The oldest?
When you see the chassis number, in this case #004C, one thing is clear: this must be a very early example. And yes, it is probably safe to assume that this 1948 166 Spyder Corsa is the oldest still existing ‘original’ Ferrari. There were, as you might expect, even earlier examples, and Ferrari also started counting at 1, but that’s all a bit complicated, confusing, peculiar, so we’ll hold back now. But with #004C, the story could well be true, there is also a Massini report on it, so we’ll leave the subjunctive out for now.
The first owner of the Ferrari 166 Corsa Spyder with Ansaloni body was a certain Soave Besana; his brother Gabriele bought a virtually identical vehicle, #002C, at the same time. The factory tested #004C one last time on 12 February 1948, then the vehicle was shipped to Sicily. It is not entirely certain whether Besana and co-driver Bruno Sterzi actually took part in the Targa Florio that year. What is certain, however, is that Besana took part in the Mille Miglia in May 1948 but did not finish. The same thing happened in 1949, but this time with Mosters/Bianchi at the wheel; however, the Ferrari was able to finish a few other races, but there were no major victories. On 30 July 1949, the Milan-based company E. Vallarani & Cie. bought the car for 520,000 lire. It was subsequently used in races mainly by the Frenchman Victor Polledry, who managed to achieve a class victory in Montlhéry in 1956 (!). In 1957, the next owner was a certain Gaston Garino, who put it in a garage, where it was discovered in 1964 by Bugatti specialist Bart Loyens. He sold it to Stanley Nowak for $2,800. In 1965, Nowak found Henry Austin Clark Jr., the founder of the Long Island Automotive Museum, who became the next owner to pay $3,800 for the ‘World’s Oldest Ferrari’. The Spyder Corsa remained in the family until 2015 and, of course, has all the necessary papers confirming its authenticity.
Now #004C is coming under the hammer at Broad Arrow, at an auction in Villa d’Este at the end of May 2025. It is expected to fetch between 5.5 and 7.5 million euros. We already have a very detailed story about this Ferrari 166, well worth seeing and reading, here.
Oh yes: #002C, Gabriele Besana’s vehicle, still exists. It was actually delivered earlier than #004C; Franco Cortese is believed to have driven a race with it as early as September 1947, and Besana received the car in January 1948. However, #002C has not had its original body for a long time, which is why… (see above). In theory, the very first Ferrari still exists, too, #01C, but that’s another story.
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