This photograph was taken in the Piazza Vittoria in Brescia during the pre-race checks before the Mille Miglia which would start late that evening April 22, 1950. At the wheel of this works Ferrari is future world champion Albert Ascari with his navigator Senesio Nicolini. This barchetta was a very special car and was called a 275 Sport to indicate its 3.3 liter motor, probably quite similar to a motor to be used by Ascari in an 275 F1 at the Grand des Nations in Geneva in July. Unfortunately their luck was not very good, being eliminated by mechanical failure after Pescara where they had been in fourth position and before an arrival in Rome.
Touring repaired the damaged bodywork and Ferrari uprated the car by installing a 4.1 liter motor. It was then sold to the Marzotto family, great customers of Ferrari and successful “gentleman drivers.” After an appearance at the Paris Auto Show, the same car was entered for the 1951 Mille Miglia, then in he hands of Vittorio Marzotto driving with Otello Marchetto. Once again this barchetta failed to finish, retiring after Ravenna.
After various Italian hillclimbs the barchetta was rebodied by Fontana as a spyder and was again 
entered in the Mille Miglia for 1952 where it appeared as on the left. By this tine it was no longer as close to Ferrari and was entered by the Marzotto family for Gianfranco Comotti with Oreste Ronchi. Once again it retired after the Ravenna control. Then put into the hands of Piero Carini it appeared at the 1952 Monaco Grand Prix which that year was run for sports cars where it again retired.
There followed a series of Italian races with Giannino Marzotto, Giovanni Bracco and Carini sharing the duties behind the wheel.
The last race that year, seen at the left, was the Bari Grand Prix for sports cars which was run on a street circuit in that city where Bracco was again the driver but retired.
The barchetta was sold again and entered for the 1954 Mille Miglia but never took the start. It was then rebodied by Scaglietti in a body style similar to that of the Ferrari 750 Sports built in late 1954.
Photos by Corrado Millanta ©The Klemantaski Collection – http://www.klemcoll.com.
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