Lot 342: Ferrari Superfast Series 1

This is chassis number 5983 SF which was completed on December 9, 1964 after residing in Pininfarina's body shop (Job no. 99584) for upwards of eight months. While in the Pininfarina factory, the bodywork was outfitted with the very best leather upholstery and appointments. The original color scheme was Rosso 19948A while the upholstery was natural 3309. Being the 5th Superfast built, it was shown at the Brussels Motor Show at the beginning of 1965.It was shortly thereafter where 5983 SF was delivered via legendary US Ferrari Importer Luigi Chinetti to its first owner Mr. Gregg of Jacksonville, Florida, the owner of Brumos Porsche. It wasn't long before word got to Mr. Reynolds "Chip" duPont, Jr. of Wilmington, Delaware that this car was available. Mr. duPont immediately journeyed to Florida for an inspection and test drive. While driving with Mr. Gregg, he was encouraged to "see what the car could do". After hitting 130MPH on a portion of Interstate 95, Mr. duPont drove the Superfast some 800 miles back to Wilmington. It was here in the rolling hills of northern Delaware where Mr. duPont's Ferrari would later be joined with two more Superfasts owned by his first cousins Richard E. "Jerry" Riegel, Jr. and John E. "Sandy" Riegel. The three Superfasts enjoyed nearly legendary status as they roared to and from various engagements. It was recently recounted that the three Superfasts, joined by a young local artist by the name of Jamie Wyeth (son Andrew Wyeth) driving a Cobra raced down the Kennett Pike through downtown Greenville. While this must have been a sight in its own right in the mid-1960's this is nearly unimaginable today. With only 36 of these lovely and extremely powerful road touring cars produced the gravity of the gathering probably wasn't truly appreciated until well after the fact.It is reported that after Mr. duPont's ownership the car was sold locally to Arthur Carota in the early 1980's for $28,000. It remained with Mr. Carota where it the engine received significant work and subsequent maintenance. At which point, the car was traded for a new 1988 Ferrari Testarossa. It was then 5983 SF was owned briefly by Mark Smith a noted collector car dealer in the mid-Atlantic US who eventually sold the car to Hans Duerst of Davos, Switzerland in 1989. By 1997 having covered only 24,000km and received partial restoration work by Mr. Duerst, 5983 SF was sold Andreas Ove Ugland who displayed the car in Norwegian museum. Purchased by the current gentleman owner in 2004 this Superfast has been well kept in his impressive collection for the past several years.Fast, luxurious, well-appointed and ultra scarce, Ferrari's Superfasts were the very pinnacle of a true wealthy Gentleman's Grand Touring car in the sixties. They would see well over 160 mph, given a long enough straight, and cruise easily at three figure speeds on any freeway, besides being an object of admiration wherever they appeared. The Superfast is a much sought-after vehicle, one of Ferrari's greatest V12 cars of all time and should be closely examined.