Florio four-pot

Bonhams, Monte Carlo, Monaco 11 May

WHAT MAKES THE 625 TF (for Targa Florio) so appealing is its rarity and its place in history. Not only were just three of them built – two spiders and a coupé – but it was also Maranello’s first attempt at a fourcylinder, closed-wheel sports racer, the engine coming straight out of its Formula 1 car. This one also has some gold-dust sprinkled on it by its past associations.

Its outings with Mike Hawthorn and Umberto Maglioli might have been only the first two races of this ex-works 1953 Ferrari 625 TF, but they should not overshadow a fascinating history. This includes being owned, but not raced, by the ‘Pampas Bull’, José Froilán Gonzaléz, and even at one stage having its portholed Vignale form fitted with a Lincoln V12 in place of the 2.5-litre, twin Weber 50-fed, four-pot Ferrari unit.

‘Farnham Flyer’ Hawthorn piloted the Ferrari on its first outing, taking it to fourth place at the Monza 1000km on 29 June 1953. Maglioli raced it to third two weeks later, at the Coppa d’Oro delle Dolomiti.

After just those two appearances, the Ferrari crossed the Atlantic for a five-year career. According to the barchetta.com website, chassis 0304TF was bought and much campaigned by Luis Milan in Argentina, before ownership passed to Gonzaléz in 1955 and then on to Celse Lara Barberis in Brazil, which was when the Lincoln engine was supposedly installed. Then, despite its activity and history, the Ferrari seemed to vanish until it was unearthed in a Napoli scrapyard, engineless, by Franco Lombardi in 1974.

The restoration and installation of the correct engine followed, and by the mid-80s it was a regular on Mille Miglia retrospectives before being sold at a Geneva auction for just under half-a-million US dollars in 1988. It’s likely to cost its new owner upwards of £4 million this time around. bonhams.com