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Tazio Nuvolari’s last car up for sale...

Author Topic: Tazio Nuvolari’s last car up for sale...  (Read 7423 times)

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Tazio Nuvolari’s last car up for sale...
« on: September 28, 2013, 10:57:13 AM »

Quote
Tazio Nuvolari’s prewar racing exploits are the stuff of legend, and Ferdinand Porsche himself once remarked that the Italian was “the greatest driver of the past, the present and the future.” Following the conclusion of the Second World War, Nuvolari, then in his mid-50s, returned to compete in the occasional race, but he was no longer the dominant force he’d been in his youth. His final race, behind the wheel of a 1950 Cisitalia Abarth 204 A Spyder Sport, saw him finish first in class at the 1950 Palermo-Montepellegrino Hillclimb. Now, for the first time since 1978, Nuvolari’s last race car will be offered for sale at auction.

Already significant as the final chapter for Cisitalia and the beginning chapter for Abarth, the 204 A Spyder Sport is an important piece of racing history. Chassis 04, fitted with 1.1-liter engine 014-1090, is well-documented as the car Nuvolari drove in his final race, and has been in the possession of an Argentinean collector for 35 years. Restored in 2010, the car comes complete with the same footrest used by Nuvolari at the Montepellegrino Hillclimb, as well as the original cork-wrapped steering wheel, the latter no longer fitted to the car to preserve its condition. In 2012, the car was awarded the Premio Speciale FIVA (for the most historically significant car) at the Mille Miglia, and was later displayed at the prestigious Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este.

Chassis 04 was built by Cisitalia in 1948, then modified by Abarth in April of 1949 (at which time it was also given an Abarth chassis number, 08) and titled as a 1950 Abarth. Upgraded with twin Weber carburetors, the single-cam engine was said to make as much as 80 horsepower, more than enough to make the tube-frame racer competitive in its class. Part of the Squadra Carlo Abarth team, the 204 A Spyder Sport was first raced at the 1950 Giro di Sicilia/Targa Florio, where Nuvolari retired early in the race with a broken gearbox. Its next outing was the Palermo-Montepellegrino Hillclimb, where Nuvolari drove to an in-class victory (and fifth overall) in his final race. Though he never officially retired, Nuvolari never again drove competitively and died of a stroke in 1953

http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2013/09/26/tazio-nuvolaris-last-racer-a-1948-cisitalia-abarth-204-a-spyder-sport-heads-to-auction/

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