Legacy Metrics

1956 Ferrari 500 TR Spider

0610 MDTRracingItaly
Engine
Four-cylinder, high-revving configuration

Ferrari 500 TR chassis 0610 MD-TR is the third of only 17 examples produced and an ancestor of the celebrated Testa Rossa lineage. Delivered new in March 1956 to Sicilian nobleman Prince Gaetano Starrabba di Giardinelli, it competed in at least ten races in its first year. Passing through Swedish and French ownership over subsequent decades, the car participated in numerous historic events before an Italian collector ran it regularly in Shell Historic Ferrari Challenges. It remains in well-preserved, climate-controlled custody.

Ownership

  1. Auction sale
    Sold €3,717,500 (≈ $4.09M)

    RM Sotheby's catalogue lot →

  2. 1956-03-01 → 1957Factory delivery
    Prince Gaetano Starrabba di Giardinelli
    full documentation

    Italian nobleman and amateur racer who took delivery new and actively campaigned the car in at least ten events during his single year of ownership.

  3. 1957 → 1959Private sale
    Tore Bjurström
    partial documentation

    Swedish importer who purchased the car after factory updates and loaned it to various local drivers for competition over approximately two years.

  4. 1959 → 1962Private sale
    Holger Norrman
    partial documentation

    Swedish owner who continued to race the car in local events before storing it long-term at a Stockholm garage around 1962.

  5. 1970 → 1974Private sale
    Marc Nicolosi
    partial documentation

    Co-founder of the Rétromobile show who refurbished the mechanical components and began campaigning the car at vintage events.

  6. 1974 → 1978Private sale
    French collector (second French owner)
    partial documentation

    Unnamed France-based owner who held the car briefly before selling it on to Maurice Sauzay.

  7. 1978 → 1989Private sale
    Maurice Sauzay
    partial documentation

    Noted French collector who regularly entered the car in prominent historic motorsport events over roughly eleven years of ownership.

  8. 1989 → 1994Private sale
    France-based collector (final French caretaker)
    partial documentation

    Unnamed owner based in France who held the car for approximately five years before selling it to an Italian buyer.

  9. 1994 → 2011Private sale
    Italian collector
    partial documentation

    Retained ownership for seventeen years and regularly took part in Shell Historic Ferrari Challenge rounds at various celebrated circuits across Europe.

  10. 2011 →Private sale
    Current consignor
    partial documentation

    Has used the car sparingly and stored it in a climate-controlled environment, keeping it in maintained condition.

  11. Date unknownAcquisition unknown
    Carl-Johan Askolin's scuderia
    partial documentation

    The car was leased to Askolin's team during the Bjurström period; a practice accident in May 1958 caused significant bodywork damage requiring extensive replacement.

  12. Date unknownAcquisition unknown
    Swedish owner, identity unknown (first of at least two post-Norrman)
    none documentation

    One of at least two unidentified Swedish owners through whom the car passed between approximately 1962 and 1970.

Competition

  1. 1956
    Grand Prix Supercortemaggiore
    1st overall

    Described as the model's first significant international victory, held at Monza; specific driver not identified in the prose.

  2. 1956
    Giro di Sicilia
    Driver: Prince Gaetano Starrabba di Giardinelli3rd overall

    One of ten races entered by Starrabba during his single year of ownership.

  3. 1956
    Circuito di Sassari
    Driver: Prince Gaetano Starrabba di Giardinelli3rd overall

    Another of the ten races entered by Starrabba during his ownership period.

  4. 1956
    Circuito di Caserta
    Driver: Prince Gaetano Starrabba di Giardinelli2nd overall

    One of at least ten races entered by Starrabba in 1956.

  5. 1957-05-01
    Eläintarhanajo
    1st in class

    Entered by one of Bjurström's loaned privateers; specific driver not named.

  6. 1957-07-01
    Midnight Sun race
    1st in class

    Contested approximately two months after the Eläintarhanajo, again by an unnamed privateer under Bjurström's arrangement.

  7. 1958-05-01
    Helsinki Grand Prix (practice)
    DNF — practice accident

    Significant collision during qualifying while the car was in the hands of Askolin's team; extensive bodywork replacement followed, including a new aluminium nose modelled on the 500 TRC.

  8. Mille Miglia Storica
    Driver: Maurice Sauzay

    One of several historic events regularly attended by Sauzay during his ownership from 1978 to 1989.

  9. Targa Florio Storica
    Driver: Maurice Sauzay

    Entered regularly by Sauzay alongside other vintage events during his tenure.

  10. Monaco Historic Grand Prix
    Driver: Maurice Sauzay

    Among the prominent historic events regularly contested by Sauzay between 1978 and 1989.

  11. Shell Historic Ferrari Challenge
    Shell Historic Ferrari Challenge — Spa-Francorchamps

    One of multiple venues at which the Italian owner competed between 1994 and 2011.

  12. Shell Historic Ferrari Challenge
    Shell Historic Ferrari Challenge — Le Mans

    Attended during the Italian collector's seventeen-year ownership period.

  13. Shell Historic Ferrari Challenge
    Shell Historic Ferrari Challenge — Mugello

    Attended during the Italian collector's seventeen-year ownership period.

  14. Shell Historic Ferrari Challenge
    Shell Historic Ferrari Challenge — Nürburgring

    Attended during the Italian collector's seventeen-year ownership period.

  15. Shell Historic Ferrari Challenge
    Shell Historic Ferrari Challenge — Pau

    Attended during the Italian collector's seventeen-year ownership period.

Maintenance & restoration

  1. 1957Modification
    Ferrari factory

    Returned to the Ferrari factory and updated to comply with revised Appendix C regulations; changes included a broader windscreen and installation of anchor points for a cover over the passenger area.

  2. 1958
    Bodywork

    Substantial coachwork replacement following accident damage sustained during Helsinki Grand Prix practice; a new aluminium nose styled after the later 500 TRC was fabricated by a Finnish craftsman working under the guidance of Ferrari factory mechanic Aldo Bertani.

    Work supervised by factory mechanic Aldo Bertani.

  3. 1970
    Mechanical

    General overhaul of mechanical components carried out after Marc Nicolosi acquired the car to recommission it for vintage event use.

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Each chassis record is compiled from public auction archives and links to its source material. Ownership, competition and maintenance entries are extracted from those catalogue listings by an LLM, which can make mistakes — please contact us with any corrections. The summary is Legacy Metrics’ own writing; we do not reproduce catalogue text.

“Full” and “partial” documentation labels indicate how well each entry is corroborated in the underlying sources, not an audit of the car’s physical paperwork. Names of recent or living owners are withheld for privacy.