On August 13, Bonhams and Butterfields will offer two very rare Italian single-seaters for sale at their Quail Lodge auction. The first is a 1953 Ferrari 500/625 (Chassis No 0210F), which was raced by Guido Mancini, Alejandro de Tomaso and Giorgio Scarlatti as part of the Scuderia Centro Sud.
The Ferrari 500/625 originated at a time when unsupercharged 2-liter Formula 2 races qualified for Drivers’ World Championship points. In these cars, Ferrari’s brilliant driver Alberto Ascari won nine Grand Prix races in a row to clinch two consecutive World titles. This customer-specified four cylinder Ferrari “Starlet”, however, was seldom used by its first owner Antonio Checacchi, before being raced by Guido Mancini in the 1954 Rome GP at Castelfusano, and later by Giorgio Scarlatti and the Centro Sud team in 1955–’56. Later, in the 1957 Buenos Aires GP, it was campaigned by none other than Alejandro de Tomaso. This unique racecar was rebuilt in the United Kingdom with a full 1954–’55 2.5-liter Ferrari 625 Formula 1 engine for rock musician Eric Stewart.
The other special monoposto to cross the block at Bonhams is the Ex-Giuseppe Campari, Count “Johnny” Lurani 1933 Maserati 2-liter, 4-cylinder, Monoposto 2000 (Chassis No 2011). This one-off works Maserati was one of the earliest centerline single-seat racing cars to compete in a Grand Prix class race. In the 1933 Coppa Ciano race, on the demanding Montenero circuit in Livorno, Italy the car finished 3rd driven by the legendary opera-singing driver Giuseppe Campari. Subsequently, Count “Johnny” Lurani campaigned 2011 in Europe’s highest altitude mountain climb, The Stelvio. This car was later sold to private owner/driver Berrone. Subsequently, this car featured prominently for many years at Britain’s famed National Motor Museum at Beaulieu.
For more information on either car, or the Quail sale in general, contact Mark Osborne at (415) 391-4000 or go to www.bonhams.com
