Simple, fast, beautiful: The "Barchette" characterized the beginnings of Ferrari racing history. Eight models from important international collectors will be presented at the Auto e Moto d'Epoca classic car fair. From Gianni Agnelli's 166 MM, which was exhibited at the MoMA, to the latest incredible Ferrari Monza SP.
Designed for extreme racing
The "Barchette" appeared at the end of the 1940s: lightweight racing spiders, without a hood, nor frills and with a tiny windshield to keep air resistance as low as possible. An efficient recipe with which they set the tone in the heroic years of the Mille Miglia, the Targa Florio and many other races of the time. By definition, the Barchette were vehicles for extreme racing, of which only very few examples were produced and each of which today can point to its own history (not only) in sporting terms. Ferrari, in particular, associates the beginning of its sporting history with this extraordinary type of vehicle and it is precisely these Ferrari Barchette that will be the subject of a sensational exhibition at the Auto e Moto d'Epoca in Padua from October 24 to 27.
Not a car, but a boat?
The 'oldest' of the barchettes on display in Padua is the Ferrari 166 Mille Miglia with touring bodywork from 1950, which belonged to Gianni Agnelli, was then sold to Belgium and subsequently driven in a race by Olivier Gendebien. When the car was owned by the great Ferrari collector and former Formula 1 driver Jacques Swaters, it was exhibited at the MoMa in New York and the National Gallery in Berlin as an example of Italian design. In 2015, the car was one of the big stars of the beauty contest in Villa d'Este. It is a special model, also because it has to do with the origin of the nickname "Barchetta". When Agnelli saw the rounded shapes of the 166 MM exhibited at the Turin Motor Show in 1948, he said: "It's not a car, it's a boat (barchetta in Italian)!" This comment was immediately recorded by sports journalist Giovanni Canestrini (one of the creators of the Mille Miglia race) and then adopted by Bianchi Anderloni (designer of the Touring coachbuilding company in Milan) to designate the convertible version of the 166 MM produced for the 1949 Mille Miglia race. Since then, the term "barchetta" has gone down in motorsport history to designate the entire category of racing convertibles and has recently been used again for exclusive, limited-edition models.
Technology of today - design of the past
On the other side of the exhibition is one of the latest Ferrari Barchetta, the SP Monza, descendant of a new concept of a limited series, made in Maranello, called "Icona" and inspired by the legends of the 50s, combining modern technology and design of the past.Between the 166 MM and the new Monza, there are many rare examples with an incredible track record on display in Hall 3 of the classic car show in the ACI Arena. These include the following: the 340 MM Vignale, the 375 MM Pininfarina, one of four never-built examples of the 857 S, the Ferrari 750 Monza, the 500 Mondial and many others, including the youngtimer 550 Barchetta. All of them have a story to tell in Padua to keep many hearts beating to the racing beat.
Further information
Further information can be found on the Auto e Moto d'Epoca website.
