1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial – One Man's Trash...

Photography by: RM Sotheby's

Date: 19.10.2023

This wreck sold for a staggering $2,913,934 by renowned auction house RM Sotheby's at the Monterey Car Week in August.

Scrap, or treasure?

What is it?

The second of just 13 examples built of the 1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial featuring Pininfarina Spider bodywork and driven by Franco Cortese. This is chassis 0406.

In 1947, when Enzo Ferrari started his own racing company, Cortese was signed on as the driver and gave the marque its maiden victory, the Roma GP of that same year.

Claiming period racing use and initial ownership by one of Italy’s better-known Scuderia principals, this long-hidden Ferrari was assembled during March 1954 and finished in Rosso Corsa paint over a Similpelle Beige vinyl interior.

The following month, the car was sold to Franco Cornacchia, a Milanese sports car dealer and principal of one of the region’s most significant privateer racing teams and raced by Cortese.

In mid 1954 it was rebodied by Scaglietti and returned to racing before being shipped to the
USA in 1958 where it raced with an American V8, a common practice.

Somewhere in the next two years, it crashed heavily and suffered fire damage. It passed through many owners and remained in its race-damaged condition.

It sold with its factory-issued chassis plate and is accompanied by key components including rear-axle corners and its matching-numbers gearbox along with a larger, 3.0-litre Tipo 119 Lampredi inline-four engine.

Being the second 500 Mondial made and raced by one of post war Italy’s best-known privateers adds untold value.

It sold with copies of the original factory build sheets and CSAI homologation papers, and now in fresh hands for the first time in half a century, makes for an ambitious and costly restoration project.

From Unique Cars #483, Sept 2023

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