PARIS.- Following the sale of the Baillon Collection and the world record for a car sold at auction this year with the Ferrari 250 California Spider (sold for 16,3 M€ / 18,5 M$), in its Retromobile sale, Artcurial Motorcars will present in the 2016 official Salon Retromobile sale, one of the most iconic cars in the history of motor racing : the 1957 Ferrari 335 S Spider Scaglietti, chassis 0674 from the Pierre Bardinon collection. Voluntary auction with the participation of Philippe Dohr, sworn commodity broker appointed as ad hoc agent.

It is estimated to fetch 28 000 000 – 32 000 000 € /30 000 000 – 34 000 000 $

« Both a Work of Art and the Queen of Speed, this represents the elixir of the exceptional : beauty, rarity, racing success, history, authenticity and provenance ! » declared Matthieu Lamoure, Managing Director of Artcurial Motorcars.

A « WINNING » OFFICIAL FACTORY CAR
The car left the workshops at the start of 1957, fitted with a striking Scaglietti body, a design born of the requirements of a powerful racing car. It was fitted at that time with a 3.8-litre V12 Tipo 140 engine (315 S) that had twin-cams per bank of cylinders and produced around 360 bhp.

In March of that year it was entered by Scuderia Ferrari for the Sebring 12 Hours, driven by Peter Collins and Maurice Trintignant, and finished sixth.

However, the Italians were really waiting for the Mille Miglia in May, when the best teams and the most experienced drivers would go head to head over 1 600 km of roads, without any break. Ferrari lined up four cars including chassis 0674 that was given to Wolfgang von Trips, who finished second behind the Piero Taruffi’s Ferrari. On being returned to the factory, its engine size was increased to 4.1-litres, therefore becoming a 335S. With close to 400 bhp under its belt, the car could reach 300 km/h.

For the 24 Heures du Mans, the car was given to Mike Hawthorn (who would become Formula 1 champion in 1958) and Luigi Musso. Hawthorn took the lead in front of the Maserati and Jaguars and set the first lap record in the history of the Le Mans 24 Hours of over 200 km/h (203.015 km/h average speed) but unfortunately the car retired in the fifth hour with mechanical problems.

This stunning Ferrari then finished fourth in the Swedish Grand Prix, and second in the Venezuela Grand Prix on 3 November (still with team of Hawthorn-Musso), helping Ferrari to win the World Constructors’ Title in 1957.

In January 1958 it was sold to Luigi Chinetti, the Ferrari importer based in New York. On 24 February of that year, with Masten Gregory and Stirling Moss at the wheel, the car won the Cuba Grand Prix. During the 1958 season, it participated successfully in various American races driven by Gaston Andrey and Lance Reventlow (creator of the famous Scarab), before being sold to Robert N. Dusek in 1960, an architect living in Pennsylvania.

THE BARDINON COLLECTION
Following this American adventure, the car was brought to France in 1970. The American architect sold it to Pierre Bardinon, the astute collector who over the years assembled some fifty factory Ferrari comprising the most successful and iconic models in the history of the marque. Based near Aubusson, his collection is considered to be one of the most important, in terms of Ferrari.

"The Bardinons had the highest requirements: the most successful Ferrari race cars !" explained Hervé Poulain, Honorary President of Artcurial.

Kept as part Pierre Bardinon’s private collection for over 40 years, the car has been used and maintained regularly and is presented in excellent condition.

PIERRE BARDINON
Bardinon is a name that resonates with all those who love racing cars, and behind the name is a character who made a huge impression in the collecting world during the second half of the 20th century. Passionate about motorsport from a young age, the industrialist, himself a gentleman driver, assembled an unrivalled collection dedicated to Ferrari and motor racing.

Initially passionate about Bugatti, and then Jaguar, it was not until the end of the 1960s that he devoted himself completely to Ferrari. He brought together the rarest models, those with the most outstanding racing history, and put together the most famous group of Maranello factory cars, fifty in number including four of the nine winners of the Le Mans 24 Hour Race. Such a collection has its particular requirements, to keep these machines alive. To do this, Pierre Bardinon designed his own private circuit, « a speed garden », calligraphic bitumen set in natural surroundings, to which he invited the Matra and Alpine teams, Ferrari, Bugatti and Bentley clubs, and developed links with manufacturers such as Peugeot, Mercedes-Benz, Alfa Romeo, Porsche…