In 1956, Ferrari responded to the FIA’s new GT Class championship by creating a dual-purpose road-racing model based on the 250 GT. With a competitiontuned, three-liter V-12, and lightweight aluminum coachwork by Carrozzeria Scaglietti, the resulting 250 GT Berlinetta was a potent force in sports car racing through the late 1950s.

The new Ferrari was particularly dominant in the grueling, multistage Tour de France, which it won for four consecutive years beginning in 1956. Appropriately nicknamed the Tour de France (TdF), approximately 78 examples of these 250 GT competition Berlinettas were built in four distinct body styles: no-louver, 14-louver, three-louver, and single-louver, each with corresponding mechanical updates designed to improve performance and durability.

Over the past six decades, the Tour de France has become one of the most sought-after and collectible of all classic Ferraris. Combining thoroughbred engineering and magnificent styling with an accomplished competition record, the TdF left an enduring influence, paving the way for competition Berlinettas such as the 250 GT SWB, 250 GTO, and 275 GTB/C.

The 250 GT Tour de France presented here, chassis 0893 GT, is the last of just 17 examples built in Scaglietti’s attractive three-louver body style. Built between mid-1957 and early 1958, the three-louver TdF Berlinettas all featured the elegant covered-headlight treatment so desired by today’s collectors. By contrast, 37 single-louver TdFs were produced through mid-1959, with several late-production examples completed in the less sought-after open-headlight arrangement.

Constructed in March 1958, 0893 GT was equipped with a full competitionspecification engine, 8 x 34 final drive ratio, Abarth exhaust, and Borrani wire wheels. Its Scaglietti bodywork, constructed from lightweight alloy panels, was finished in white with a red central stripe and matching red upholstery.

This Ferrari’s first owner was George Reed of Midlothian, Illinois. A name wellknown to many American sports car enthusiasts, George Reed was the founder of RRR (Reed’s Race Rats) Motors, a successful Goodyear tire distributor, and the official Ferrari agent for Illinois and Wisconsin.

Throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s, Reed was an active and accomplished competitor in sports car racing, regularly running at Le Mans and Sebring, and making numerous appearances at the Bahamas Speed Week and SCCA events across the Midwest. Throughout this period, Reed always campaigned top-tier machinery, both foreign and domestic. He owned and drove various sports and GT Ferraris, as well as Porsche Speedsters, Shelby Cobras, and Corvettes.

Reed debuted his new Tour de France Berlinetta at the 12 Hours of Sebring, an FIA-sanctioned event and the most important American road race on the calendar. Entered under Luigi Chinetti’s North American Racing Team (NART) banner, 0893 GT wore race no. 21 and its driver lineup included Reed, George Arents, and Donald O’Dell. In a race won by Scuderia Ferrari’s 250 Testa Rossa, 0893 GT finished 7th Overall and 2nd in Class behind another NART-entered Tour de France.

Following his successful debut at Sebring, George Reed traversed the US during the summer months of 1958, campaigning 0893 GT in SCCA meets at leading venues like VIR, Road America, Lime Rock, Thompson, and Watkins Glen. Usually wearing race no. 96, or a variant thereof, the Tour de France dominated the competition, capturing several outright and class wins, and ultimately earning Reed the SCCA C-Production National Championship.

In fall 1958, Reed purchased a new, white, single-louver Tour de France (chassis 1127 GT), and advertised 0893 GT for sale in Sports Car and Road & Track magazines, asking $7,500.

In 1959, the TdF was sold to Bill Kimberly, heir to the Kimberly-Clark fortune and nephew of noted Ferrari racer Jim Kimberly. Early in his ownership, Kimberly sent the car to Pabst Motors in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for an engine rebuild and a repaint in Dark Garnet Red Metallic, a contemporary GMC color. The TdF then made a few appearances at Road America before being sold to Ed Weschler in 1963.

A well-known sports car enthusiast and collector, Weschler had Bob Birmingham race the Ferrari at Road America in 1963 and kept it until late 1966 or early 1967, when he sold it to Erwin “Ike” Uihlein Jr., of Milwaukee’s Schlitz brewing family. Ike, then just 20 years old, was not supposed to own a car like a competition Ferrari. Soon after purchasing the TdF, his father confiscated it and reportedly donated it to the Brooks Stevens Automotive Museum in nearby Mequon, Wisconsin.

The TdF remained a featured display in this well-known museum until 1980, when the car was sold to Brian Brunkhorst, the respected Wisconsin-based collector. Mr. Brunkhorst owned the Ferrari for less than a year, trading it to Allan Woodall of Georgia in part-exchange for a 250 GTO. Woodall then advertised 0893 GT for sale in Ferrari Market Letter describing it, compellingly, as: “Probably the most original TDF in existence. 1958 body style with covered headlights. In a museum for fourteen years! First time publicly offered for sale. Original interior, runs beautifully.”

Ferrari collector Harold Javetz bought the TdF in 1982. It then passed through Joe Marchetti in Chicago and Grand Prix SSR on Long Island, New York, before being acquired by Tony Wang in 1985. Chassis 0893 GT remained a fixture in Mr. Wang’s exceptional private collection until 2011, when it was sold to the current owner.

In 2013, the consignor oversaw a cosmetic and mechanical restoration, carried out in a sympathetic manner to retain much of the TdF’s unusually authentic character. During this process, the mechanicals were rebuilt and restored by the owner’s in-house staff. The original Scaglietti bodywork was repainted by McCabe Automotive Restoration of Mundelein, Illinois, in its original 1958 livery. Since the restoration was completed in 2015, the Tour de France has enjoyed regular exercise and maintenance, but has yet to be shown, rallied, or raced.

Today, 0893 GT ranks among the finest examples of the iconic three-louver Tour de France Berlinetta. Unlike most, this car has survived with an unusual degree of originality, thanks to its brief racing career and many decades in the care of knowledgeable collectors. According to copies of the Ferrari build sheets, this TdF retains its original, matching-numbers engine (internal no. 0156 C), gearbox (internal no. 56 C), and rear differential (internal no. 176 GTC). Furthermore, it is known as a highly regarded, well-documented car, recognized among Ferrari historians. Its known history is supported by an extensive documentation file, which includes a copy of the factory-issued certificate of origin, numerous period photographs, race reports, ownership records, research notes, service and restoration invoices, as well as Marcel Massini’s history report.

Delivered new to George Reed, this magnificent Ferrari captured a Top 10 finish at Sebring and went on to become the SCCA National C-Production champion during its first and only year of serious competition. Discovered early on by wealthy, well-connected collectors, the likes of Kimberly, Uihlein, and Weschler, it then spent over a decade in the famous Brooks Stevens Automotive Museum, preserving it in fine, original condition. Since 1985, the last time it was offered for public sale, 0893 GT has had just two owners, gentlemen who are regarded among the leading Ferrari collectors in North America.

Gooding & Company is proud to present this exceptional Tour de France and recommends it to any collector with an interest in acquiring one of the all-time great competition Ferraris.

*Please note that this vehicle is titled 1957 and as 0893.