Rare Ferrari 550 GT1 Prodrive Offered at RM’s SHIFT/MONTEREY
The human drive for an advantage over their competitors is the most essential ingredient of any successful race team - and the advanced engineering group at U.K.-based Prodrive have proved themselves countless times in competition. Though their most well-known winning streak came with Colin McRae at the World Rally Championship, Prodrive has earned victories in nearly every racing format possible. Prodrive’s story began with a bang - company founders David Richards and Ian Parry were both part of the iconic Rothmans Porsche Rally Team. The pair quickly went on to win titles under their name at the British Touring Car Championship in the late 1980s, even taking over and turning around an unsuccessful Formula 1 team in the early 2000s, taking the British American Racing group from mid-pack to second place in the Constructor’s Championship in 2004. But for many, Prodrive made their most compelling competitive statement in endurance racing in 2001 with this Ferrari 550 GT1.
Already recognized as a highlight in the history of racing, the ten-year span of the FIA GT Championship from 1999 to 2009 featured some of the most recognizable supercars of the era, stripped of their luxury appointments and modified into single-purpose machines. Endurance racing has a way of making added mass all the more unnecessary, so Prodrive did away with this Ferrari’s power windows, stereo system, rear parcel shelf, and all sound deadening. To sculpt the air flowing around the car, carbon-fiber winglets were added to the front bumpers, and a massive rear wing was fitted. The 550’s signature V-12 powerplant was already considered a work of art; Prodrive merely let the legendary engine breathe by cutting louvers in the long hood. The extra effort paid off in podium finishes.
This race-ready example (Serial No: 108418/CRD02 • Chassis No: ZFFZR49B000108418) placed second in the FIA GT Championship in 2003 and won it outright the following year. It is one of a mere fourteen Ferrari race cars to win an international 24-hour endurance race overall and one of only twelve 550 Prodrive examples built. If victory itself is an art form, this motorsports icon is a masterpiece.
Images by Tim Scott ©2020 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s.
Largest Time-Based Online Only Auction To Date Will Feature 200 Highly Desirable Collectors Cars
RM | Online Only - SHIFT/MONTEREY 14 - 15 AUGUST 2020
Client Service: Azar Khosrowshahi azar@rmsothebys.com +1 310 559 4575
Administration: Allie Brydges abrydges@rmsothebys.com +1 519 437 3049
Auction Contact Info +1 310 559 4575 info@rmsothebys.com
RM Sotheby’s is thrilled to announce an online auction unlike any other, Online Only: SHIFT/Monterey, bringing its record-breaking, world-renowned Monterey sale to the auction house's proprietary Online Only platform.
Set for the original Monterey live auction week, Online Only: SHIFT/Monterey will present approximately 200 exceptional collector cars on rmsothebys.com—an offering of a caliber never before seen in an online sale. The online Monterey sale will build not only on RM Sotheby’s historic Monterey results, but also on the success of the company’s Online Only auctions over the last several months, including its recent shift of the Palm Beach auction to the virtual platform.
The new format is backed by the RM Sotheby’s experience, harnessing the expert team of car specialists, start-to-finish concierge level of service, transparent research, and global network reaching collectors in more than 75 countries for which RM Sotheby’s is known—all via a secure, proprietary online platform. Additional digital components and new media formats will be implemented leading up to the auction to enhance the bidder experience, while RM Sotheby’s will also further utilize its numerous, secure global locations to physically showcase consignments for limited preview ahead of the sale.
Early car highlights and additional details for Online Only: SHIFT / Monterey, including bidding terms of business, will be announced in the coming weeks. Interested consignors are invited to contact an RM Sotheby’s car specialist to discuss entering their important car.
