• Arguably the most beautiful of all Ferrari sports-racers
• Restored to show/ race standards and impeccably maintained since
• Offered with two engines including a developed unit for events
• Exceptional period race record ensures almost guaranteed eligibility for historic events including the Mille Miglia

Intended largely as a commercially lucrative customer car in the popular 2-litre class, in late 1953 Ferrari introduced the 500 Mondial.

It proved to be exactly what many clients wanted, providing Ferrari with welcome cash flow and a series of cars that could be loaned (for a price) to favoured customers and then sold. The engine of the 500 Mondial was developed by Aurelio Lampredi from his 4-cylinder Formula 2 cars with the same 90mm bore and 78mm stroke. More modestly and flexibly tuned than the formula cars, their 160 brake horsepower and ample torque made them drivers’ favourites.

As if that weren’t enough, Pinin Farina clothed the 500 Mondial in some of its most beautiful and effective bodies. Even among Ferraris, the 4-cylinder cars stand out for their delicacy, balance, purposefulness and instinctively effective aerodynamics on an unusually short 2250mm wheelbase. Scaglietti, by now Ferrari’s coachbuilder of choice for competition cars, came up with equally lovely bodywork said to have been originally conceived by Dino Ferrari.

Just two years later in 1956 Ferrari updated the concept to introduce the 500 Testa Rossa. The engine was still 90x78mm but a new head with valves at a 60° included angle raised the power even in sports car tune to 180 brake horsepower. To acknowledge the revised engine the cylinder head was painted red and featured in the model name. At the same time the chassis, Tipo 518, was revised with a live rear axle and the four-speed transmission was mounted in unit with the engine.

Just a year later revised CSI sporting regulations required more revisions to meet the standards of its Appendix C, principally directed at the bodywork in an attempt to force the builders of sports-racing cars to make them more like road cars. Doors, a rudimentary top and a full width windscreen were the main requirements, giving Scaglietti the opportunity to further refine his expression of form following function with a new series of open sports-racing Ferraris.

Named 500 TRC for their Testa Rossa power and adherence to the CSI’s Appendix C regulations, the 1957 2-litre Ferraris bodied by Scaglietti are believed by many to be the most beautiful, sleek, svelte open Ferrari sports-racers ever, regardless of the number of cylinders.

The eleventh of nineteen built, ‘0686 MD/TR’ was completed on 9th May, sold a day later to Austrian gentleman driver Gottfried Köchert and at 4:58 the next morning took the starting flag for the 26th (and last open road) Mille Miglia where it finished 10th overall and 2nd in class, only 17 minutes behind Gino Munaron’s 2000cc Sports class winner in a similar 500 TRC.

Just two weeks later, on 26th May, Köchert and Erwin Bauer drove the TRC to a class win and 13th overall in the ADAC 1000km at the Nürburgring. They then partnered in the 24 Hours of Le Mans on 22nd June but dropped out early with fuel system problems. In February 1958 the car was entered in the Cuban Grand Prix by Manolo Perez de la Mesa and a month later was a reserve entry in the Sebring 12 Hours to be driven by Perez de la Mesa and Modesto Bolanos. In December Perez de la Mesa took part in the Nassau Speed Weeks in ‘0686 MD/TR’.

The car was subsequently sold to a U.S. buyer and raced by Ross Durant and Bill Redeker in SCCA events in Florida. In 1961-63 it competed in the infamous Nassau Speed Weeks driven by Captain Anson Johnson, finishing 2nd in Class E in 1961. Captain Johnson apparently wasn’t satisfied with that performance and in 1962 and 1963 appeared in ‘0686 MD/TR’ with a Chevrolet V8 under the bonnet at Nassau and in SCCA events. He also started in two USRRC races, Daytona in February 1963 and Mid-Ohio in September 1963.

It was a not uncommon fate for the Testa Rossas, now feeling the heat of competition from the likes of Maserati Birdcages and Coventry Climax powered mid-engined sports-racers from the U.K. It is no small tribute to their robust construction and benign, predicable handling that ‘0686 MD/TR’ and its counterparts were able both to cope with more than double the horsepower and to withstand its pounding.

In 1980 chassis ‘0686 MD/TR’ was discovered and acquired by Ferrari historian Dick Merritt in Florida with its Chevy motor, flared wheel arches, enlarged air intake and bulged bonnet. The original engine had gone missing but the original gearbox, grille, brakes and other parts were still with it. David Cottingham, founder of British firm DK Engineering, tracked down the original engine in the mid-‘80s and with Merritt re-united chassis and engine. A second, 2.4 litre, TRC spec engine was built up by DK for racing. The body was reskinned (DK still hold the remains of the original body) and liveried in Kochert’s distinctive and attractive red and white livery.

Following completion the TRC was sold to Ferrari collector and historic racer Lord Cowdray, latter passing to Mody Enav of Geneva and from him, via Simon Kidston at Bonhams, to the current American ownership in 2001 where it has been regularly exercised and professionally maintained in race- and show-ready condition. In the current ownership the fuel tank has been replaced by a 22 gallon fuel cell and the generator replaced by an alternator. Both original components are included with the car. The battery was moved to the rear and a Tilton Carbon Fibre clutch installed. Both engines, the original 2.0-litre and race-prepared 2.4-litre currently fitted are also part of the package. It is documented on a U.S. certificate of title.

Chassis ‘0686 MD/TR’ has been shown at Ferrari’s 50th Anniversary celebrations and has been a regular contender at the Monterey Historic races, also successfully completing the 2007 Mille Miglia, and the 2008 Colorado Grand.

It is ‘on the button’, ready for show or go and demonstrably one of the most historied of all Ferrari TRCs. With documented participation in the last open road Mille Miglia, the ADAC 1000km, the Le Mans 24 Hours, the Cuban GP, USRRC and Nassau Speed Weeks it meets the entry criteria for every important and enjoyable historic event worldwide today.

The period race record, distinctive livery, responsiveness and speed of Ferrari 500 TRC ‘0686 MD/TR’ make it a delight for an enthusiastic driver while the thump of its big four-cylinder engine and the sublime appearance of Scaglietti’s coachwork give it instant appeal to spectators. That is a very hard combination to beat.

Please note that this motor car will be sold strictly ‘As is, Where is’ on a Bill of Sale from the owner.