centre of exotic car production, was the last Italian city to give up driving on the left.
Paul,
Thank you – once again I learn something from a My Car Quest reader!
If Milan drove on the left and the rest of Italy drove on the right the roads where Milan traffic met the rest of Italy traffic must have been even more interesting than they are today!