The Ferrari 225S Spider Vignale from 1952 as Ennstal-Classic Car of the Year 2013
07/31/2013
A jury consisting of the vehicle acceptance technicians Paul Skorecz and Klaus Seybold as well as the two organizers Michael Glöckner and Helmut Zwickl chose the 1952 Ferrari 225S Spider Vignale of the Spaniard José Fernandez as Ennstal-Classic Car of the Year 2013. The open beauty received top marks for its condition and history.
Originally, owner Fernandez had entered a Nash-Healey, but it broke down. He then pulled the most valuable car in his collection out of the garage: a Ferrari 225S Vignale, chassis no. 0154ED, built in 1952.
The car was delivered to Vittorio Marzotto, who competed in the Giro di Sicilia on March 9, 1952, but retired.
He also failed to finish the second start at the Mille Miglia. However, he then won the Monaco Grand Prix on June 2, 1952, which was also open to sports cars at the time. It finished second in the Bolzano-Mendola hill climb and fifth in the Coppa d'Oro delle Dolomiti.
The next owner, Pietro Palmieri from Rome, also used the car in racing and achieved two further victories in hill climbs.
In 1956, the car was sold to South Africa, and from 1977 the owner was Richard Phillips. The car went to Sir Anthony Bamford for 550,000 dollars at a Brooks auction in 1997, but without the original engine, which had since been replaced by a 3-liter. Bamford found the original 2.7-liter engine just one month later with Gregor Fisken. The car was restored at DK Engineering in Watford (UK) in 1998.
In May 2000, Willie Green drove the 225S to ninth and fifth place in the GP Historique Monaco. In May 2003, Oscar Davis from Elisabeth (NJ, USA) bought the Ferrari and some time later it came into the possession of José Fernandez from Barcelona.
The 2.7-liter V-12 with three Weber twin carburetors produced 210 hp at 7200 rpm.
A total of 14 Spiders are said to have been built. According to the magazine "Cavallino", the market value is between 1.5 and 3.5 million dollars.
Of course, we would also have liked to have seen the Nash-Healey at the Ennstal-Classic, but the Ferrari was certainly a more than worthy replacement.
