AUTOMOTIVE - VINTAGE: Another Amazing Ferrari Barn Find

VINTAGE: Another Amazing Ferrari Barn Find

The 1954 250 Monza Pinin Farina roadster was left to rot in Uruguay; the remains were displayed at Retromobile with a $6.48 milion price tag.

Earlier this month, the annual Retromobile show once again brought together a fabulous collection of classic cars. One of the absolute highlights was this barn-find 1954 Ferrari 250 Monza roadster.

Originally raced in Italy and South America, it was left to rot in Uruguay until it was eventually discovered in the late 1970s. Since then, it has been reunited with its three-liter V12 engine and now awaits a brave new custodian to complete the mother of all restorations. This person also needs deep pockets as the reported asking price for the Pinin Farina bodied 250 Monza is a hefty 5 million Euro ($6.58 million).

The remains of the aluminum-bodied Monza presents a very-expensive restoration challenge. (Photo: Wouter Melissen) Along with two of its three sister cars, chassis 0466M was bought new from the factory by Franco Cornacchia for his Scuderia Guastalla. Like the first two, this the final 250 Monza produced was clothed by Pinin Farina with an aluminum roadster body.

It was raced with limited success in Italy before it was sold to South America. After a brief spell in Venezuela, it ended it up in Brazil where it was campaigned for the remainder of the decade.

History of the Ferrari 250 Monza:

Up until 1953, Ferrari sports racers, despite all of their type names and numbers, shared the same basic ladder-type chassis with independent front suspension and a live rear axle. The only significant difference was the use of the Colombo-designed short-block or the Lampredi-designed long-block V12 engine.

The Ferrari has been reunited with its original 3-liter V12 engine. (Photo: Wouter Melissen) All this changed in 1953 when a brand new four-cylinder engine was introduced. Inspired by the British fours, the new Ferrari engine was used to great effect in the F1/F2 World Championship where Alberto Ascari won all the races in 1952. More single-seater technology was carried over to the sports-car range a year later when the DeDion-type rear suspension was introduced.

Although the focus seemed to be on the four-cylinder engines, Ferrari did not discard the V12 engine completely. The big fours might have had superior low-end torque, but they could not match the peak horsepower of the high-revving V12s.

Using the latest, three-liter version of the Colombo engine and a slightly lengthened 750 Monza chassis, the Ferrari engineers created the 250 Monza. The V12 was of a similar specification as used in the 250 MM constructed early in 1953. Breathing through three quad-choke Weber Carburetors, it was good for at least 240 horsepower.

Four of these ?hybrid? chassis were eventually constructed. Two of them were clothed by Pinin Farina with a design similar to that fitted on the 500 Mondial, and the other two received Scaglietti bodies in the style of the 750 Monza.

Source: http://automotive.speedtv.com/article/vintage-an-amazing-ferrari-barn-find/

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