Page 25 - Demo

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125 Sport, featured a 1.5-liter engine. That was fol-
lowed by a 159 and then the 2-liter 166. Engine sizes
have steadily progressed to the current 812. The logical
deduction would be that the 812 is an 8-liter, 12-cylinder
engine, but once again, Ferrari has changed the rules.
The 812 is actually a 6.5-liter engine. The 8 indicates
the 812 has 800 metric horsepower (abbreviated numer-
ous ways, including PS, or “cv” in Italian, “cavallo
vapore”). The engine is the largest and most powerful
ever used in a production Ferrari.
Which brings us to our subject car, which carries one
of the engine-type numbers few people know. The 225
used a 2.7-liter engine, built just before Ferrari came out
with its legendary 3-liter 250 engine. This is a variation
of Gioacchino Colombo’s famous design with tweaks
to the cam followers and intake that were inspired by
Aurelio Lampredi. Just 21 or so engines found homes
in Ferrari chassis, specifically in 225 Sport models,
although one 225 Export was produced.
Messy history
Early Ferrari history is messy, with individual chassis
being changed from one model designation to another
through upgrades. Other times similar upgrades were
made with no change to the model’s designation. Ferrari
collector and historian Ed Niles wrote the definitive ar-
ticle on 225s in the first issue of Cavallino magazine. He
followed the article with a list of chassis numbers and
histories of 23 possible or known 225s. Kudos must be
given to Niles, as this was done in 1978, with handwrit-
ten letters sent to enthusiasts around the world.
It is generally accepted today that 21 225s were built.
This includes 20 even-number competition cars and one
odd-number 212 Export that was upgraded to 225 power.
Spiders built by Vignale account for 14 of these 225s, and
another five are berlinetta models also built by Vignale.
Two spiders were built by Touring. Even the cars built by
the same carrosseries have individual features.
This 225 S, number 0164ED, is a 225 Sport with a ber-
linetta body built by Vignale. It is an attractive coupe
with a finished interior but lacks the intricate detail often
found in Vignale’s Grand Touring projects. The car was
built to be a race car and it was used as intended. It has
a notable competition history in Europe and a couple of
lackluster results in the U.S. There is a notation in the
history that it was involved in a rollover accident, but it
appears the damage was not significant.
Powertrain swap
At some point the original engine and transmission
were removed. That engine was replaced with an engine
that the catalog described as having been modified to 3
liters, without identifying its original type. The trans-
mission was replaced with a modern Tremec 5-speed.
The replacement engine was restamped to 0164, but the
switch did not fool any serious suitors. Photos of the
restamp from Marcel Massini’s collection show an obvi-
ously incorrect stamp in serif font rather than the origi-
nal sans serif font. Additionally, it was widely known
that the original block was in the late Wayne Sparling’s
Ferrari collection.
The original block now accompanies the car, as does
the original transmission. They were included in the
auction.
The larger-displacement engine and fully synchro-
nized transmission fit perfectly with the previous owner’s
usage. He used the car in historic events including the
Monaco Historics, the Mille Miglia, Goodwood, and the
Arizona and Pebble Beach concours.
Only five similar cars were built, and none have
publicly changed hands recently. This one only came to
market after a $122m overdraft by the owner’s payroll
company. This triggered thousands of bounced pay-
checks and investigation by those whom you do not want
to investigate you. Next came the confiscation of his cars,
jets, boats and, presumably, his jockey shorts. I suspect
only the jockey shorts may be needed in his next home.
RM Sotheby’s valued this car at $2.5m–$3.5m, with
a risky no-reserve. The final bid with commission came
in at $2,810,000, right in the sweet spot. The new owner
has a trophy for their collection and a great event
car, albeit with a major shadow. This is a case where
it would benefit the new owner to complete and install
the original engine and transmission and seek a Ferrari
Classique certification. The certification would clean
up any shadows over the car’s authenticity. The owner
can later refit the more user-friendly transmission and
less-valuable engine should they desire to seriously
campaign the car in vintage events. ♦
(Introductory description courtesy of RM Sotheby’s.)
STEVE AHLGRIM has been an SCM contributor since 2002. He
owns Italycars LLC, a Ferrari appraisal, inspection and consulting
service. Steve is an IAC/PFA council member and judges Ferraris
at many of the top concours.
DETAILS
Year produced: 1952
Number produced: 6
Current SCM Median Valuation:
$1,237,500
Tune up cost: $3,000
Chassis # location: Side frame rail
towards the front of engine
Engine # location: Right side of engine
near the rear
Club: Ferrari Club of America
Web: www.FerrariClubofAmerica.org
Alternatives:
1952 Maserati A6GCS, 1952
Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport, 1952
Jaguar C-type
SCM Investment Grade: A
COMPS
1952 Ferrari 212 Inter coupe
Lot 151, s/n 0221EL
Condition: 2
Sold at $1,600,000
Gooding & Company, Pebble Beach,
CA, 8/16/19
SCM# 6907135
1951 Ferrari 340 America Speciale coupe
Lot 152, s/n 0132A
Condition: 4
Sold at $3,635,000
Bonhams Quail Lodge, Carmel, CA,
8/15/19
SCM# 6908463
1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial Spider
Lot 148, s/n 0448MD
Condition: 1-
Sold at $4,158,767
RM Sotheby’s, Villa Erba, ITA, 5/25/19
SCM# 6902481
Sports Car Market FEBRUARY 2021 57