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This $5M Ferrari 166 MM Was Once a $1,500 Chevy Small-Block Forgotten Piece of History

Enzo Ferrari built an empire from the ground up purely out of pure passion for the automobile. But unlike others who had done the same – even to a far greater extent than the Italian – Enzo never strayed away from a creed that had fascinated mankind since before the primordial piston made its first revolution: Sport. The car was not a measly utility invention in the eyes of the ambitious man from Maranello. It was a sublime ode to the triumphant marriage of engineering and exhilaration.
1948 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta 43 photos
Photo: Theodore W. Pieper ©2023 Courtesy of RM Sotheby's
1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring BarchettaCarlos Menditeguy drove chassis 0024 to victory in the 1950 Mar Del Plata in Argentina.Carlos Menditeguy drove chassis 0024 to victory in the 1950 Mar Del Plata in Argentina.1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta in the 1951 Mille Miglia race1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta in a photo montage with Eva Peron (on the right)1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta at the Paris Motor ShowCarlos Menditeguy drove chassis 0024 to victory in the 1950 Mar Del Plata in Argentina.1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta before the start of the 1951 Mille Miglia race1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta Chassis 0024 last race1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta in the 1951 Mille Miglia raceCarlos Menditeguy drove chassis 0024 to victory in the 1950 Mar Del Plata in Argentina.Carlos Menditeguy drove chassis 0024 to victory in the 1950 Mar Del Plata in Argentina.1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta
The Ferrari company owes its very existence to the fierce drive to be the best that pushed its founder to race for Alfa Romeo and build his own cars for the same purpose. After the apocalyptic ashes of the Second World War settled, signore Ferrari expanded its track ambitions to the world of civilian motorists.

Naturally, the first road-intended automobile bearing the famous stallion badge was derived from motorsport. In September 1949, the two-liter, two-seater 166 MM was presented at the Turin Motor Show. The small automobile made a sensation, and the following month, Ferrari went to Paris for the Grand Motor Show.

The car representing the newly born company was a stunning beige-and-blue work of automotive art. One of just 25 built, the France motor show example had a fascinating life. The livery was so much unlike our common Ferrari perception because the Automobile Club of Argentina ordered it.

Carlos Menditeguy drove chassis 0024 to victory in the 1950 Mar Del Plata in Argentina\.
Photo: RM Sotheby's
Over the years, rumors have emerged that a certain Maria Eva Duarte de Peron ordered this particular car. At the time, the name was famous the world over – the charismatic woman was the wife of the Argentinian president, and a media superstar of global proportions.

However, it is common practice that certain historic automobiles be adorned with legends about past ownership, linking them to famous figures just to spice up the price. No actual hard evidence is presented that this particular Ferrari 166 MM was in any way, shape, or form connected to the late-40s national symbol of the South American country. Surely, the car traveled to Argentina after the Paris exhibition, and in 1950 took part in a race.

Privateer Carlos Menditeguy took the checkered flag at Mar del Plata on January 15, 1950, marking the first Ferrari win on the continent. It may very well be true that the driver could have benefitted from the support of Eva and Juan Peron. A famous conational of Menditeguy, Juan Fangio, debuted in Formula One with financial backing from the presidential couple.

Carlos Menditeguy drove chassis 0024 to victory in the 1950 Mar Del Plata in Argentina\.
Photo: RM Sotheby's
Regardless of the political involvement, the 166 MM chassis number 0024 marked the dawn of an era for the automobile universe: Ferrari's debut as a commercial carmaker. Named in honor of the famous Mille Miglia race of 1948 (in which two 166s took first and second place), the model was a beautiful and remarkable athlete.

It ran two more times, in 1951, scoring an eighth place in its class at the Mille Miglia, with race number 344. Its two-liter engine – the brainchild of Gioacchino Colombo, the famous wrench-turning genius that put the power in so many early Ferraris – developed 140 hp (140 PS), thanks to three Weber double-body carburetors.

Despite the small displacement, the motor architecture was a performance-driving V12, giving the car its numerical name. 166 is the capacity of one cylinder in cubic centimeters (approximately ten cubic inches).

1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta
Photo: Theodore W. Pieper ©2023 Courtesy of RM Sotheby's
The baptizing formula had been used for all previous Ferrari models, and many more would follow the same algorithm over the decades. The tiny automobile was very much related to pure-blooded racers. The engine, drivetrain, chassis, and 100-liter fuel tank were identical to those of victory-bringing prancing horses.

The bodywork was the work of the Turi-based coachbuilding company Touring, which used its state-of-the-art aviation-derived lightweight aluminum panels mounted on a small-diameter tubular steel spaceframe. The sleek shape attracted the moniker Barchetta (a diminutive for "boat" in Italian) – the name would become a design pattern over the years.

Indeed, the car deserved its diminishing nickname. At 3,720 mm long (148.8 inches), 1,524 mm narrow (60 inches), and 1,069 mm (42.1 inches) tall, it was a little larger than a bathtub. At 650 kg (1,430 lbs), it was just about as heavy as one. But, at 220 kph / 137 mph top speed, it was scary fast in its time.

Carlos Menditeguy drove chassis 0024 to victory in the 1950 Mar Del Plata in Argentina\.
Photo: RM Sotheby's
This Paris-representing example had a tumultuous life after the Argentinian adventure. A few weeks after the historic win at Mar del Plata in January 1950, the automobile was shipped back to Italy. This expeditious expedition was to avoid the import fees imposed by the Argentinian government.

One more reason not to take the "Eva Peron" myths for granted – after all, who would have dreamt of taxing the dictator or his wife? Following the repatriation, chassis no 0024 changed hands two dozen times over the following decades.

Sometime in 1958 – already a decade old by then - the car underwent a full powertrain and transmission swap. The original two-liter V12 and five-speed manual gearbox, together with the rear axle, were replaced by a Corvette-sourced assembly.

1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta
Photo: RM Sotheby's
Thus, the illustrious automobile became a 283-CID V8 (4.6 liters). We could call this a prophecy of the "European body with an American heart" trend that would turn a certain Texan named Shelby into a motoring demigod.

The empty body and chassis of the 0024 would sell for $2,500 to one of the car's many owners – located in California – while the Ferrari drivetrain would end up in a Siata Special in New York. By then, the original coach-built body had already been replaced (in 1953).

Thus the Paris Motor Show sensation 166 MM was essentially reduced to the original chassis with an after-market shell and Detroit muscle. Things could have ended in the worst possible way for this historic automobile.

1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta
Photo: Theodore W. Pieper ©2023 Courtesy of RM Sotheby's
Still, fate favored the brave, and the car had the destiny to fulfill. In 1975, the original engine, gearbox, and rear axle were reacquainted with the chassis, and a long restoration process began. It took 14 long years for the renovation to be completed.

In 1995, the reconditioned 166 MM was sold to a Japanese collector for $650,000. The historic machine had come a long way after the all-time low $1,500 purchase price paid for it in 1974. From there on, the car grew in value exponentially, and it is once again going under the hammer on May 20 at the Villa Erba auction. The estimated price is a polar ice cap-melting $5 million – a mere 3,333 times more than what it was worth in '74.
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About the author: Razvan Calin
Razvan Calin profile photo

After nearly two decades in news television, Răzvan turned to a different medium. He’s been a field journalist, a TV producer, and a seafarer but found that he feels right at home among petrolheads.
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