Legendary playboy de Portago's Ferrari F1 car goes up for sale

F1

An ultra-rare Ferrari 625, owned by legendary playboy racer Alfonso de Portago and renowned Belgian collector Jacques Swaters, is going up for auction

Ferrari 625 chassis 0540

Ferrari 625 chassis 0540 was a customer F2 car before being converted to F1 rules

RM Sotheby's

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An ultra-rare Ferrari F1 car from grand prix racing’s ‘Golden Age’, formerly owned by legendary playboy Alfonso de Portago, is set to go for up auction.

Ferrari 625 chassis 0540, a car that has had a more varied competition life than most, will be offered for sale with an estimated price of $3-4million (£2.5-3.3m) by RM Sotheby’s at the end of this month.

The Ferrari 625, which was a revamped version of the Ferrari 500 F2, one of the Scuderia’s most successful ever competition cars, being taken to two dominant drivers’ titles by Alberto Ascari in ’52 and ’53. The 500 became the 625 to comply with the new world championship F1 rules and 2.5-litre engine formula in 1954.

Though the 625 was ultimately not a match for the all-conquering Mercedes W156 or the none-more-pliable Maserati 250F, it did still win two championship races, courtesy of José Froilán González at the ’54 British GP and Maurice Trintignant at Monaco the year after.

Original Caption) The Marquis de Portago of Spain sits in his three liter Ferrari after winning the 30 lap, 105 mile auto race at Windsor Field Course. The following day the Marquis placed second in the 210 mile Nassau Trophy Race, while America's Matsen Gregory of St. Louis, Mo., won; and the Baron Huschke von Hanstein of Germany came in third.

The car was sold to de Portago in ’55

Bettman / Getty Images

Six factory 500 F2 cars cars were produced in 1952, followed by five customer cars midway through the same year. Chassis 0208F was one of the latter, before it took on the name of 0540 after its F1 conversion in ’54.

It was first purchased in ’52 by renowned Belgian Ferrari importer and privateer racer Jacques Swaters for use with the Ecurie Francorchamps team.

Swaters won the 1953 AVUS GP with it, whilst Roger Laurent piloted the car to runner-up finishes at the 1953 Helsinki GP and the 1953 Grand Prix Frontiers.

From the archive

After its conversion to F1 rules, the Belgian team traded the car back to Ferrari for a 750 Monza, after which it was the purchased by de Portago in early ’55.

The Spaniard aristocrat, who is depicted in the famous ‘Kiss of Death’ photograph taken at the ’57 Mille Miglia not long before his death, campaigned 0540 in 1955 at the Valentino GP, Bordeaux GP, Pau GP and BRDC Trophy at Silverstone.

He only finished in Pau, suffering mechanical breakdowns in the other two and crashing in practice for the latter, breaking his leg. From there the car was sold to renowned British engineer Donald Healey, before it was taken on by Ian Sievewright and driven in anger at the 1964 Shelsley Walsh Hillclimb.

It then passed through the hands of a number of private owners, being driven at the Nürburgring by Trintignant – who is rumoured to have used this chassis to win in Monaco ’55 – and demonstrated at Goodwood before restored in the early 2000s.

This unique piece of racing history will be going to auction at RM Sotheby’s Monterey Auction held on August 20. You can view the lot and enquire here.

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