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Chassis:
Finished in a deep blue, this Pinin Farina bodied 500 Mondial was sold new to Porfirio Rubirosa, the legendary playboy from the Dominican Republic. Accompanied by Zsa Zsa Gabor, he raced his recently acquired Ferrari at Santa Barbara in September of 1954, finishing second in class. He soon after sold the car John van Neumann, who actively campaigned the car with considerable success both for himself but also for aspiring young racers Richie Ginther and Phil Hill. In 1956, it was fitted with a three-litre Monza engine and received the nickname Monzetta, while a year later a Chevrolet V8 transplant earned it another nickname; Mondilet. In this ultimate guise, the car was raced through to the end of the 1958 season.
The car eventually re-emerged, without an engine during the early 1970s and was sold to the United Kingdom. Still in need of a complete restoration, it returned to the United States in the early 1990s. Here it was finally restored, using a 750 Monza engine. Soon after the restoration was completed, the car, now painted dark red, was sold to Germany where it remained until the early 2010s. Its subsequent, American owner entrusted the 500 Mondial to the Ferrari Classiche department where it was meticulously restored to its original configuration. In 2015, the work was completed and the car was shown at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in a special class for Ferrari that had competed in the original Pebble Beach road races.
Chassis details |
Manufactured in |
July 1954 |
Last known location |
American Private Collection |
Appearances |
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Most recent auction(s) |
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