Gooding & Co. Presents Rare Sports Racing Veterans at Pebble Beach Auction

Gooding & Company has announced a number of competition lots to be included at its upcoming Pebble Beach Auctions this August — and the list is significant.

“We’re thrilled to present this fantastic selection of competition cars for our 20th annual Pebble Beach Auctions,” said David Brynan, Gooding & Company Senior Specialist. “This sale has important, high-quality racing cars from every era, from the fantastic, incredibly advanced Sunbeam TT car, some of the finest European sports racers from the 1950s and 1960s, and significant cars of the modern era, with 935-001 and a MOMO-livery 333 SP, two of the very best examples of their type.”

1995 Ferrari 333 SP Evoluzione (Estimate: $6,000,000 – $8,000,000)
Chassis 010 is one of only nine Evoluzione models constructed by Dallara in Varano, Italy, and was originally campaigned by Andy Evans’ Scandia Motorsport team for the 1995 season. Between 1995 and 1997, 010 achieved 13 podium wins in the IMSA WSC Championships, including wins at Halifax, Lime Rock, Pikes Peak and Sebring.

At the 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans, this car was entered by the Moretti Racing team and piloted by Gianpiero Moretti, Didier Theys, and Max Papis. The car placed 6th Overall and 2nd in Class — the best overall finish for a 333 SP in the history of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.  

1955 Ferrari 857 Sport Spider (Estimate: $6,000,000 – $8,000,000)
The 857 Sport made its debut at the Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy in Ireland, where Scuderia Ferrari entered three to compete with Mercedes-Benz. Chassis 0588 M was among them — the last of the four 857 Sports built. 

This car was entered by Olivier Gendebien and crashed during practice. It was returned to Carrozzeria Scaglietti in Modena for repairs, where it was fitted with a tail fin to the headrest. It was then shipped to the U.S., where it was purchased by sports car team owner John Edgar of Hollywood, California via Luigi Chinetti Motors. 

Edgar relied on Jack McAfee for the 1956 season’s most important races, including the Palm Springs National Championship Races, the Stockton Road Races — where it placed First Overall, the Pebble Beach Road Races, and the SCCA National. At a SCCA Regional race in Montgomery, New York, the 857 Sport was piloted by Carroll Shelby with fantastic results.

0588 M was raced by Shelby, McAfee, Masten Gregory and Richie Ginther over the next few seasons. In 1966, it was sold to Andy Warhol, who retained the car in New York. In the early 1970s, 0588 M returned to Italy under the ownership of Luigi P. Rezzonico Castelbarco, also known as “Count Bobily.” During his ownership, the 857 S appeared at the 1973 Le Mans Historic and later was sold to collector Jean-Claude Bajol. In 2011, after a restoration by DK Engineering, the 857 S was returned to its John Edgar livery, and made its debut at the Goodwood Revival.

1959 Maserati Tipo 61 Birdcage (Estimate: $5,000,000 – $6,000,000)
This Tipo 61 Birdcage, chassis 2454, was completed in November 1959 as the third of just 17 examples built. This car was sold new to Loyal Katskee, a British car dealer based in Omaha, Nebraska. The car debuted at the 1959 annual Bahamas Speed Week in Nassau. Katskee then ran the car in USAC races across North America, beginning with Continental Divide in June and ending with the Los Angeles Times Grand Prix at Riverside. 2454 was then sold to Donald Skogmo of Minneapolis, who campaigned his fleet of Maseratis, including this Birdcage, throughout the early 1960s. 

This Tipo 61 was later purchased by an Englishman around 1970, receiving a sympathetic restoration under his ownership. In 1978, the car was acquired by Italian collector Giulio Dubbini, remaining in Europe for the next several decades under the care of Swiss collector Karl Blöchle, and later, German collector Hein Gericke. In 2000, Swiss collector and historic racer Carlo Vögele purchased 2454, entrusting Capricorn Group of Germany with a thorough restoration in preparation for historic racing. Possibly one of just two examples certified by Maserati Classiche, this Tipo 61 Birdcage received its Certificazione di Autenticità under Mr. Vögele’s ownership. 

