1954 Ferrari 375 MM Scaglietti Coupe named Best In Show at Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance

Sun, 17 Aug 2014

For the first time in the event's 64-year history, the prestigious Best In Show honor at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance has been awarded to a Ferrari. The 1954 375 MM Scaglietti Coupe seen here is owned by car collector Jon Shirley of Medina, WA, and as it turns out, has quite a rich history.

Nevermind the fact that it's currently one of five road-going 375 MMs – this example was ordered by film director Roberto Rossellini, and was actually born as a Pininfarina-bodied competition Spyder. Following an accident, the car's original body wasn't able to be saved, but the chassis was sent to Carrozzeria Scaglietti in Modena for replacement, and the finished product became the company's first passenger car design for Ferrari.

Following its tenure with Rossellini, the car was owned by Mario Savona of Palermo, and later Charles Robert of Paris. Years later, the car was restored by its current owner in 1995, after being found in an underground garage in a Paris suburb.

In addition to being the first Ferrari to win the Best In Show award, this is the first post-war car to take the top honor since 1968. This Ferrari has quite the robust pedigree, having won many Best In Show awards at several events throughout the 1990s, in addition to the Luigi Chinetti Memorial Award at the 1998 Pebble Beach Concours.

Have a look at the winning Ferrari in our gallery from Pebble Beach, above.

By Steven J. Ewing