Back to back: ’52 Ferrari or ’52 Siata?

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Another head scratcher from where the action takes place this week: Monterey. RM Sotheby’s have taken over a mouth watering selection of cars to sell this Friday, of which we just pick two. And, like you are used from us, they have lots in common. Both Italian cabriolets of 1952 on Calfornia black plates in two-tone hues, these certainly are desirable cars with bodies by Italian coachbuilders.

First of the two is a Ferrari 342 America by Vignale, the first of just six built with this one the only one bodied by Vignale and seldomly seen in public. This car was delivered to its first owner on 14 January 1953: Odofranco Wild of Switzerland, who was a respected Ferrari client ‘as well as an avid purchaser of other unusual coachbuilt European cars’. The car came over to the US in the late 1950s or early 1960s and ended up in sunny California by several owners, one of them who repainted it in metallic silver. In 2007 the current owners (yes, more of them) came in sight and undertook a mayor restoration, repainting it metallic green and white, with a matching interior and engine-turned dashboard. Since then, it covered just 210 miles. Estimated to sell at $2,250,000 - $3,000,000 it certainly won’t be cheap.

Over to our next candidate then: a Siata 208S Speciale with Stabilimenti Farina body. This car was based upon a brand new 1951 Ford sedan that was sent over to Siata works in mid-1952. Remarkably, Siata built a new chassis for it, though, while Farina clad it with a typical understated convertible body before returning it to New York in late 1952. It is believed to be Farina’s very last coachbuilding job. In fact, some believe that the car may actually have been finished by Bertone… The car was built for Ford dealer and racer Jimmy Mulgrew of Ohio but ended up in Alfred Momo’s showroom in New York in 1955. A string of owners followed until 1988, when the car needed restoration. That took, however, until 2005! The aluminium body was rebuilt by a German specialist. It’s a splendid car with some great tales attached to it. It’s no Ferrari, though, which results in a price estimate of exactly 10 times as little as the 342 America above: $225,000 - $300,000. Now. We know what we’d go for, how about you?

(Words Jeroen Booij, pictures RM Sotheby’s)

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