1951 Ferrari 212 Export Berlinetta

This car is one of 27 Ferrari 212 Exports created for racing and one of seven awarded Berlinetta coachwork by Vignale. In fact, it was chosen by the coachbuilder to showcase the brand at the 1951 Turin Auto Show.

This racer, with its 2.6-liter V12 Colombo engine producing 170 bhp, could top 130 mph and accelerate from zero to sixty in 7.5 seconds. Although the 212 Export was marketed as 'perfectly behaved in city traffic,' it was intended for the track, and Enzo Ferrari sold this example to Prince Vittorio Massimo, an Italian aristocrat with a flair for racing on open roads in the thinly disguised race car. Freshly restored to its original color and specification, this 212 Export is a flagship for its model.

In the 1950s, the Ferrari 212 Export became the race car of choice for premier events such as the Tour de France, Mille Miglia and Carrera Panamericana. It followed Ferrari's first production racing car the 166 MM. The 212's finest hour came perhaps in the 1951 Tour de France when Pagnibon and Barraquet drove 0078E to victory. The Export models were bodied by coachbuilders such as Pinin Farina and Ghia. This example is one of just six bodied by the Carrozzeria Vignale of Turin, and it has a very distinctive, non-Ferrari style bonnet and front grille.

This Ferrari 212 Export Coupe with coachwork by Vignale is carried by chassis number 0080E. It spent the early part of its life in Italy before coming to the United States in 1953. Since then, the car has had a rather impressive show history, including a visit to the Pebble Beach Concours, Cavallino Classic, Newport Beach Concours, Mille Miglia, and the Rodeo Drive Concours in the 1990s.

In recent years, it has been given a complete restoration. Currently, it is painted in Nero e Grgio, black with a silver roof. For most of its life it was red with a black roof.

By Daniel Vaughan | Sep 2010