Auction house RM Sotheby’s is preparing to sell a 1958 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa that makes most modern hypercars look a little mundane. Limited to 19 units, and built before the famed 250 GTO, the 250 Testa Rossa retired as one of the Italian brand’s most successful race cars.
Given chassis number 0738 TR, and fitted with a Pontoon-Fendered body by Italian coachbuilder Sergio Scaglietti, this 250 Testa Rossa won four of the nearly 20 races it participated in shortly after rolling out of the Maranello factory. It reportedly spent its early years racing in Brazil, where it notably won the 1965 edition of the Rio de Janeiro Grand Prix, and it later went through the hands of several Brazilian owners before ending up in the United States in the 1980s. It had been re-bodied in the 1960s but it surprisingly kept its original drivetrain.
While making major modifications to a rare classic might sound insane, keep in mind that most of the multi-million-dollar vintage race cars that have popped up at big-name auctions in recent years were worth very little when they were a couple of years old. They were outdated, meaning the odds of them winning a race were low, so many ended up with a newer body, a newer engine, or both. Others got crushed.
As values and interest in classic Ferrari models began to rise, chassis number 0738 TR was treated to a full restoration by Ferrari Classiche, the brand’s in-house classic department. It received the coveted Red Book certification, which notably confirms the car retains its original engine and gearbox. Speaking of the engine, the 3.0-liter V12 explains the name: “Testa Rossa” means “red [cylinder] head” in Italian.
Chassis number 0738 TR shows how relative the term “rarity” can be. Ferrari’s LaFerrari is considered a relatively rare car; 499 units were built. The born-again Lamborghini Countach is limited to 112 units, and Bugatti made 40 units of the Divo. Here, we’re looking at one of 19.
Sotheby’s notes that chassis number 0738 TR has been kept in a private collection for over a decade, which sounds like a subtle way of telling enthusiasts that they might need to wait at least another decade for the next opportunity to bid on it if they don’t take it home this time. The auction opens in Detroit, Michigan, on February 21, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time, which is 2:00 p.m. in California, and it closes two days later. Owning a piece of Ferrari history is never cheap, and Sotheby’s estimates the 250 Testa Rossa could sell for up to $38 million.
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