1956 Ferrari 250 GT TdF Berlinetta

This Ferrari 250 GT Tour de France was the winner of the 1956 Tour de France Auto. It is the ninth example of fourteen first-series cars and the seventh of only nine to be clothed in Scaglietti's louver-less coachwork. The car was originally sold to Marquis Alfonso de Portago on April 23, 1956. The car was registered with Italian tags reading BO 69211 and given number 73 on the side. The car was entered by the Marquis in the Tour de France Auto on September 17, where he was joined by Ed Nelson. The 1956 TdF was routed at 3,600 miles and included two hill climbs, one drag race, and six races at various circuits, including Le Mans, Comminges, Rheims, and Montlhéry. Portago and Nelson won five of the six circuits, taking 1st overall in the Tour.

Later that year, on October 7, the Marquis drove the Berlinetta to a 1st overall finish at the Coupes du Salon at Montlhéry. Two weeks later the car achieved a 1st in Class finish at the Rome Grand Prix. The following year, Portago drove the car to another victory at the Coupes USA on April 7, taking 1st overall. A month later, while piloting a 335 S, the Marquis's life would come to an end after being involved in an accident at the Mille Miglia.

After his passing, the car was returned to the Maranello factory and was offered by the Portago family to Alfonso's friend, C. Keith W. Schellenberg, of Richmond, Yorkshire, England. The car remained in Schellenberg's care for over two decades, before being offered for sale in 1983.

The car was then purchased by Peter G. Palumbo, of England, who sold the car in 1992 to Lorenzo Zambrano. Mr. Zambrano treated the car to a ground-up restoration. Shortly after the restoration, a leather-bound book documenting the car's history and restoration process was produced to showcase its story and restoration. Mr. Zambrano frequently exhibited the car over the following 12 years, starting with a First in Class win at the International Ferrari Concours d'Elegance at Monterey, California, in August 1994. A few days later, the car was displayed at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, again taking home a First in Class award. In February of 1996, the car was presented as a non-judged enter at the Cavallino Classic. The car then won the Prix Blancpain Award at the Louis Vuitton Parc de Bagatelle Concours d'Elegance in Paris in September. Shown at Rétromobile the following February, the car then returned to the United States and was exhibited at the Meadow Brook Concours d'Elegance in August 1997, where it garnered a Blue Ribbon award. Presented again at Pebble Beach in August 2004, the Berlinetta won a Third in Class award and then took a Platinum award at the FCA's International Concours a few days later.

After Mr. Zambrano's passing in May 2014, the car remained domiciled within his estate. In 2015, after 23 years, the car was offered for sale - this time coming to RM Sotheby's auction in Monterey, California. When bidding came to a close, it had achieved a final bid of $13,200,000 including buyer's premium.

By Daniel Vaughan | Sep 2015