1950 Ferrari 166 MM Barchetta in the style of Touring

1950 Ferrari 166 MM Barchetta in the style of Touring
Sold for $3,080,000 Including Commission
RM Auction, Monterey, CA. 2013
Chassis no. 0038M
Engine no. 0038M
170 bhp, 2,562 cc single overhead-camshaft V-12 engine with three Weber 36 DCF carburetors, five-speed manual gearbox, independent front suspension with transverse leaf springs, rigid rear axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs, four-wheel drum brakes, and tubular steel frame. Wheelbase: 88.6 in. (2,250 mm)

•One of three 1950 Touring Barchettas originally built with one door
•The 15th of 25 examples built
•Finished 2nd overall at the 1950 Mille Miglia
•Documented history by Marcel Massini
•Numerous in-period 1st place finishes
•Driven by Ascari, Chinetti, and Gonzales
•Overwhelming provenance as an early factory racing 166 MM


Very few sports racers from the early days of Ferrari maintain a more historically significant perch than the vaunted 166 MM, which, in many respects, can be considered the car that started it all. Though the 166 model was not Ferrari's first, but rather a bored-out development of the 125 S motor engineered by former Vittorio Jano apprentice Giacchino Colombo, the 166 became Ferrari's first mainstay competition winner, dominating the 1949 season and directly leading to the progression of increasingly potent Ferrari sports racers that followed, from the 212 to the 375 Plus and beyond.

The earliest Ferrari 125 S examples wore coachwork that was almost monoposto in style, being slightly revised with cycle-wing fenders for the initial 166 Spider Corsas. On September 14, 1948, Ferrari used the Torino Motor Show to debut the 166 MM, a more becoming version of the 166 with new barchetta coachwork by Touring of Milan. The show car, chassis number 0002M, marked a milestone for Ferrari in a number of ways. In addition to being the first of a long line of Ferrari barchettas and similarly styled spiders, the car was the initial example of Maranello's now highly scrutinized chassis number sequence, including being the first even-numbered Ferrari race car. Chassis 0002M was also the first of many Ferraris to feature the MM suffix, which honored the 166's victory at the 1948 Mille Miglia. A 166 MM driven by Clemente Biondetti and Ettore Salani fittingly went on to win the 1949 Mille as well.

Chassis number 0038M is the fifteenth of twenty-five 166 MM Touring Barchettas built, and one of just three such 1950 factory racing barchettas fitted with only one door, as the "passenger" side featured sealed bodywork and an extra fuel tank. Manufactured in early 1950, chassis 0038M was equipped with a long bonnet and was soon upgraded to 195 S engine specifications. Driven by the legendary Alberto Ascari, the car finished 1st overall at the Grand Prix of Luxemburg on March 18, 1950.

On April 23, the car's strong competition record was further sealed with a 2nd place finish at the Mille Miglia, with Dorino Serafini and Salani at the wheel. The duo then took the checkered flag at the Coppa della Toscana on June 4, 1950.

On June 24, 1950, chassis 0038M was entered at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Though the car did not finish the race, the occasion was notable for the presence of two of history's great drivers, future Ferrari impresario Luigi Chinetti and Le Mans regular Pierre Louis-Dreyfus. On July 16, Franco Cornacchia drove this Barchetta to 2nd overall at the IV Coppa d'Oro delle Dolomiti, while the team of Serafini and Salani again took a win at the Giro delle Calabrie on August 6.

Shortly thereafter, 0038M received some body modifications, which principally consisted of repositioning the air intake scoop and leather straps on the hood. These adjustments, surely intended to aid engine breathing, contributed to victory at the Daily Express Trophy at Silverstone on August 26, while driven by Ascari, and Giovanni Bracco's 1st place finishes at the Bologna-Raticosa Hillclimb of September 17, the Vermicino-Rocca di Papa Hillclimb on October 22, and the Catania-Etna Hillclimb on October 29.

Louis Klemantaski tells an evocative story of meeting Ascari during the return trip from Silverstone.

We had a drink or two on the boat, and Ascari said, 'How do I get to London? I don't know the road at all.' I offered to tell him how to go. 'Will you come with me?' he said. After we got the barchetta through customs and all that, Ascari said, 'Oh, you drive on the wrong side of the road here, would you like to drive to London?' 'Indeed yes,' I replied, and we set off, with Serafini following.

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Robert Myrick Photography