Chassis no. 5901
Engine no. 5901
Internal no. 138/LM
Gearbox no. 18

- 2023: 60th anniversary of the Ferrari 250 LM
- One of the absolute masterpieces in the history of the Automobile
- The 10th Ferrari 250 LM of only 32 cars built
- Rarer than a 250 GTO
- Model of the utmost historical importance: the last model to have won the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in 1965 (Masten Gregory/Jochen Rindt)
- Matching numbers (chassis, engine, gearbox and body)
- Continuous history, restored in 1998/99 by DK Engineering
- In the same collection for 20 years
- Undergoing certification after recent validation by the Ferrari committee

They had won! The Ferrari 250 LM driven by Masten Gregory and Jochen Rindt was the first over the line at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, defying the predictions of a win for Ford! In 1965, Ferrari dominated the race, coming in 1st (250 LM) 2nd (250 LM) 3rd (275 GTB) and 6th (250 LM). And so in 1965, for motorsport enthusiasts this model came to symbolise the victory of David over Goliath, the resistance that Ferrari, with its limited resources, put up against Ford's mighty armada in a confrontation which would be one of the most keenly followed and bitterly disputed in the history of motorsport.
As well as achieving the last of Ferrari's nine victories at Le Mans, the 250 LM was the last in the noble family of 250s to go racing, following the Testa Rossa and GTO models and heralding the fantastic line of mid-engined Ferraris to come.

Unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in October 1963, the 250 LM was a berlinetta version of the 250 P, presented in March that year, which could already boast several victories in competition, before going on to win at Le Mans in 1964. Designed under the direction of the chief engineer Carlo Chiti, it was the first competition Ferrari with a centrally-mounted V12 engine. The 246 SP had introduced this new layout in 1961, but with a V6 engine.
For the 250 LM, Scaglietti created a masterpiece of design, the streamlined front a striking contrast to the car's long, muscular rear, which revealed the presence of a powerful engine. The small central arch brought a lightness of touch to the roof, while one of the car's most spectacular features was its huge bonnet which opened like a cathedral to expose the inner workings of this radical machine.
With the 250 LM, Enzo Ferrari wanted to follow on from the 250 GTO and homologate the car as a GT. But while the FIA's officials had turned a blind eye to the Commendatore's tendentious arguments which had enabled him to homologate the 250 GTO (which he had presented simply as an evolution of the 250 GT), this time they were having none of it and insisted that the 100 cars required were built. But Ferrari only produced 32, so the 250 LM had to remain in the 'Prototype' category and compete with much more powerful cars, the most formidable of which was Ford's GT40. A brilliant protagonist in the duel opposing Ford and Ferrari, the 250 LM defended the cause of the Italian manufacturer, making up for its lack of power with its roadholding and handling, which some of the other, more powerful cars could not match. Chiti had been right when he succeeded in convincing a reluctant Enzo Ferrari to adopt the rear-engined layout.
The 250 LM should really have been named the 275 LM (according to Ferrari's naming convention based on the individual cylinder displacement) as the cars which followed the model displayed at the Paris Motor Show were equipped with a 3.3-litre engine. Hoping to go undetected by the FIA, for the reasons outlined above, Enzo Ferrari wanted to keep the '250' model name.

Given its design, the 250 LM was intended for the racetrack more than the road, and most of the cars produced suffered the trials and tribulations of a career in competition. This was not the case, however, for the car we are presenting, which has spent its life in the hands of private owners and collectors who never took it racing. It was admittedly present at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1966, but only as a spare car. This explains its magnificently preserved original condition today, as we shall shortly see.

The full history of this work of art has been prepared and documented by the Ferrari specialist Marcel Massini. According to the build card for this 250 LM, its tubular chassis was supplied to the Carrozzeria Scaglietti in Modena on 24 June 1964. On 18 September, the final assembly of the engine was carried out by the mechanic Baschieri, supervised by the foreman Amos Franchini. It was Franchini too who oversaw the assembly of the gearbox, completed on 23 September by Ivo Giusti. The official order placed by Luigi Chinetti, the owner of the N.A.R.T. racing team and Ferrari importer based in New York, was dated 6 November 1964 and was followed on the 14th by the manufacturer's invoice. On 20 November, the car was dispatched to the port of Livorno and loaded onto the cargo ship 'Maria Costa', which then set sail for New York. After it arrived, Chinetti sold the car to its first owner, Raymond John Augusterfer, from Philadelphia.
On 5 and 6 February 1966, the 250 LM was used by the N.A.R.T. team as a spare car at the 24 Hours of Daytona, but as none of the cars entered suffered any damage, it remained in the paddock and did not take part in the race. The following year, Chinetti bought the car back, before selling it in 1968 to George Arents, from Warren, and then in 1969 to Walter and Irene Young, from Wilton. After passing through Kirk F. White Motorcars in Philadelphia, the car was bought on 29 June 1970 by William B. Rearden (of Villanova, Pennsylvania), in exchange for his Ferrari 330 P Spider and the sum of 16,500 $. Rearden kept it for eight years, during which it appeared in issue 37 of Prancing Horse, the magazine of the Ferrari Club of America, next to the 330 LMB and Dino 246 GTS in his collection. Its owner also had the opportunity to drive it at the annual meeting of the Ferrari Club at Lime Rock on 1 June 1974 and then during the Ferrari Parade organised before the start of the F1 race at Watkins Glen on 5 October 1975.

