While Enzo Ferrari's focus was always on Grand Prix victories, he was never reluctant to apply the lessons learned in Grand Prix-or to spread out the high cost of GP car and engine development-to large displacement sports cars.
Sports cars also earned both starting and prize money for the factory, and there seemed to be a constant queue of sports racer customers-waving dollars, lira, francs, pounds and pesos-standing outside the factory gate.
The 375 Mille Miglia descended directly from the four-liter GP formula and the big engine that Aurelio Lampredi designed for it. It was natural to tune the engine down a little, wrap a two-seat body around it, and go collect some prize money. Typically bodied by Pininfarina, the 375 MM was both the factory team car and a favorite of well-heeled customers. One of them, Casimiro de Oliveira of Portugal, so frequently bruised his 375 MM's Pininfarina body that it had to be returned to Ferrari after only a year, where it received a very early body by Scaglietti: 0366 AM. That car is the 375 MM shown here.
The 375 MM's Lampredi engine is an all-alloy beauty. It breathes through a trio of beautiful four-choke Weber 40IF4/C downdraft carbs. In 375 MM form, it delivers 340 horsepower, with every component built for strength and reliability.
0366 AM was first delivered to de Oliveira at the 12 Hours of Casablanca, where the new owner was to drive with the World Champion, Alberto Ascari. Ascari qualified 0366 AM for the race, but de Oliveira crashed his new car in practice. Ascari must have been particularly annoyed when Giuseppe Farina and Piero Scotti won the race in another 375 MM. Oliveira later agreed to sell 0366 AM to Swedish Ferrari importer Tore Bjurstrom, for Vlademar Stener to drive. De Oliveira delivered Bjurstrom's new 375 MM at the Skarpnack airfield-and promptly crashed it again.
0366 AM, the only Scaglietti-bodied 375 MM, is in concours condition, having completed its cosmetic restoration just two years ago by one of the best in the business. The car has been meticulously maintained in a collection known for a consistently high caliber of cars, and their constant readiness for any event-whether it is on the road or on the show field.
SCM Analysis
Detailing
Without a doubt the 375 MM Spyder is one of the premier cars of the world. It has all the attributes that make a car great: drop-dead styling, over-the-top performance and a pedigree that includes a prestigious manufacturer and a racing heritage. As a Ferrari, its significance is enhanced by its Lampredi 12-cylinder engine, an even number (competition) serial number and a synchronized gearbox to relieve the anxiety of trying to look skilled at driving a race car. The 375 is an E-ticket car; there are few driving events where the organizers wouldn’t find room for one, and fewer still where it wouldn’t be a centerpiece attraction.
Gentleman racer Casimiro de Oliveira of Portugal was blessed with the money gene but must have been at boarding school when the talent fairy visited. He was able to buy the potent 375 MM number 0366 AM, but he seemed to have trouble keeping it on the road.
The combination of several minor shunts and one particularly bad off-track excursion required 0366 to be returned to the Ferrari factory for repairs. The damage was deemed serious enough to necessitate a completely new body. A decision was made to send the car to Scaglietti rather than Pininfarina for repairs. While probably an insignificant decision at the time, the results would forever add controversy to the legacy of 0366.
0366 has had a tough life. Besides its early rebody, it needed extensive restoration in 1977 and was worked over again in the mid-1990s. During the 1990s restoration, 0366 got a new nose and period taillights to replace some improper Citroën lights.
0366 AM sold at RM’s Amelia Island auction, held March 9, 2002, for $1,925,000, including buyer’s premium. A well-heeled collector whose opinion I trust, and who can actually write a check to buy a car like this, felt the car was well-bought at the price paid. He observed that to buy a Ferrari that’s even marginally more important would take a much larger amount. He also noted the Scaglietti rebody probably kept the price as much as a million dollars lower than an original Pininfarina-bodied car. Further, he opined, at the price paid, the new owner could send the car to Pininfarina for a rebody in the original configuration, keep the Scaglietti body for a very impressive wall hanging, and still be $750,000 ahead of the price of an original Pininfarina-bodied 375 MM Spyder.
On the other hand, the Ferrari gods aren’t kind to those who choose to rewrite Ferrari history in pursuit of a quick buck. Sadly, there is no shortage of those entrepreneurial types out there. The Scaglietti body is attractive and has historical significance; replacing the Scaglietti body with a freshly built Pininfarina body might actually devalue the car, as it would lose the patina it has gained from its period rebody.
The identity of the new owner has been a well-guarded secret; hopefully he will respect 0366’s special place in Ferrari history and keep the bodywork as it is.-Steve Ahlgrim