Pininfarina might be the Italian coachbuilder most closely associated with Ferrari. But at the dawn of the Prancing Horse, back in the early 1950s, it was Vignale from Turin who found the most favour with Il Commendatore. Fewer than 160 Ferraris were bodied by Vignale, whose creative designs were characterised by their avant-garde nature, high waistlines and lashings of brightwork. Given their exclusivity and fundamentally bespoke nature, many of Vignale’s creations were unique – music to the ears of collectors today. Among the Ferrari models with which Vignale made its biggest mark was the 225 Sport.

The Ferrari 225 Sport built upon the foundations of the 212 Export it succeeded. The most obvious upgrades were made to Ingegnere Colombo’s V12 engine, which was ironically enhanced by Ingegnere Lampredi, and the chassis. While the bore of the V12 was increased, raising the displacement from 2.6 to 2.7 litres, it was Lampredi’s innovative developments to the intake manifold and distribution system that really improved the overall tractability of the engine. A number of 225 Sports (those with ‘ET’ suffixes to their chassis numbers) also benefitted from a newfangled tubular chassis, which reduced weight and increased rigidity.

In addition to its rarity and avant-garde design, the 225 Sport boasts another credential that whets the appetite of collectors: a remarkably successful and broad-ranging period competition résumé. The list of famous events in which the 225 Sport triumphed or placed includes the Mille Miglia, the Tour de France, the 12 Hours of Casablanca, the Goodwood Nine Hours and the Monaco Grand Prix. Yes, the Monaco Grand Prix… In 1952, the Monaco Grand Prix was run for sports-racing cars instead of single-seaters. As Vittorio Marzotto won that famous edition of the race, so Ferrari scored its first ever victory in the glamorous principality.

Carrozzeria Vignale bodied just nine Ferrari 225 Sport in a small number of closed Berlinetta and open Spyder variations. Chassis number 0216 ED boasts a unique Spyder body with striking scalloped sides, which, in our opinion, is far more aesthetically pleasing than the more traditional – and plentiful – open 225 Sport Vignales built. It’s remarkably quite how much those cutaway flanks transform the overall character of the car. It’s so sporty, so aggressive, yet so dainty. We absolutely adore it.

As the accompanying copies of the Ferrari factory build sheets illustrate, chassis number 0216 ED was completed in September of 1952. The car was ordered new by the Works Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 driver José Froilán González, the stocky Argentinian who’d sealed his place in Ferrari lore (and the heart of Il Commendatore) by winning the Prancing Horse its first Formula 1 Grand Prix, at Silverstone in 1951. In England, González had become fondly known as ‘The Pampas Bull’ for his searing speed and ‘all-arms-and-elbows’ driving style, which defied his generous physique.

Angel Maiocchi poses with chassis number 0216 ED ahead of the 1955 Premio Independencia Buenos Aires

In importing the 225 Sport to his homeland, González became the proud owner of one of the very first Ferraris in Argentina. He didn’t keep the car for very long, though – by December of 1952, chassis number 0216 ED was acquired by one Angel Maiocchi, an Italian residing in Buenos Aires. Maiocchi nicknamed his new Ferrari La Nina Bonita – or ‘The Lovely Girl’ – and set about racing it in domestic races throughout Argentina. In fact, Maiocchi raced his beloved car for six years, even contesting three editions of the 1,000km de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, each rounds of the FIA World Sportscar Championship.

This Ferrari 225 Sport was campaigned extensively in Argentina throughout the 1950s and even as late as the early 1960s

As late as 1959, when it had been acquired by Hugo Ernesto Maestretti of the Vandervell ball-bearing company, this Ferrari was still being raced competitively. After a handful more public appearances including in a support race for the 1980 Argentinian Grand Prix, chassis number 0216 ED left Argentina in 1982, northward-bound for the United States of America. In 1985, the car joined the awe-inspiring stable of Anthony W. Wang. Over the years Wang has curated undoubtedly one of the finest collections of Ferraris anywhere on the planet, including – among many others – two 250 GTOs, a 250 Testa Rossa and a 275 GTS/4 N.A.R.T. Spyder.

Wang was clearly fond of this 225 Sport, since he retained the car for 27 years. Satisfyingly, in 2012, the car was acquired by an Argentinian collector for the first time in over four decades. Honouring its Argentinian provenance, said collector commissioned a comprehensive bare-metal restoration.  The exhaustive project was undertaken by Peter Markowski’s RMP in Vermont and Richard Grenon Antique Auto Restoration in Quebec. Upon completion in 2014, chassis number 0216 ED starred as the cover car in Cavallino, the foremost international magazine dedicated solely to Ferrari.

The summer of 2014 saw this Ferrari 225 Sport contest the world’s most prestigious automotive beauty pageant: the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California. Entered in the ‘Competition Ferrari’ class, chassis number 0216 ED was also driven on the traditional pre-concours Tour d’Elegance, which traverses the Monterey Peninsula. Pebble Beach proved pivotal to this car’s story, since that’s where its final owner – a prominent American Ferrari collector with a world-class stable of 1950s road and competition Prancing Horses – ultimately struck a deal to buy it.

Boasting a clear and comprehensive history, as verified by the leading Ferrari historian Marcel Massini in his accompanying report, this unique 225 Sport Spyder is among the most desirable 1950s sports-racing Ferraris we’ve ever encountered – a diminutive yet awe-inspiring automotive jewel, powered by a commanding 12-cylinder engine and clothed by Vignale in a one-of-a-kind body we can only reasonably describe as exquisite. Whether it’s a historic road rally such as the Mille Miglia, a world-class concours d’elegance such as Villa d’Este or simply a stolen summer Sunday blast, we are confident that chassis number 0216 ED’s new owner – the latest in a unusually short list – will revel in owning it.

SOLD