Ford GT40 Prototype Headlines Villa d'Este Auction

CERNOBBIO, Italy — The inaugural RM Auctions Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este sale on May 21 will showcase a variety of prewar classics, a handful of vintage Ferraris and a rare Ford GT40 Works prototype roadster.

The 1965 Ford GT40 is one of just five prototype roadsters built by Ford Advanced Vehicle Operations in the U.K. Painted Linden Green, the car was a works entrant in the 1965 Targa Florio, co-piloted by Sir John Whitmore and Bob Bondurant. Its pre-sale estimate is $3.6 million to $4.3 million.

Another headliner is a 1953 Ferrari 250 MM Berlinetta, one of only 17 bodied by Pininfarina. The car was built for Mexican collector Efrain Ruiz Echeverria, who drove it as a privateer in the 1953 Carrera Panamericana. Its pre-sale estimate is $3.9 million to $4.8 million.

Among the other highlights are a 1955 Ferrari 375 MM Berlinetta by Pininfarina, one of only 10 (pre-sale estimate: $4.8 million to $6.2 million); a 1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Atalante Coupe, one of only 17 and once owned by William Harrah ($4.8 million to $6.3 million); a 1938 Talbot-Lago T-150C SS Teardrop Coupe by Figoni et Falaschi, one of only 11 "New York" models and once owned by the Belgian royal family ($4.6 million to $5.6 million); and a 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Cabriolet A by Factory Sindelfingen, built for the Maharajah of Indore ($1.9 million to $2.7 million).

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