1957 Ferrari 500 TRC Spider

This Ferrari 500 TRC is the third of 19 examples built and was completed at the factory in February of 1957. This Scaglietti-bodied sports racer was finished in a two-one livery and soon after its completion, was sold to John von Neumann, Ferrari's official West Coast distributor. Von Neumann staged a series of publicity photos with California driver Richie Ginther beside the brand-new Ferrari, in hopes of stimulating sales. Around February or early March, the car was sold to Luigi Chinetti's main financial backer, George Arents. Soon after, it was entered in the Boca Raton races on March 10th where it was driven by David Cunningham where it won the E-Modified class. It then raced at the 3rd Annual Frostbite Races at Eagle Mountain Air Force Base in Fort Worth, Texas, on April 13th and 14th. On May 19th, Cunningham and Arents raced the 500 TRC at Cumberland but failed to finish due to mechanical troubles. Later, it was loaned to Southern California driver Bruce Kessler, who finished with a 3rd place result. On June 23, 1957, von Neumann entered the car in the SCCA Nationals at Road America. In the second heat, achieved a 3rd place finish.

Around January of 1958, the car was acquired by Pete Lovely for a 500 TR (chassis number 0650 MDTR plus $2000 cash). In March of 1958, Lovely drove the 500 TRC at the SCCA event at Shelton Airport in Washington but failed to finish the race. Soon after the race, it was old to Dr. Leon Frank Becker of Mercer Island, Washington. Becker's first outing with the car was at Deer Park Airport where he finished 2nd in the Formula Libre race and 4th in the Modified race. It was then entered in the Seafair Sports Car Trophy races at Shelton and finished 2nd in Class. Becker raced the car on two other occasions during the 1958, at California's Riverside Grand Prix in October and Laguna Seca SCCA races in November.

For the 1959 season, it finished 3rd overall and 1st in E-Modified at Shelton in March. On June 14th, it set the class-winning time at the Goldendale Hill Climb. In July, it campaigned mostly in SCCA events. It had a 9th at Buckley Field and 6th at Riverside before Becker returned the car to the Northwest and won the preliminary event at Westwood in Vancouver, British Columbia. After a 4th place finish at Shelton, Becker finished with a win at Deer Park and major victories at Westwood, placing 1st in the main event as well as the race for C- through E-Modified.

During the 1960 season, the car raced at Pomona and Riverside, California, although its best result was a 3rd place finish in the Northwest Sports Car News Grand Prix in Kent, Washington.

In May of 1962, the 500 TRC was transported over a mountain pass and due to freezing conditions and the coolant system contained no antifreeze, the block was frozen. Instead of repairing the problem, the engine was replaced with a Chevrolet small-block V8. Over the next few years that followed, the car saw little use and was stored at Dale Dyer's shop in Seattle, Washington. In 1968. It was sold to Contemporary Classics, a sports car dealership on Pike Street. In 1969, it was acquired by Phillip 'Wink' Davis. A while later, it was put into storage in Nederland, Colorado. In 1969, it was acquired by Thor Thorson for $5,800 plus his Alfa Romeo GTV.

The car was sent for a restoration and Mr. Thorson found a 750 Monza engine, which he then traded for a more appropriate 500 TR engine and gearbox that were sourced through Chinetti Motors. The work was completed in 1979 and a year later, it ran at Laguna Seca and was invited to take part in the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, where it was displayed in Class L (Postwar European Open Cars). It raced in the 1981 Monterey historics before being sold to Gary Snell. It was eventually sold to Erb & Klin of Germany and displayed at Jo Vonlanthen's Racing Car Show in the Spreitenbach-Zürich Shopping Center. In 1983, 0662 MDTR returned to California where it was sold to Walt McCune's Modena Imports in West Hollywood. From there, the Ferrari joined the collection of Don Walker in Dallas, Texas.

Mr. Sherman M. Wolf purchased the car in December of 1988 from George Shelley of Miami, Florida. Mr. Wolf commissioned David Cottingham's DK Engineering in the UK to perform a comprehensive restoration.

In 1994, Mr. Wolf discovered the matching numbers engine and following a complete rebuild, reunited it with his prized TRC.