Chassis type 504
VIN/Serial 0432M
DESCRIPTION
During our seven years of stewardship of 0432M, we have found many conflicting statements about the car. By cross-referencing and fact checking, using the Ferrari Classiche Red Book as a guide, we are confident the following timeline is accurate to date.
- Dana and Patti Mecum
Engine type 11/ (engine described on assembly sheets as ”Prototipo 250/GT”)
Gearbox type 50 1/279 internal #6/MD
Pinin Farina Job #12594 The Prototipo 3.0L short-block Colombo V-12 engine in 0432M was the prototype for the 250/GT, thus the basis for the 250 GT Tour de France, 250 Testa Rossa, 250 SWB and 250 GTO. This is a very important engine in Ferrari’s history. This new engine helped usher in a romantic golden era of touring/racing success that has helped make Ferrari the world’s most powerful brand to this day.
April 12, 1954 Engine completed by mechanic Baldi, supervised by foreman Franchini
April 13, 1954 Engine tested by foreman Storchi
April 28, 1954 Gearbox completed by mechanic Frigeri, supervised by foreman Franchini
*May 12, 1954 Completed by Pinin Farina for Scuderia Ferrari
May 13, 1954 Chassis completed by foreman Franchini Maurice Trintignant was one of the top drivers in the world from 1953-55. In 1953, he finished 1st in class at The 24 Hours of Le Mans. On June 5, 1954, Trintignant won the the 12 Hours of Hyeres and would go on to win 1st overall for Ferrari at The 24 Hours of Le Mans just one week later. This shows how important it was for Ferrari to make a statement with its new engine by enlisting one of the world’s top drivers to pilot 0432M for its first race. The 1954 12 Hours of Hyeres marks the first win in competition for the new 250/GT Prototipo 3.0L Colombo V-12 engine, the short-block replacement for the Lampredi long-block V-12.
June 3, 1954 Delivered to preferred Ferrari client Luigi Piotti, Italy, as a Ferrari 250 Monza PF Spyder
*June 5, 1954 Raced at 12 Hours of Hyeres by Scuderia Ferrari factory driver Maurice Trintignant and Luigi Piotti, race #6, placed 1st
June 20, 1954 Raced at Shell Gran Premio dell’Autodromo di Imola by Giulio Musitelli, race #38, placed 2nd
June 27, 1954 Raced at Il GP Supercortemaggiore at Monza by Luigi Piotti and Robert Manzon, race #54, placed 11th Conjecture is that 0432M was traded on the first 250 GT Tour de France Chassis No. 0503 by Erasmo Simeoni (Kammamuri). While there is no document to prove this, it is a fact that 0432M was back at Ferrari and Simeoni was in 0503 by May 1957 for the Mille Miglia.
August 8, 1954 Raced at the Giro di Calabria by Luigi Piotti, race #24, placed 1st
April 30/May 1, 1955 Raced at the Mille Miglia by Erasmo Simeoni (Kammamuri), race #717, placed 15th
May 29, 1955 Raced at the at Il GP Supercortemaggiore at Monza by Erasmo Simeoni (Kammamuri), race #58, placed 3rd A World Sports Car racing rules change stipulated 3.0 liters as the maximum displacement for engines. Ferrari had three cars in house with 3.0L engines, chassis No. 0666, 0704 and 0432M.
1956/57 0432M goes back to Ferrari
*1957 Ferrari recommissions 0432M to Carrozzeria Scaglietti for new Pontoon-fender coachwork.
*1959 0432M is delivered to the U.S. in 1959 as a direct sale from Ferrari to Luigi Chinetti in white with blue stripe NART livery. It is first marketed in the U.S. as a 1959 Ferrari. This is at the same period of time that 0666, the first prototype Testa Rossa, and 0704, the second prototype Testa Rossa, are also recommissioned. As with 0432M, both 0666 and 0704 were on existing chassis. 0666 was on a 290MM chassis and 0704 was on a 500 TRC chassis.
1960 At the New York Auto Show, 0432M earns First Place in Sport Competition.
1960 Jeff Scott purchases 0432M and proceeds to race it at Lime Rock Park in Connecticut as a 1959 Ferrari.
1961 0432M is listed in March 1961 issue of “Road and Track” magazine as a 1959 Ferrari Super Monza.
Early 1960s Jeff Scott sells 0432M to Wayne Sigmund, with no specific date of sale confirmed.
Early 1960s Wayne Sigmund sells the car to Ferrari collector Jack Reuter, who is famous for his ownership of some of the finest creations ever to come out of Enzo Ferrari’s workshop. Confirmed by a Bill of Sale as a 1959 Ferrari.
August 5, 1968 Sold by Jack Reuter to Ken Hutchison, one of the founders of the Ferrari Club of America. Bill of Sale states 0432M changes hands as a 1959 model.
1986 Sold by Ken Hutchison to Peter Sachs.
1992 Sold by Peter Sachs to Antoine Midy.
1998 Sold by Antoine Midy through a broker to Peter Agg.
1999 Sold by Peter Agg through auction to Jack Croul.
2012 Sold by Jack Croul to Dana and Patti Mecum.
* These are the most important dates in the history of 0432M.
Vintage Races in 1980s and 1990s:
Ralle de Paris
Coupes des Alps
Ferrari Shell Historic Challenge
Mille Miglia
Current owners Dana and Patti Mecum commission a restoration in 2014 by Wayne Obry and his Motion Products team
Public appearances by 0432M since its restoration:
Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 2014 with a second in class.
Ferrari 60 Year celebration in the U.S. hosted on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, California, in 2014.
Casa Ferrari Carmel, a prestigious Ferrari Classiche event where it was Thursday’s featured racing Ferrari of the day in 2015.
Cavallino event, where it scores a Platinum in judging, and wins the coveted Best of Show award for its exceptional history and presentation in 2016.
2016 Ferrari Club of America’s International Meet, scoring Platinum and earning a perfect 100/100 points in judging; it also garnered the prestigious Phil Hill Award for Outstanding Competition Ferrari and the Enzo Ferrari Memorial Award for Best of Show.
In January 2017, it appeared on the cover of “Cavallino” magazine, paired with a feature article penned by noted Ferrari historian Keith Bluemel.
Ferrari Classiche extended an invitation to the car for the Ferrari Casa at Pebble Beach event in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
In the early years of imports, a car’s model year was often quantified by the year of import or the year of first sale in the U.S., thus 0432M came to America as a 1959 model.
0432M was known as a 1959 model from at least 1959 to 1968. There is a Bill of Sale from Jack Reuter to Ken Hutchison that states the car is a 1959 model in 1968.
Former owner Jack Reuter referred to 0432M as a “precursor to the 250 Testa Rossa.”
During the Ken Hutchison/Peter Sachs era of ownership, 0432M returned to its 1954 250 Monza identity. 0432M was a participant in the 1988 Mille Miglia. To be eligible for the Mille Miglia a car must be a 1957 or older model.
The Ferrari Red Book is presented to 0432M at Casa Ferrari Carmel in 2015 after an arduous multiyear process conducted to Ferrari’s rigorous standards. The highlight of the 2014 restoration is the “virgin” Pontoon-fender coachwork refinished in the legendary NART livery of white with a blue stripe.
Incredibly, 0432M has raced in the Mille Miglia with a Pinin Farina body and a Scaglietti body.
0432M is one of three Scaglietti Pontoon-fender cars—along with 0704 and 0734— with factory-original sheet metal.
0432M was featured in the December 2016/January 2017 issue of “Cavallino” magazine.
For inquiries and bidder registration information on this special Ferrari, please text (262) 236-7705 or email monterey19@mecum.com.
