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1956 Ferrari 250 Tour de France could fetch $11M [w/video]

Highly valuable and arrestingly gorgeous classic Ferraris come up for auction all the time. Most of them derive from the 250 series: GTOs, SWB Berlinettas, Lussos, Testa Rossas. And when they do, they almost invariably fetch big bucks. But there's something about this one that just stops us in our tracks. The long wheelbase, the simple but elegant lines, the French blue paintjob and minimalist racing livery.... That it happens to have an unsurpassed racing history only sweetens the deal, as we're sure collectors are bound to find out when bidding opens in Monterey next month. This 1956 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Competizione was one of just 14 made, and one of just nine built by Scaglietti without the louvers on the remaining five Zagato-bodied examples. But what sets it apart is its racing history. It belonged to the legendary Marquis Alfonso de Portago, a Spanish nobleman and gentleman racer who rose to celebrity status in the early 1950s. Renowned for courting both women and danger, de Portago took to motor racing in 1953, proved a quick study, and was signed by Ferrari in '56. Portago drove this very car to victory at the notoriously challenging Tour de France, which included two hill climbs, six circuits, and a drag race over the course of six days. With his longtime compatriot and co-pilot Edmund Nelson (whom he befriended as a child living in New York's Plaza Hotel where Nelson worked the elevator) at his side, the Marquis dominated the event. So kicked off a series of four consecutive wins Ferrari would take at the famously grueling race, cementing this model's name as a result. The duo won a number of other races in this car, which proved practically undefeated in their hands. Tragically, Portago and Nelson were killed in a crash at the Mille Miglia mere months later, putting an end to their lives as well as that of the Italian road race. The car subsequently passed through the hands of a number of notable collectors on both sides of the Atlantic, underwent a ground-up restoration in the early 1990s, and has won top honors at numerous events, including Pebble Beach, Meadow Brook, and the Louis Vuitton concours d'elegance. It's now going up for auction for the first time in 23 years as part of RM Sotheby's array at Monterey this summer.

James Glickenhaus teases sleek SCG 003 supercar

He may not have known it at the time, but James Glickenhaus started a small revolution when he commissioned Pininfarina to turn his Ferrari Enzo into a tribute to the legendary 330 P3/4. The P4/5 is what resulted, and Ferrari gave its blessing for it to wear the Prancing Horse emblem - something it hadn't done for a coachbuilt custom in decades. A slew of rebodied Ferraris followed, prompting the factory to launch its own coachbuilding division. But Jim wasn't out of the picture.
The former Hollywood filmmaker and investment banker followed up with the P4/5 Competition based on the 430 Scuderia, and started Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus to race it. Now SCG is returning with a new project, and has released this teaser video (which you can view in the embedded Facebook post below) to keep us on our toes.
From the few glimpses the video provides of a rendering, it's hard to tell much, but from what we can see, it looks pretty slick. Just what sort of technical details will form the underpinnings remains to be seen, but we're looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

Barrett-Jackson 2014: Michael Schumacher's 1998 Ferrari F300 earns round of applause, $1.7M bid [w/video]

There isn't much in the world that can aurally match the screeching wail of a Formula 1 car at redline. We obviously can't say whether or not the showmanship of starting this 1998 Ferrari F300 in front of the assembled masses at Barrett-Jackson and slowly taking it up to its 18,000-rpm redline had any effect on bidders, but it did, at the very least, result in a round of applause.
This '98 Ferrari F300 was driven 38 times by Michael Schumacher, and there was another round of applause for the driver, who's currently in a medically induced coma and listed in stable condition after a skiing accident. This particular example is number three of nine total built for the '98 season. Power comes from a 3.0-liter V10 engine producing 805 horsepower at 17,500 rpm.
After it was all said and done, bidding ended at $1.7 million (plus another 10 percent in fees). Check out our live images from the auction floor above, and scroll down below for a spine-tinglingly loud auction video and to read its official description.