The 24 hours of Le Mans is a sporting event and a showroom of the automobile. In 1951 the spectators admire the barchetta bodywork. Only one Ferrari barchetta had been inscribed in the previous year, a 195S driven by Luigi Chinetti and Pierre Louis-Dreyfus.
The other excitement of 1951 is the Ferrari 340 America equipped with a V-12 engine that carries the expectations of the brand. It is the first ever Ferrari model to use the qualifier of America showing the brand's ambitions on the other side of the Atlantic.
No less than four Ferrari 340 America Barchetta are at the start of the race, including a car coachworked by Touring delivered a few days earlier to Louis-Dreyfus and co-piloted by Louis Chiron. Caught by the passion of the event, the Vieux Renard of the pre-war competitions misses a refueling pit and runs dry.
In 1952 this car was entered again with the same number #16 and retired after five hours for an issue with the clutch.
Carefully restored to its 1951 Le Mans configuration, this authentic survivor of postwar endurance competitions has retained its matching number equipment. It is estimated € 7.5M for sale by RM Sotheby's in Monaco on May 14, lot 232.
SOLD for € 7.3M including premium
The other excitement of 1951 is the Ferrari 340 America equipped with a V-12 engine that carries the expectations of the brand. It is the first ever Ferrari model to use the qualifier of America showing the brand's ambitions on the other side of the Atlantic.
No less than four Ferrari 340 America Barchetta are at the start of the race, including a car coachworked by Touring delivered a few days earlier to Louis-Dreyfus and co-piloted by Louis Chiron. Caught by the passion of the event, the Vieux Renard of the pre-war competitions misses a refueling pit and runs dry.
In 1952 this car was entered again with the same number #16 and retired after five hours for an issue with the clutch.
Carefully restored to its 1951 Le Mans configuration, this authentic survivor of postwar endurance competitions has retained its matching number equipment. It is estimated € 7.5M for sale by RM Sotheby's in Monaco on May 14, lot 232.
SOLD for € 7.3M including premium
Headline Entries for 2016 RM Sotheby's Monaco https://t.co/3Pk1N4b07V pic.twitter.com/9nLhwJjZsF
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