Burned Ferrari 500 Mondial Costs More Than a Manhattan Condo After 45 Years of Seclusion

Chassis number 0406 MD is the second Ferrari 500 Mondial ever built. Only 13 examples were completed with Pininfarina spider coachwork, and this is one of them. Marque expert Marcel Massini and copies of factory build sheets confirm that this Ferrari was built during the month of March in 1954. It was finished in Rosso Corsa paint over Similpelle Beige vinyl interior.

In April, Enzo Ferrari sold it to Franco Cornacchia, the Milan-based sports car dealer. That very same month, former factory driver Franco Cortese and co-driver Perruchini finished 19th overall and second in class at the Coppa della Toscana. Cortese is listed as the owner on the factory build sheets. His name shows up several times in engineering notes. This is a hint to the fact that, most likely, Cornacchia bought it specifically for Cortese to use it.

His name is interlinked with the beginnings of Ferrari's story in motor racing. It was he the one who drove the first Ferrari built to the brand's first overall victory in 1947 at the Rome Grand Prix. He drove then the new 125 S. Three more wins followed that year.

In May 1954, he and Perruchini finished fourth in class and 14th overall at the Mille Miglia in this Ferrari 500 Mondial. Soon after the race, the car was rebodied by Scaglietti. In June, it was back in action, still in the hands of Cortese, who finished eighth in the Golden Shell race at the Iola Grand Prix.

One year later, in June 1955, Cornacchia entrusted the Ferrari Mondial, then painted in white with a tri-color stripe on the hood, to Joao Rezende Dos Santos. But he had to retire during the formation lap due to some sort of mechanical failure. The story at the Bolzano-Mendola hillclimb in July was totally different, though. And he finished fourth.

July 1955 was the month in which Cornacchia sold the Ferrari to Angelo Benzoni from Milan. Next year, in March, Benzoni started in the Vigorelli Trofeo at Monza and finished sixth. In late June 1956, he decided to sell the Ferrari to his Sicilian co-driver Domenico Tramontana.

The car set wheels on American soil for the first time in 1958. In 1962, it was sold by R.W. Devereau to Hal Rudow. The latter raced the spider at the Evergreen Trophy Race in October 1962. The Ferrari did not stay with him for long either. He sold it to Stanley Surridge one year later. It was Surridge who replaced the original engine with an American V8. During the following years, the car went through a lot. It was crashed and suffered fire damage. It was the beginning of the end for the Mondial.

Burned to a crisp and in a really bad condition, it was purchased, in early 1970s, by marque specialist Ed Niles. It wasn’t much he could do with it. So he sold it, too. But this time, without an engine.

In 1978, the car ended up in the hands of Walter Medlin. 45 years of seclusion followed. He preserved it as it is today, still wearing the factory-issued chassis plate. Medlin also kept the essential components, such as the rear-axle corners and matching-numbers gearbox. It also comes with a period-correct 3.0-liter Tipo 119 Lampredi inline-four engine, as it would have been used in a Ferrari 750 Monza. The transmission is also included.

The current owner has kept it for 50 years. Now it goes under the hammer, offered by RM Sotheby's without reserve from the Lost & Found Collection. It is expected to fetch between $1.2 and $1.6 million. It may be just a shell burned to a crisp. But being the second car of its kind that Ferrari built, of only 13 ever made, makes it exclusive. Its racing history only adds six-figure amounts.

Back in May 2021, RM Sotheby's sold another of the 13 Ferrari Mondial Spiders by Pininfarina for 3,717,500 million euros, which would be translated into approximately $4,075,000. That one was, indeed, in nearly perfect condition. But the classic car market was still in a coma after the pandemic.

The price also includes copies of the original factory build sheets and CSAI homologation papers. The one who buys it must know that there is a chance they would spend the rest of their lives working on the restoration of this car. And throughout the years, the only motivation would be taking it to vintage racing events or exhibiting it in classic race cars museums sections. But the road to concours condition is time- and money-consuming.