A unique 1955 Ferrari, which Carroll Shelby drove, will be put up for auction (17 photos)

In mid-August, RM Sotheby's will auction off a 1955 Ferrari 375 Plus sports car, which it calls unique. It is one of seven surviving Ferraris with the huge V12 Tipo 113 designed by Aurelio Lampredi and the only Tipo 102 chassis designed with the race track in mind. The rarity is expected to fetch between $5.5 and $7.5 million.





In the mid-1950s, the company produced only two copies of the 375 Plus on the Tipo 102 chassis. In addition to this copy, a convertible was also built - it was created for the King of Belgium Leopold III and was never intended for racing.

Spider with chassis number 0478 AM was produced especially for one of the sports managers in the USA. This car won its first major victory in racing in July 1955 under the control of the future celebrity - Carroll Shelby. After some time, the sports car got into an accident and changed owners, who ordered a new body for it. Jack Sutton, known at the time under the nickname "American Scaglietti", was commissioned to create it. The revived car was piloted for some time by another future star, Ken Miles.

In 1960, this Ferrari 375 Plus was included in the collection of one of the American Ferrari collectors, where it remained for almost a quarter of a century. The next owner of the rarity financed its complete restoration in the early 1990s, and in 1996 the spider entered the collection of the current owner, whom auctioneers call a world-class collector.

It is noted that the car, despite numerous repairs, is still equipped with the original 4.9-liter V12, gearbox and rear axle and thus, in addition to its existing historical value, is a potentially interesting object for careful restoration to its original factory condition.









[thumb]https://cn22.nevsedoma.com.ua/p/29/2902/204_files/fe rrari-375-plus-1955---02-3.webp[/thumb]







[thumb]https://cn22.nevsedoma.com.ua/p/29/2902/204_files/ferrari-375-plu s-1955---04-2.webp[/thumb]







[thumb]https://cn22.nevsedoma.com.ua/p/29/2902/204_files/ferrari-375-plus-1955---07.w ebp[/thumb]