Ferrari 625 LM / TRC / TF

Ferrari 625 LM Spyder, #Chassis-Nummer #0642 MDTR: «As per the accompanying copies of its original factory build sheets, this Ferrari 625 LM Spyder was assembled in June of 1956. In its original 500 Testa Rossa specification, chassis number 0642 MDTR featured in a series of Ferrari factory publicity images before leaving Maranello, which were subsequently featured in the second volume of Jonathan Thompson’s Ferrari Album.
The car made its competition debut in the IV Gran Premio Supercortemaggiore at Monza, where it was driven under the Works Scuderia Ferrari banner by two Brits: the 1958 Formula 1 World Champion Mike Hawthorn Mike Hawthorn and the three-time Formula 1 Grand Prix winner Peter Collins. Fitted with red wire wheels for identification purposes, this Ferrari was also driven by the American Formula 1 World Champion Phil Hill, though only in practice before Il Commendatore swapped him out for Collins. The move proved a master stroke, for the British duo won the 1,000-kilomtre race in decisive fashion, setting a new outright sports-car lap record (129.39mph) in the process. With Le Mans barely a month away, each of the three Touring-bodied Ferraris was returned to Maranello to be prepared for La Sarthe.
In a bid to rein in the speed of participants following the devastating accident at Le Mans in 1955, which claimed over 82 lives, the ACO limited entrants to the 1956 edition of the French endurance classic to 2,500cc in displacement. Ferrari thus saw fit to fit its trio of Touring-bodied Testa Rossas with larger 2.5-litre inline four-cylinder engines derived from the 625 Grand Prix car. In order to increase the durability and longevity of the engine, the compression ratio was reduced and smaller carbs fitted. As per the Le Mans regulations of the time, a full-width windscreen was installed along with additional spotlights and illumination lights for the roundels.
Once again a Works Scuderia Ferrari entrant, chassis number 0642 MDTR was earmarked for the British bon vivant and 1953 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Duncan Hamilton and Marquis Alfonso de Portago, the Spanish aristocrat and playboy who earned a rightful place in Enzo Ferrari’s ranks with a raft of stellar performances. After 1955, tensions were understandably high ahead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. And those tensions were compounded when heavy rainfall plagued the start of the race. A mere 15 minutes in, De Portago fell foul of the conditions and this 625 LM was retired as a result.
Having been returned to Maranello, chassis number 0642 MDTR was reunited with its original two-litre engine, had its minor cosmetic damage repaired and offered for sale. As was typical of the era, this ex-Works Prancing Horse was acquired by Ferrari’s American concessionaire Luigi Chinetti, who imported the car to the United States and promptly sold it to Bob Publicker in Florida. In advance of a starring cover feature in Sports Cars Illustrated, this 625 LM was repainted yellow with red wire wheels.
What followed were 10 years of racing on North America’s fiercely competitive sports-car racing circuit. And with a satisfying degree of success. Between Publicker and chassis number 0642 MDTR’s subsequent handful of owners, which included Bill Kimberly, nephew of the Kleenex founder and keen Ferrari racer Jim Kimberly, notable results included wins at Thompson Raceway, Lime Rock Park and in the Auburn Sports Car Races in Alabama. That was in addition to a plethora of podium finishes. Crucially, throughout its North American competition career, this Ferrari 625 LM remained in remarkably original condition.
Chassis number 0642 MDTR subsequently passed through the hands of a number of US-based owners, the last of whom was Steve D. Barney of North Carolina. In addition to entering several Ferrari Club of America Concours d’Elegance events, he also took the car to Italy to contest the 1987 Mille Miglia. In October of 1994, this Ferrari was exported to Japan, where it remained until 1999. During its short tenure in the Land of the Rising Sun, chassis number 0642 MDTR was exhibited extensively, including in La Festa Mille Miglia, a sort of Japanese Mille Miglia spinoff, which spanned 1,600 kilometres and was contested by 90 Mille Miglia-eligible cars.
This Ferrari 625 LM returned to the USA in 2003 when it was acquired by Charles T. Wegner. He showed it at several editions of the Cavallino Classic concours in Palm Beach and even raced it in the Shell Ferrari Historic Challenge. Crucially, he also had chassis number 0642 MDTR certified Ferrari Classiche, confirming the originality of the chassis, engine and suspension. Satisfyingly, chassis number 0650 MDTR remained in the North America until 2025, passing through the hands of a small number of US-based collectors, the last of whom boasted a world-class stable of 1950s road and competition Prancing Horses. That all changed in the summer of this year, when we were able to source the car for a European client of ours and return it back across the Atlantic. Boasting a clear and comprehensive history, as verified by the leading Ferrari historian Marcel Massini in his accompanying report, this 625 LM Spyder is among the most desirable 1950s sports-racing Ferraris we’ve ever encountered – a race-winning ex-Works Prancing Horse driven by not one but two Formula 1 World Champions including at Le Mans, powered by a brutish four-cylinder engine and clothed by Touring in a striking body».