In February 1978, Rearden sold his 250 LM no. 5901 to Robert Bodin from Minneapolis, and it was registered as 'CWR 118' in Minnesota. Bodin showed the car on 25 June 1978 at the fourth annual meeting of the Ferrari Club of America, at Road Atlanta, and drove it there again in June the following year. Following some restoration work, he sold the car on 16 January 1982 to Joseph Rosen, from Patchogue (New York), who registered it with the number 'FIAT-X-19'. Over the next ten years, Rosen regularly took the car out for meetings and concours events of the Ferrari Club of America or for historic race meetings such as those held at Laguna Seca, Elkhart Lake or Mosport.
In September 1995, no. 5901 was offered for sale by Ferrari of San Francisco, at a price of 1,600,000 $. It was through this dealership that the car joined the collection of Massimo Ferragamo, the son of the founder of the Ferragamo fashion house, who was the company's CEO in the USA at the time and lived in New York. Ferragamo sold it in November 1997 to the leading collector and hotel owner, Mody Enav, based in Geneva. The car was then sent to the Ferrari specialist DK Engineering in England for a complete restoration, which lasted through 1998 and 1999. It was given the British registration number '619 TOD'. After being presented in June 1999 at the Louis Vuitton Concours d'élégance held at the Hurlingham Club, it was sold in March 2002 to Jean Guikas, who re-sold it the same year to a leading European collector. Its new owner used it very little over 20 years, covering only 2000 km or so since its restoration by DK.

Today, the car is in superb condition and to its original specification. An article written by Mick Walsh and published in Classic & Sports Car in June 1999 on this very 250 LM provides some interesting information about its restoration by DK Engineering. Phil Ashley, who was responsible for the work, explained about the body: "Once we'd stripped the paint off, you could see evidence of several 'offs', including a rear shunt. The owner was determined to keep the original body, so repairs took longer than planned. (...). The preparation for paint also ran over on time, but that's always the price if you try to keep original metal. The owner was understanding." The original bodywork could therefore be kept in its entirety, which is rare for a car of this type and age.
The engine presented fewer problems, as it was the classic Ferrari V12 from the period, in 3.3-litre guise with a crankshaft with seven main bearings, twin chain-driven overhead camshafts and six Weber carburettors. "Once we'd freshened it up, it produced about 300 bhp during dyno checks", Phil Ashley noted in the article quoted above. The tubular chassis is strong, but some of the tubes are used to channel water or oil, which can cause damage. "These turn porous and can become a nightmare once the car is assembled." They were therefore checked beforehand. "The engineering has no tricks, no black boxes hidden away, and is actually relatively basic", Ashley concluded in the article.

As they both belong to the famous 250 family, the 250 LM is often compared to the 250 GTO, that other legendary Ferrari. But the layout of the GTO, of which 36 examples were built, is completely different, with its engine mounted at the front.
The Ferrari 250 LM is in a different league altogether: for the first time in the history of the marque, the engine was mid-rear mounted, using the chassis of the 250 P with its 3.3-litre V12 engine producing 320 bhp. The 250 LM's design by Pininfarina drew on the styling of the 250 P, with the addition of a roof extending over the rear section of the car, as if sculpted by aerodynamics. The air intakes mark the start of the curved lines of its wings and bonnet. It is simply exquisite.
Let us defer to a racing driver who knows both models very well, David Piper, who said in the article in Classic & Sports Car mentioned above: "I have lots of affection for LMs and still love driving mine. For me it's twice the car a GTO is and is still very underrated. It's more sophisticated, much quicker and the gearbox and steering are fabulous. On really fast circuits such as Daytona, Sebring, Le Mans and Reims, it was very quick in a straight line and would outperform many more powerful cars."
To these words of an undisputed connoisseur should be added the historical significance of a model which opened the way for mid-engined Ferraris in competition. Its spectacular design and outstanding engine add to the Ferrari 250 LM's strong character, making it one of the most important milestones in the history of motor racing.
This 250 LM is one of only two cars from the 32 examples built which has not raced and has thus been protected from the rigours of competition: it is therefore complete in every particular, including the entire tubular chassis, engine, gearbox and bodywork, which have been inspected and corroborated by Ferrari Classiche. We invite interested buyers to consult the history file accompanying this 250 LM, which, need it be said, will be welcomed with open arms at all historic events around the world, whether on the asphalt of a racetrack or the lawns of a golf course.

In 2023, the Ferrari 250 LM will celebrate its 60th anniversary and the car offered for auction will naturally be eligible for the rally organised by the factory to mark the occasion; it is a club which is even more select than that of the 250 GTO, since this gem will always be even rarer ...

Estimate on request

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Full catalogue and more photos https://www.artcurial.com/en/sale-4315-retromobile-2023-artcurial-motorcars