Russo and Steele Announces Rare Car at Scottsdale Auction

November 29, 2017 by Russo and Steele

• World Renowned Collector Car Auction Announces Rare Car Crossing the Block

• ASA 1100 C.C. Spider to be Auctioned off at Russo and Steele

Scottsdale, Ariz. (November 28, 2017)— Russo and Steele Collector Automobile Auctions returns to Scottsdale, Ariz. January 17-21, 2018 at the Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. With more than 800 cars crossing the block, the Scottsdale-based company is excited to announce the addition of the rare and elusive ASA 1100 C.C. Spider to its roster.

In 1959 Enzo Ferrari instructed his engineers to design and develop a small displacement engine. The original engine design was an inline four-cylinder of 850cc. It had an aluminum block with iron liners, an aluminum head and an overhead camshaft complete with Ferrari's V12 engine designer Gioacchino Colombo's characteristic 'clothes pin' valve springs, breathing through two Weber 40 DCOE9 carburetors. The car was developed by Ferrari, the engine was derived from the '250' 3-liter designed by Colombo, and the chassis by Giotto Bizzarrini and derived from the tubular frame of the 250 GTO, and the body was designed and build by Bertone. The project was nicknamed Ferrarini and the finished engine, chassis, and prototype car was shown at the Turin Auto Show of 1961.

Ferrari insisted that any car bearing his name must have 12 cylinders, so intentions were never to manufacture the car, not with only four cylinders, but to sell the rights and collect licensing fees without producing the car. The rights to build the baby Ferrari were sold to the father and son Ferrari clients, Oronzio and Niccolo del Nora of Milan. The de Nora family, who already owned an electromechanical component manufacturing company, created Autocostruzioni Societa per Azioni (ASA). The ASA 1100 GT was the main product of the Italian company.

The de Noras eagerly embraced the idea of building the car and ASA was formed in 1962 in Milan, with production planned in one of their factories. The hope was the ASA would offer the mystique of a Ferrari at half the price and various 1000 GT models were produced in the following years. The de Nora's production capacity was limited, and sales were never prolific, so the cars never really built a following. Consequently, production ceased in 1967. During production only a handful of Spiders were built, some estimate only six, with this one being one of two with an 1100cc engine taken from the Lemans race project cars. The total production for the five years amounted to approximately 125 total units. The car was never officially a Ferrari, but a rose by any other name is still a rose, and the ASA is as Ferrari as a Ferrari can be only in a smaller package.

Russo and Steele is known across the globe as 'The World's Most Exciting Collector Automobile Auction'. Year in and year out the event brings forth the most complete collection of fine collector automobiles available anywhere during Arizona Car Week. The annual auction will feature their well-established 'auction in the round' format with five days. Russo and Steele places buyers, sellers and enthusiastic spectators up close and personal with vehicles. This event features some of the most exclusive, select and diverse grouping of automobiles available anywhere in the world. Bidder registration is just $200 and includes admission for preview day and four days of Auction in the Round action for the bidder and one lucky guest. For more information about Russo and Steele, visit www.russoandsteele.com.

About Russo and Steele Collector Automobile Auctions

One of the nation's premier collector-car auction houses, Russo and Steele Collector Automobile Auctions continues to set records and attract a discerning global clientele. In addition to its reputation for offering stellar collector automobiles, the unique high-energy auction experience is simply unattainable anywhere else. Auctions include a signature event in Scottsdale, Arizona every January, followed by June at Newport Beach, and August at Monterey, California. For additional information, please visit www.russoandsteele.com or call 602.252.2697.