A one-of-14 Pinin Farina-bodied 1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial Series 1 Spider is estimated to fetch between £3-4 million pounds when it crosses the block at Gooding & Co’s Amelia Island Auction from 29th February to 1st March.

The Ferrari was delivered new to Dutch racer Herman Roosdrop via Garage Francorchamps and went on to compete in period at Spa and Zandvoort as well as being exhibited at Pebble Beach in 1978 and at the 1000 Miglia Retrospective in 1990 and 1994. The matching number’s car’s past owners include respected collectors such as Ed Niles, Peter Sachs and David Sydorick.

Unveiled in 1953, the 500 Mondial was Ferrari’s first four-cylinder production car named in honour of Alberto Ascari’s back-to-back World Championship wins in his Ascari 500 F2 Monoposto. 

The Mondial’s four-cylinder, twin-cam engine – known inside Ferrari as the Tipo 110 – was a direct development of the engine in the Italian’s Grand Prix machines and featured advances like gear-driven cams, dry-sump lubrication, hemispherical combustion chambers, twin-spark ignition and Weber DCO carburettors. The Mondial 500’s name came from the fact that each cylinder displaced 500ccs. 

Under its skin, the Ferrari featured a tubular steel chassis with independent transverse leaf-spring suspension, a De Dion rear axle, finned drum brakes and a four-speed transaxle gearbox. It was enough to secure the model class wins at Barcelona, Casablanca, Imola, and the Mille Miglia.

Sold to Herman Roosdrop as a replacement for his Jaguar C-Type, he guided Lot #30 to a fifth-place class finish on its maiden outing at the Spa-Francorchamps on 23rd May 1954. A second-place overall finish would come a month later on the same track. 

Roosdrop sold the car to fellow Dutchman Simon Maasland, who bought it for his son to go racing in, confidence that was rewarded with two first-place finishes at Zandvoort in 1955 and 1956 before the car was imported to the US in 1964 by its new owner Chuck Fee. He then sold it to Ferrari enthusiast Ed Niles, who had the car restored and exhibited it at Pebble Beach in 1978. 

The Ferrari passed through various owners before being snapped up by an LA-based Ferrari collector in 2018, where it has stayed since. 

It’s believed to be one of the few survivors to have a chassis, body, engine, and transaxle with matching numbers. The only parts not believed to be original are its Weber carbs and tubular shock absorbers. 

The car also comes with extensive documentation, including copies of the factory build sheet, period images, magazine articles and correspondence.