1954 Ferrari 375 MM Coupe

Ferrari 375 MM with chassis number 0402AM was ordered by film director Roberto Rosselini. Mr. Rosselini was a frequent Ferrari customer and owned many early models. 0402AM began life as a Pinin Farina-bodied competition spyder finished in red. After a front-end accident with a tree, the car was returned back to Ferrari where repairs were made to the chassis before being sent to Scaglietti for passenger car coachwork. As this was Sergio Scaglietti's first road-going Ferrari, an impressive and elegant coupe body was created.

In the front is an oval grille housing two running lights and blinkers. The fenders have a similar pattern to the original spyder and gently flow from front to rear. There is a hood scoop, side engine bay vents, and no front fenders which add to the vehicle's sporty appeal and pay tribute to its competition heritage. Under the bonnet is a V12 engine fitted with weber carburetors and offering around 330 horsepower. The body is comprised of lightweight aluminum and there are Boranni wire wheels at all four corners.

Years after it left Rosselini's care, it was found by its current caretaker in an underground garage located in the suburbs of Paris.

By Daniel Vaughan | Aug 2014

Many competition versions of the Ferrari 375 MM were built, but this is one of just five road-going cars and probably the most famous. It was ordered by film director Roberto Rossellini, one of Ferrari's best customers, and started life as a Pinin Farina-bodied competition Spyder (0402AM). Rossellini drove it sparingly but then an accident occurred. The original body was beyond saving and the chassis was sent to Carrozzeria Scaglietti in Modena for a replacement. This car became Scaglietti's first passenger car design for Ferrari, a unique and finely sculpted Coupe Speciale. After Rossellini, the car passed to Mario Savona of Palermo and then Charles Robert of Paris in 1970. It was later discovered rather unloved in an underground garage in a Paris suburb, and sold. Jon Shirley first restored the car in 1995, and it won numerous awards, including a First in Class at Pebble Beach in 1998. But subsequent research turned up details of the car that were previously unknown, and Shirley restored it again before bringing it back to Pebble Beach in 2014, when his efforts were rewarded with the top prize - the first given to a postwar car in well over four decades.