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1956 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Competizione ‘Tour de France’ To Headline RM Monterey Auction

There’s valuable, and then there’s classic Ferrari valuable. Few other cars can even come close to the value of Ferrari’s most storied classic racecars, and 1956 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Competizione ‘Tour de France’ chassis 0557GT is no exception, with the car expected to fetch “in excess of $11 million,” at RM’s Monterey sale in August next month, Autoblog reports.

To say the 250 GT Tour de France is an important part of Ferrari’s history is an understatement. The car, which is the fifth of just seven Scaglietti-bodied competition berlinettas, took the overall win at the Tour de France in 1956. That’s no easy task, as the car drove a total of 3,600 miles throughout, undertaking two hillclimb races, a drag race and six different circuit races at Le Mans, Comminges, Rheims, and Montlhéry. Its driver, Marquis Alfonso de Portago, won five of the six circuit races, edging out Sterling Moss in the nearly-as-iconic Mercedes-Benz 300SL.

Adding to 0557GT’s provenance is itabsolutely flawless race record. The car is undefeated in its racing career, taking first at the Coupes du Salon at Montlhéry in October 1956 and at the Rome Grand Prix later that year. The car also won the Coupes USA in April 1957, again at the hands of Portago, but was returned to Maranello following his death at Mille Miglia one month later.

The Portago family offered the car to close friend of Alfonso C. Keith W. Schellenberg of England, who kept it for two decades. Since then, it has traded hands numerous times and at one point underwent a ground-up restoration. The car has never been crashed or damaged and as such remains highly original.

If you’ve got the cash, 0557GT will headline RM Sotheby’s Monterey auction in August. If you don’t, which is much more likely, enjoy the video of it in action below, courtesy of RM Auctions.

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