1955 Ferrari 121 LM Spyder by Scaglietti

This car, Lot 140, sold for $5,720,000, including buyer’s premium, at RM Sotheby’s auction in Monterey, CA, on August 18, 2017.

“It was a topsy-turvy weekend in more than one respect, June 23–24, 1956, at Road America. Carroll Shelby had taken an unreliable, virtually undrivable car and set such a blistering pace that three Cunningham D-type Jaguars rolled trying to catch him.”

So opens Carl Goodwin’s analysis of Ferrari’s 121 LM in Issue 96 of Cavallino magazine.

The 121 LM was one of a dizzying array of racers produced in an era when Ferrari was experimenting with displacement, cylinder numbers, cylinder configuration and general engine design.

The consensus among Ferrari historians is that only four 121 LMs were produced. Remarkably, all four survived the era.

The engine is modeled after the 4-cylinder 750 Monza with two additional cylinders.

Like most Ferraris, the 121 LM is named after its engine, which is a Lampredi-designed straight six. However, rather than following the tradition of naming the model after its engine displacement, the 121 LM’s designation comes from Ferrari’s engine type number — Type 121. The Type 121 displaced 735 cc per cylinder, giving it a roughly 4.4-liter displacement.

The 121’s displacement dwarfed the contemporary Jaguar D-type engines, which ranged from 3.0 to 3.8 liters. It also outclassed the Mercedes-Benz 300SL’s 3-liter engine. Big displacement produces big power, and the 121’s 360 hp was so superior to the competition’s 260 hp to 300 hp, there was no chance they could keep up with the Ferraris on the straights.

Too much power?

Superior power doesn’t always lead to victory, and the 121 LM is a poster child for the cause. Only the very best drivers could tame a 121 LM, and even if they could, a slew of issues often kept the car from finishing a race.

SCM’s race car guru Thor Thorson wrote, “Though beautiful, the 6-cylinder, 121 LMs were overpowered, under-braked, evil-handling, notoriously unreliable, and historically unsuccessful.”

If there is such a thing as having too much power, the 121 LM might well be that car.

The keys to an important Ferrari

Identifying an important automobile involves many factors. When it comes to a Ferrari, a few factors stand out.

Prior to building chassis number 75,000, Ferrari assigned production models with odd chassis numbers, reserving even number for their race cars.

Not all even-number chassis ended up being race cars, but all even-number Ferraris are significant. Our subject car, chassis 0546LM, is an even-number Ferrari.

Racing history is the holy grail of Ferrari value. Where the car raced, who drove it, whether it won and whether it was wrecked can add huge value to a Ferrari.

Chassis 0546’s racing portfolio is slim, but it includes the Mille Miglia and Le Mans, so it passes the audition.

A mad scientist’s engine

Engineers Gioacchino Colombo and Aurelio Lampredi designed engines for Ferrari’s racing efforts. Colombo’s designs mostly followed a progression of his excellent original design.

Lampredi was the mad scientist.

Lampredi built engines in several different cylinder numbers and in straight- and V-configuration. He tried novel internal construction, but most of all, he liked displacement.

Lampredi engines are bucking broncos of horsepower, torque and mass. The combination challenges the chassis — and a driver’s ability to control it.

There are relativity few Lampredi-powered Ferraris, and they all hold a special place in the Ferrari kingdom. They are rough and tough and difficult to fix — but oh, what a ride. Chassis 0546LM is powered with a Lampredi engine.

Quite a history

RM Sotheby’s Ferrari 121 LM chassis 0546LM is a well-known car.

It ran at the 1955 Mille Miglia and the 1955 Le Mans, but it failed to finish both races.

After Le Mans, it was sold to a Californian who put Southern California racing legend Ernie McAfee at the wheel. The combination dominated the California amateur circuit — until it didn’t.

In the 1956 Pebble Beach Del Monte Trophy Race, McAfee ran off the road and into a tree in this car. The accident killed McAfee and ended sports car racing through Pebble Beach’s Del Monte Forest.

The owner eventually rebuilt chassis 0546LM, but it would be nearly two decades before the 121 LM returned to the track.

Chassis 0546LM was a regular at the Monterey Historics from 1974 to 1995, and it showed up one more time at a 1999 Ferrari Historic race before disappearing until this auction.

It reportedly has been in the collection of a secretive and wealthy man from Asia who has a large collection spread around the world.

A couple of warts held back bidding

This car sold for $5,720,000 against a $6,500,000 to $7,500,000 estimate. That may look a bit light, but it makes sense.

The estimate was correct for a 100% 121 LM, but chassis 0546LM had a couple of warts. It was built as a 118 LM and converted to a 121 LM. This shouldn’t hurt the car, but multi-million-dollar buyers are picky, and the conversion possibly cooled the bidding some.

The car’s competition record was a little thin, with no big results, so it didn’t add to the bid. None of the car’s pilots were seriously big league, so that didn’t help either.

There’s no disputing the authenticity of the car, but during the rebuild after the fatal shunt, the chassis number somehow disappeared. That may have been repaired, but registering and international shipping of a car without a chassis number can be a nightmare.

Chassis 0546LM is an important car that brought big money. The seller had reason to expect a bit more money but should be happy with the sale price.

The buyer got a slice of Ferrari history and a ticket to any event anywhere. Chassis 0546LM was one of the stars of the weekend, and it lived up to its billing. ♦

(Introductory description courtesy of RM Sotheby’s.)