1976 Porsche 935 (Estimate: $4,500,000 – $5,500,000)
Chassis 935-001 is the first-ever 935 built. It was constructed in late 1975 and made its racing debut at the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen in July the following year, with Rolf Stommelen and Manfred Schurti driving. 

935-001 dominated the race, setting the fastest lap and taking the checkered flag. It was then sent to Dijon, France to take part in the final race of the 1976 championship season, finishing 3rd Overall. 

Porsche included 935-001 in a package of cars sold to Vasek Polak in Hermosa Beach, California, and it remained in his garage for the next two decades. It was owned by two American collectors, and later was acquired by Matthew Drendel in 2008, who retained it in The Drendel Family Collection until 2012. The current owner purchased it at this time, and since then, has had the car restored to exacting, concours standards by the renowned Cavaglieri Restorations, with an engine rebuild carried out by the experts at Ed Pink Racing Engines. 

1956 Ferrari 500 TR (Estimate: $4,000,000 – $5,000,000)
Chassis 0654 MDTR is the last of 17 examples built. According to Ferrari historian Marcel Massini, it was sold new to Robert Tappan on behalf of French racing driver François Picard via Luigi Chinetti Motors. On June 30, 1956, Picard debuted the 500 Testa Rossa at the 12 Hours of Reims in France with co-driver Roberto Manzan, finishing 5th Overall and achieving First in Class. 

Later the 500 TR was entered in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and at the Grand Prix of Sweden at Kristianstad. In 1956, the 500 TR was exported back to the U.S. to its second owner, Howard Hively of Cincinnati, Ohio. Hively entered 0654 MDTR in the annual Bahamas Speed Week in Nassau, winning his class in the Governor’s Trophy and placing 8th Overall in the Nassau Trophy. While in the Bahamas, Hively also entered the car in the Cuban Grand Prix in 1957. 

The 500 TR has not made any public appearances since the mid-1990s — and it retains its matching-numbers engine and original Scaglietti body.

1914 Sunbeam Tourist Trophy Race Car (Estimate: $1,000,000 – $1,400,000)
In preparation for the 1914 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy (TT) race, Sunbeam Motor Car Company chief designer Louis Coatalen and his team carefully studied a 1913 Coupe de l’Auto Peugeot, drawing inspiration for the next iteration of the Sunbeam TT. 

Four cars were assembled, and Sunbeam victoriously won the Tourist Trophy outright, in addition to earning the Henry Edmunds Trophy for the fastest mountain climbs. 

Three Sunbeam TT chassis were later fitted with 4 1/2-liter engines for the 1914 French Grand Prix. But when WWI broke out, two of the French GP Sunbeams were shipped to the U.S. All of the Sunbeams were then returned, dismantled and stored at the factory until after WWI, when the factory rebuilt the TT cars with new chassis in order to sell them as sporting road cars. 

This example was acquired directly from the factory by Matthew Wills, heir to the Wills tobacco fortune, in June 1921. It passed through a series of owners before being purchased by C.R. Abbott in 1949, who meticulously restored the Sunbeam to its original Tourist Trophy specifications. 

In the 1950s, Stanley Sears acquired the vehicle, racing it at events such as VSCC Prescott in 1951 and the VSCC Silverstone Itala Trophy race in 1952. Stanley’s son, Jack Sears, joined his father in vintage car racing in 1951, and his racing career developed at the wheel of this Sunbeam TT. 

In 1969, the elder Sears sold the Sunbeam to the consignor, who has continued to successfully campaign it in VSCC events. This Sunbeam TT has been a fixture of two of the leading UK collections for the past 74 years, and it has never before been offered for public sale. 

Gooding & Company’s Pebble Beach Auctions take place on August 16 and August 17 in Pebble Beach, CA.

Learn more here.

About The Author