1950 Ferrari 166MM Barchetta

Ferrari's cycle-winged 166 Corsa was a very successful competition car, earning victories in the Targa Florio, the Mille Miglia, and the Paris 12-hour race. Powered by a two-liter Giaocchino Colombo short-block V-12 engine, it was a development of the smaller 125 S engine.

In September of 1948, at the Turin Salon, an updated model named the 166 MM was introduced. The 'MM' was in honor of the Mille Miglia victory. The Touring of Milan coachwork was devoid of cycle fenders. It was a two-seat spider body with full fenders and a graceful beltline. Just 25 examples of the 166 open-style Superleggera coachwork were built, and known as barchetta (Italian for 'little boat.')

Ferrari entered two early 166 MM barchettas in the 1949 Mille Miglia, where they finished in 1st and 2nd place, with Clemente Biondetti and Ettore Salani edging out Felice Bonetto and Pierre-Louis Carpani. The 166 MM would earn multiple victories during the 1949 season, including the 24 Hours of LeMans, the 24 Hours of Spa, and events at Senigallia and Trieste.

This example, chassis 0058 M, is the 27th of 32 166 MM examples built, and the 23rd of 25 Touring barchettas. It was given Rudge wheel hubs and Houdaille shock absorbers. Its short-block-based Colombo V12 engine was originally fitted with a single Weber 36 DCF/1 carburetor.

It was issued a certificate of origin on June 1st of 1955 and was delivered to Touring of Milan for mounting of the open coachwork. It received Touring body number 3452 and finished with traditional rosso corsa paint with a lusso (luxury) interior trimmed with beige leather.

Its first owner of record was Marco Dallorso of the company S.r.L. Braida e C., Costruz. Stradili, in Genoa, who took delivery on June 5th. A short time later, it was given as a gift to racing driver Eugenio Castelotti, of Milan, who registered the car as MI 166875. On April 28th of 1951, Castellotti entered the Ferrari in the Mille Miglia as race number 340. He and co-driver Giuseppe Rota finished 6th in class.

After the race, Castellotti returned the Barchetta to the factory in Maranello, and the engine was modified with a competition manifold featuring triple Weber carburetors fed by individual ram-horn air cleaners. The gearbox was converted to an offset lever-type shifter, and adjustments were made to the fuel log and the distributor boots. Externally, the original single-scoop hood was replaced with an unvented bonnet.

With the performance upgrades, Castellotti and Sandro Matranga entered the car on June 3rd in the Coppa della Toscana, where it wore number 1248. It finished 8th overall and 3rd in class. Two weeks later, wearing number 30, it raced at the Circuito Internacional do Porto in Portugal, where Castellotti drove it to a 7th overall finish and 3rd in class. On July 15th, the Barchetta DNF'ed at the Coppa d'Oro delle Dolomiti, where Castellotti and Annibale Broglia were entered as #102. It then went on to finish 3rd in class at the Giro delle Calabrie.

The start of the 1952 season resulted in another early retirement, this time at the Prix de Monte Carlo in Monaco on June 1st. On September 28th, at the Gran Premio di Bari, while entered as #89, the 166 finished 7th overall and 2nd in class, this time with Sergio Mantovani performing the driving duties.

At the Mille Miglia on April 25th of 1953, entered as #455, Ambrogio Arosio and Italo Di Giuseppe were unable to finish the race. On June 14th, Arosio retired early after a minor accident at the VII Varese-Campo dei Fiori Hillclimb. The Ferrari's repairs were repaired, after which it was exported to the United States later in 1953 and sent to Charles Rezzaghi's Mille Miglia Motors in San Francisco. Before the close of the year, it had been sold to Dr. Raymond Craycroft of Berkeley, California.

Dr. Craycroft raced the car locally, first as #19 at the third annual Madera road races. On March 21st, Dr. Craycroft entered the Barchetta as #116 in the 1st Annual Bakersfield Road Races, where he finished 4th in the Junior Race, and his wife finished 6th in the R.N. Race. The Ferrari then participated in the Pebble Beach Road Races on 10 April, placing 2nd in the novice class. On June 6th, it was entered by Craycroft in the Golden Gate Handicap, and this would be the final race under his ownership.

Larry Taylor of San Francisco acquired the car in 1966, and 11 years later sold it Ed Gilbertson, who went on to present the car at several FCA events to great acclaim. In August of 1979, Mr. Gilbertson exhibited the car at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, where it won the Hans Tanner Trophy.

