The world’s
premiere classic car event, the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
will host some of the rarest and most illustrious Ferraris at this
year’s event, which takes place in California on 16 August 2009.
The unique
display of Italian legends will include 10 1949 166 MM Touring
Barchettas and the world’s four remaining Ferrari TR 59 race
cars.
For many automotive historians, the sleek, compact
styling of the 1949 166 MM Touring Barchettas helped to define the
Ferrari brand, creating its legend and mystique and drawing legions
of fans worldwide. Just 25 of these cars were built and the Concours
will reunite 10 of them.
“The 166 MM Touring Barchetta was
the first beautiful Ferrari and fundamental to the brand’s
success,” said David Seielstad, a Ferrari historian and expert on
the 166 MM. “There was nothing cooler on the Cote d’Azur than the
V12 ‘little boat’ for swanning around in the early 1950s. Its
styling was unlike anything seen before and has influenced the design
of vehicles from the AC Bristol to the latest Ferrari
California.”
Ferrari’s 166 MM Touring Barchetta was also
one of its most successful race cars, winning at competitions such as
the 1949 Mille Miglia (this the MM in its name) and the 1949 24 Hours
of Le Mans. The Ferrari TR 59 also won a number of major races,
including its 1959 debut at Sebring and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in
1960. All four existing TR 59s, of the five ever built, will be
displayed in August at Pebble Beach, chronicling the modifications
this works racer experienced during two seasons of Ferrari
racing.
The TR 59 featured a tubular chassis with coachwork
designed by Pinin Farina and built by Fantuzzi. It was more powerful,
lower and lighter than previous Testa Rossa models, and incorporated
newer technologies, including disc brakes and coil valve springs. By
the following race season, modifications to the TR 59’s windshield,
turning radius, transmission, conversion to a dry sump engine and the
addition of a small trunk and windshield wipers significantly changed
the works racer’s appearance.
“The TR 59 is one of the
most exciting, beautiful sports-racing cars ever built,” said Ed
Gilbertson, Ferrari expert and Chief Judge at the Pebble Beach
Concours. “Everything you’d expect to see in a great early racing
car, from scoops and rivets to elegant curvature, is exemplified by
the TR 59. Each one is unique, and discerning spectators at Pebble
Beach will see their differences as the cars are lined up
side-by-side according to their evolution.”
First conducted
in 1950, the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance® has grown to be
the world’s premier celebration of the automobile. Only the most
beautiful and rare cars are invited to appear on the famed 18th
fairway of Pebble Beach Golf Links®, and connoisseurs of art and
style flock to see these masterpieces. Charitable donations raised by
the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance® now total over $12
million.
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