Buenos Aires, Argentina - At first glance this Ferrari 195 Inter doesn't look all that special; what makes it very special indeed is its history, since it has never been restored, or even substantially modified.
The 195 Inter was a 'stretched' version of the 166, Ferrari's first road car, with an 80mm longer wheelbase and its two-litre V12 engine bored out from 60mm to 65mm for a capacity of 2341cc. It had a single Weber 36DCF carburettor, and delivered 96kW to the rear wheels via a five-speed gearbox, giving it a top speed of 177km/h.
Just 27 195 chassis were built in late 1950 and early 1951 before it was replaced by the 2.6-litre 212. Twelve were bodied by Vignale, 11 by Ghia, three by Touring and just one by Motto; this one is thought to be the most original Vignale-bodied example in existence, although it has apparently been resprayed somewhere along the line.
The same car, photographed at Autoclasica at Buenos Aires in October 2016.
It was originally registered to its first owner, Italian actress Anna Magnani, in January 1951 with two-tone paint, which can be clearly seen in the studio portrait of her with the car on the set of the 1951 fantasy comedy La Carrosse d'Or (The Golden Coach). Magnani kept the Inter for six years, after which it had three owners in quick succession before being sold to the Harrah Museum in Reno, Nevada.
In 1995 it was bought by its current owner, Argentinian classic-car enthusiast Daniel Sielecki, who actually ran it in the 1996 Mille Miglia. Since then it has been carefully preserved in its original condition in Argentina, apart from occasional appearances in concours.
That's why it was the overall winner of the 2016 Autoclasica, the most prestigious classic and historic vehicle concours in South America, and was also recognised with a preservation award by the Federation International des Vehicules Anciens, a Unesco agency dedicated to the preservation of historic vehicles in as original a condition as possible.
It has also been invited to be part of an international celebration of World Motoring Heritage Year, which runs from 16-20 November in Paris.