Nothing will ever — ever — beat a Uovo Ferrari for its origin-story gravitas. This, ladies and gentleman, is where it all began. Where engineering and racing success started to propel road car sales. And those road car sales eventually funding the most successful, most desired car brand in the world.
This stunner will go across the auction block this August in Monterey, California adjacent to the Pebble Beach concours extravaganza.
Estimates of what the sale price will be? We’d predict in the 2-4 million dollar mark.
Far less that the peak Ferrari values, but also far more original. The ultra narrow proportions and unusual fenders — plus the wraparound glass windshield — speak to t eh 166MM’s origins as an open-wheeled racer. The main motivation for the bubble hardtop shape? Room for a full spare under the back glass!
Whatever way you look at the 166MM, this hard-boiled “Egg” of a supercar has never seemed so charming.
Its tiny, screaming V12 will sweeten the deal from the driver seat.
1950 Ferrari 166 MM/212 Export “Uovo” by Fontana
RM Sotheby’s
Perhaps one of the most compelling and recognizable coachbuilt Ferraris of the Enzo era, the “Uovo” will be a clear highlight of this year’s Monterey auction week. Boasting one-off coachwork from Carrozzeria Fontana and lovingly nicknamed “Uovo” for its very distinctive egg-shaped bodywork, it has remained a significant part of Ferrari lore for decades.
Giannino Marzotto specifically commissioned Fontana of Padova and the famous sculptor Franco Reggani to create a streamlined body style for maximum efficiency and performance. The resulting “Uovo” bodywork and underlying Ferrari chassis and drivetrain quickly proved to be quite competitive. The Uovo held the lead of the 1951 Mille Miglia and Giro di Sicilia before it was forced to retire, and it can be argued that the car likely would have won the race had it not been sidelined. It finally stood on the first step of the podium at the Coppa Toscana, confirming its great engineering.
Raced at the Mille Miglia the following year, the Uovo ran a number of other events in Italy with Scuderia Marzotto, as well as in California in the 1950s. Acquired by its owner in 1986, it is a veteran of multiple Mille Miglia Storica and has also spent time on display in the Museo Enzo Ferrari. Not seen publically for many years, it remains highly eligible for a number of vintage racing and concours events.
Tom Burkart is the founder and managing editor of Car-Revs-Daily.com, an innovative and rapidly-expanding automotive news magazine.
He holds a Journalism JBA degree from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Tom currently resides in Charleston, South Carolina with his two amazing dogs, Drake and Tank.
Mr. Burkart is available for all questions and concerns by email Tom(at)car-revs-daily.com.