The 1950 Ferrari 166 MM was the public’s favorite car at this year’s Concorso d’Eleganza, winning “The Coppa d’Oro Villa d’Este” prize decided by public referendum.
Besides its beauty and craftsmanship that the public appreciated, the 1950 166 MM has a rather unusual history. Its first owner was none other than Gianni Agnelli, the principal shareholder of Fiat. He took delivery of the car in July 1950 but sold it two years later to Belgian Viscount Gery d’Hendecourt.
The latter subsequently sold it to the Garage Francorchamps, where the 166 MM changed its livery to blue and started its racing career. Driven by Le Mans hero Olivier Gendebien, the 166 MM won the Coupe du Spa-Francorchamps and the Grand Prix de Spa.
In 1957, the car changed hands once again, with the new owners being Armand and Jean Blaton. The latter drove it to further victories in Belgium and Denmark.
The Ferrari 166 MM was then bought and owned for many years by former Belgian Formula 1 driver Jacques Swaters, who took it to classic car exhibitions for the first time as well as Mille Miglia revivals.
In 1994, the car was on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and then later at the Nationalgallerie in Berlin as an example of Italian car design excellence.
Finally, in 2012, the 166 MM was bought by Englishman Clive Beecham who had its bodywork returned to its original condition to obtain certification by the Ferrari Classiche department.
PHOTO GALLERY
