Forbes: First car sold into private hands 002C to be auctioned! | FerrariChat

Forbes: First car sold into private hands 002C to be auctioned!

Discussion in 'Vintage Ferrari Market' started by Brian C. Stradale, May 4, 2004.

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  1. Brian C. Stradale

    Brian C. Stradale F1 Rookie
    Lifetime Rossa

    Mar 17, 2002
    3,612
    Dallas, TX, USA
    Check out this story from Forbes:

    http://www.forbes.com/vehicles/2004/05/04/cx_dl_0504vow.html

    The Founding Ferrari For Sale
    by Dan Lienert

    ...

    The world would be less than what it is today had Enzo Ferrari decided to confine his cars to racetracks. On Aug. 12, Christie's International Motor Cars will auction the car that we have to thank for putting Ferraris on the streets: the 1947 Ferrari 166 Spider Corsa, the first Ferrari to pass into private hands. The vehicle is expected to fetch $950,000 to $1,350,000 when Christie's offers it at the 15th annual Exceptional Motor Cars sale at the Monterey Jet Centre in California. The auction will kick off a series of events surrounding the Monterey Historic Automobile races and various Concours d'Elegance activities.

    The 166 Spider Corsa, numbered "002-C" with Enzo's then-new competition-car chassis serial system, was based on the Ferrari 159 with which Raymond Sommer won the 1947 Turin Grand Prix. The 166 was acquired two months later by Gabriele Besana, a wealthy enthusiast, thereby making it the first Ferrari dealt to a private owner. The 166 line, Ferrari's first production models, which used 2.0-liter engines, was made in small numbers from 1948 to 1953.

    If the open-wheeled 166 looks primitive, take a look at another car that Christie's will put up at the auction, the 1959 Ferrari 250GT LWB California Spyder, to get an idea of how quickly Ferrari went from building great race cars to building some of the prettiest street-legal cars in history.

    The 1959 Ferrari 250GT LWB California Spyder will join the 166 Spider Corsa at auction.

    Finished in "Nero black" with a red leather interior, the California Spyder is No. 19 of 49 produced and was originally delivered to racing great Jo Siffert. It has not been seen on the market for more than ten years, and Christie's expects it to fetch between $1 million and $1.2 million.

    If the 166 Spider Corsa represents the moment at which Ferrari tested the market with production cars, the 250GT series (to which the California Spyder belongs) was the nameplate with which the company got serious about building cars for private use. Made from 1954 to 1962, the 250GTs were the first Ferraris developed specifically for the street.

    ...
     
  2. bobafett

    bobafett F1 Veteran

    Sep 28, 2002
    9,193
    Is that estimate for the LWB a bit high?

    Cool beans the 002 might be moving around.

    --Dan
     
  3. zjpj

    zjpj F1 Veteran

    Nov 4, 2003
    6,124
    USA
    Why is the LWB high? What do you think their market value is? I thought they were definitely around a million, and SWB probably a couple (or several) hundred thousand more.
     
  4. wax

    wax Five Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa

    Jul 20, 2003
    51,458
    SFPD
    Full Name:
    Dirty Harry
    Psychotic Premonition: 002C will go for more than published prediction. Approaching, if not exceeding 2 mil.
     
  5. Brian C. Stradale

    Brian C. Stradale F1 Rookie
    Lifetime Rossa

    Mar 17, 2002
    3,612
    Dallas, TX, USA
    Maybe... but the estimate for 002C seems low!
    That seems like a crown jewel for a Ferrari collector.
    Assuming it is reasonably authentic... which the
    pictures above make me wonder.
     
  6. Wolfgang

    Wolfgang F1 World Champ
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    Mar 8, 2003
    16,743
    Heidelberg, Germany
    Full Name:
    Wolfgang
  7. 355BOY

    355BOY Formula Junior

    Jan 28, 2004
    328
    the North
    Full Name:
    Mark

    I'm sure I saw this driven at Goodwood last year, by a women with a height problem maybe dwarfism.

    I'm being totally true.

    Mark
     
  8. richard_wallace

    richard_wallace Formula 3

    Feb 6, 2004
    1,956
    Cincinnati, Ohio
    Full Name:
    Richard Wallace

    I think if you adjust for the current Euro price today as opposed to then - I think the figure would be around 1mm US. I think the Euro was pretty weak in 02... So the figure would be pretty close to what their estimate is...
     
  9. Boudewijn

    Boudewijn F1 Rookie
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    May 15, 2003
    4,133
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    Full Name:
    Boudewijn Berkhoff
    #9 Boudewijn, May 4, 2004
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  10. Boudewijn

    Boudewijn F1 Rookie
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    May 15, 2003
    4,133
    The Netherlands
    Full Name:
    Boudewijn Berkhoff
    #10 Boudewijn, May 4, 2004
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    But the owner will show up in a short while. Where to put this car? Well, we'll just park it behind those bars. The bar is across the street.
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  11. Boudewijn

    Boudewijn F1 Rookie
    Lifetime Rossa

    May 15, 2003
    4,133
    The Netherlands
    Full Name:
    Boudewijn Berkhoff
    #11 Boudewijn, May 4, 2004
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  12. Chevarri

    Chevarri Formula Junior

    Jan 20, 2003
    764
    In a rose bush.
    Full Name:
    J'aime
    As much as I love Chevrolet and the Vette, I found this pretty humorous.


    When Ferrari won its class at last year's Le Mans 24 Hour race, competing drivers from General Motors' (nyse: GM - news - people ) Corvette team could not even bear to say the Italian automakers' name. They will tell you they lost the race to "the prancing horse department."
     

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