Ferrari Barchetta on the roadside - what there was to discover 40 years ago
The stories of cars that have been forgotten in barns and then rediscovered are as old as the veteran car hobby. Today, most barns are probably searched in vain, but in 1970 I myself "stumbled across" a car hidden in a similar way.
In those years, I lived about twenty kilometers from Zurich and earned my living by trading in collector's cars. I must have driven to the big city three times a week, and each time I noticed a large "Blache" (= tarpaulin) about 3 km from home , under which a car was probably dozing along.
Sometimes, as I drove past, I wondered what was really hidden under there. And one day I stopped, got out and wanted to solve the mystery. It was indeed a car - and what a car it was! I was amazed to discover that it was an old Ferrari with the engine and gearbox removed, but a real Ferrari. And because I was sure that an enthusiast could be found for this vehicle, some of whose paint had even been removed (the current owner had apparently lost interest in his car), I left a note asking him to call me if the "car" was for sale. A few weeks later, the Ferrari owner actually called me: "I would like to sell the car and am asking 3,000 francs for it."
Oops! Back then, 3,000 francs was a lot of money. Shortly before that, I had had to pay less for a Ferrari 166 Inter in top condition. So as not to be left in the lurch, I called my friend Bart Loyens in Luxembourg to see if he knew of a buyer for my "rarity". And Loyens did find a customer, albeit only two months later. But that didn't matter, because the deliberate sheet was still lying untouched in the same place.
Bequeathed to the Museum of Transport...
So I set off that same evening and rang the doorbell of a small one-room apartment to bring the good news and 3,000 francs. But my visit triggered a real family tragedy. The car had not been sold, but its owner had donated it to the Lucerne Museum of Transport!
". . . You know, there will be a sign next to the car saying <Gift from ...>," the husband proudly explained to me, which caused his wife to have an extremely violent, never-ending crying fit.
The poor wife would obviously have valued the blue bills much more. After a long discussion, the man agreed to sell me the car on one condition: that I return his donation to the museum. However, I didn't want to do that. I had almost forgotten about the troublesome Ferrari when its obviously happy owner - he had probably managed to save his marriage at the last minute - called me. I could have the car after all, as the museum would only accept the Ferrari in a drivable and restored condition, which would be a good reason to withdraw the darned offer in honor...
A large crate was made for the individual parts, the engine and the gearbox, which was loaded onto a trailer together with the car and shipped to Antwerp. The Ferrari was to be shipped to the USA , which effectively closed the first chapter.
The real Le Mans winning car
Chapter 2 can be introduced with Wilhelm Busch's "And firstly, things turn out differently, and secondly, than you think": in 1949, Luigi Chinetti had won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Ferrari 166 Mille Miglia. It was the first time that Ferrari had won such an important race. This victory was marketed for advertising purposes. America's Ferrari importer Chinetti in particular stirred up the advertising drum. In his New York showroom, the car was displayed among wreaths and trophies. Anyone could admire the car, and it was even allowed to be touched as long as the hood remained closed. Even then, Ferrari enthusiasts were already in doubt that the car on display was the famous Le Mans car - but rather a duplicate of it.
You've probably already guessed it: No sooner had "my" car arrived in America than it was discovered that the engine's connecting rods had been mounted on rollers. However, this measure had only been carried out on the Le Mans race car! The story turned out to be true. Three former owners' addresses led me to a Mr. Staechelin, who had personally bought this car from Luigi Chinetti at the 1949 Paris Motor Show. To be on the safe side, the organizers of the Le Mans races also confirmed to me that the Ferrari Type 166 MM with chassis and engine number 0008 M had won the race at the time.
All well and good - but only for the American customer. Without changing anything on the car , he sold it on for almost 50,000 Swiss francs! And the fact that this car has since increased in value by leaps and bounds will have made a few more "discoverers" happy. If this Ferrari 166 MM had been offered at the Geneva Sportscar Auction at the end of May 1990 like the related 340 MM or 250 MM, its hammer price would certainly have reached 2 to 3 million francs.
Note from Zwischengas: This article was written by Rob de la Rive Box in 1990. In 2005, a Ferrari 166 MM (chassis 0054M) was auctioned by RM Auctions for USD 1.76 million, in 2009 a Ferrari 166 MM (chassis 0050M) reached USD 1.10 million, but was not sold as the estimate of USD 1.4 to 1.8 million was missed by far. In 2011, the Ferrari 166 MM (chassis 024M) changed hands for USD 1.87 million, again brokered by RM Auctions. We have reported on this car.
