This Ferrari 275 P for Sale Might Be Ferrari’s Most Historic Race Car Ever

It was just recently discovered that this car is the only factory-campaigned Ferrari to win overall at Le Mans twice.

byChris Constantine|
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Can you name the most successful vintage Ferrari race car out there? It certainly isn't the 250 GTO. How about the 330 P4? You're getting warmer. According to RM Sotheby's, Ferrari's best classic racer is actually a 275 P Works car, and one is currently for sale.

When this 1963 example was first dropped in RM Sotheby's lap, the auction site did some digging with help from Ferrari Classiche and found that this car, chassis 0816, took the overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in both 1963 and 1964, as well as at the 1964 12 Hours of Sebring. In fact, 0816 wasn't even intended to participate at Le Mans in '64, but stepped in when the car scheduled to race crashed in practice. After that win, Scuderia Ferrari (Ferrari's factory racing division) never scored another overall victory at Le Mans.

The prototype continued racing in other events after its back-to-back wins at Le Mans with legendary Ferrari drivers like John Surtees and Luigi Chinetti at the wheel. Famed Ferrari enthusiast Pierre Bardinon bought the car in 1970, and it remained in his collection for 48 years, having never been restored or modified. Thus its original body, 3.3-liter V12 engine, and five-speed manual transmission are still intact. 

Courtesy of the Klemantaski Collection

"This 275 P is without question the most historically important sports racing Ferrari campaigned by the Works team and we are tremendously honored to offer the car for private sale on behalf of the Bardinon family,” explained Augustin Sabatié-Garat, European auction manager and car specialist at RM Sotheby’s. “As the pinnacle of the Scuderia works cars, the 275 P offers the perfect juxtaposition to the 250 GTO on offer in our Monterey auction—which represents the pinnacle of Ferrari’s privateer GT cars. The other three 1963 Scuderia cars remain in long-held, significant private collections, and this is certainly the most important of the four built, making RM Sotheby’s presentation of the 275 P truly a once-in-a-generation opportunity.”

Remi Dargegen ©2017 Courtesy of RM Sotheby's

Chassis 0816 will be on display at RM Sotheby's booth during Monterey Car Week from Aug. 22-25, but is for sale through the auction company's new Private Sales division and will not cross the auction block at Pebble Beach.

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