Five years later the Ferrari returned to the Monterey Peninsula with a presentation at the International Ferrari Concours d'Elegance in Carmel. Mr. Gilbertson drove the car in the 166 MM Barchetta Reunion from Yountville to Monterey in August 1989, then displayed it at the Monterey Historic Races. In 1993, it ran the Colorado Grand, where Gilbertson was joined by co-driver Sherry Lindberg.

In January 1994, the Ferrari was put on display at the Behring Auto Museum (now the Blackhawk Museum) in Danville, California, as part of a three-month exhibit titled, 'Ferrari: the V-12 Front Engined Road Cars.' In August, it was shown at the FCA's International Ferrari Concours at Monterey, and four days later, the car was again displayed by Gilbertson at the Pebble Beach Concours.

Lorenzo Zambrano of Monterrey, Mexico acquired the car in December of 1998 and then displayed it at Pebble in August of 1999, taking 2nd in Class. At the Cavallino Classic in January 2000, the Ferrari earned a Platinum Award and the Excellence Cup. Zambrano further displayed 0058 M at the FCA National Meet in Colorado Springs in July 2000, where it won another Platinum Award, as well as the Ferrari Legend Award and the Luigi Chinetti Award. A month later the car appeared at the Vintage Ferrari Concours at Concorso Italiano, winning yet another Platinum Award and Best of Show.

It was shown in May of 2001 at the FCA Annual Meet in Dallas, Texas, and at the Cavallino Classic in January of 2007, where it won the 166 Cup and another Platinum Award. In June of 2007, Mr. Zambrano received from the factory a Ferrari Classiche Red Book that confirmed the presence of all the original matching-numbers components. Less than a week later, the Barchetta finished 2nd in class at the Ferrari 60th Anniversary Concours d'Elegance held in Maranello. In August 2009, it was again shown at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

Manny Del Arroz of Diablo, California, acquired the car in January 2010 and sold it less than a year later to the current owner. Since then, it has participated in the 'Ferraris in the Pebble Beach Road Races' event held in mid-August 2015, as well as the Pebble Beach Concours that soon followed. In August 2016, the Ferrari was displayed at the Quail Motorsports Gathering in Carmel Valley.

By Daniel Vaughan | May 2017

This Ferrari 166 MM was given to Eugenio Castellotti as a gift from a local benefactor who recognized the driving skills of the talented 20-year-old. In 1951 Castellotti competed in his first-ever race in this car and later the Mille Miglia. Afterwards, in order to find more speed, he sent the car back to the factory where it was converted to three carburetors with modified air cleaners and manifolds and the hood scoop was removed. The car continued to be raced throughout Europe before coming to the United States when it was sold by San Francisco dealer Charles Rezzaghi to Raymond Craycroft in 1953. Craycroft drove the car to second place in the novice class at the Pebble Beach Road Races in 1954.

The 23rd Barchetta (0058M) was completed in June 1950 with one carburetor and a hood scoop. It was sold to the rising Italian racing great Eugenio Castellotti, who raced it in the 1951 Mille Miglia where he finished 6th in class and fiftieth overall. The engine was converted to three carburetors and the car was then given a smooth hood. Castellotti raced the car eight times in Italy, Monaco, and Portugal in 1951 and 1952, then loaned the car to a friend for the 1953 Mille Miglia where it failed to finish.

Ferrari 166MM Touring Barchetta Lusso with chassis number 0058 was constructed in June 1950. Eugenio Castellotti raced it extensively from 1950 through 1953 before it was sold to Charles Rezzaghi. Eugenio entered the car in the 1951 and 1953 Mille Miglia. It was raced in Grand Prix events and provided many podium finishes. It crossed the finish line in First Place on three occasions under Castellotti's care.

Rezzaghi continued the car's racing career, mostly in the United States. The car was sold in 1966 and again in 1977. It was shown at the Pebble Beach Concours by its owner, Ed Gilbertson, where it was the Hans Thanner Trophy. Since that time it has been shown at the 166MM Barchetta Reunion in Monterey, Pebble Beach Concours, and the Colorado Grand. It was sold in 1998 to Lorenzo Zambrano who brought the car to the 2007 Cavallino Classic where it was awarded 'Outstanding 166.'

It is one of the few 166MM Barchetta that does not have a hood scoop.

By Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2009