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Pull out your cheque book: Fangio’s Ferrari could be yours

26 October, 2015

At Sotheby’s upcoming New York Driven by Disruption auction (December 10), a car that has been hailed as something of a Holy Grail for car collectors will be offered for sale — the 1956 Ferrari 290 MM (chassis #0626) once raced by none other than five-time F1 world champion Juan Manuel Fangio. Sotheby’s say that this Ferrari is undoubtedly one of the greatest, most original, and most valuable cars ever offered at public auction.

Specially built by the Ferrari factory for Fangio to drive in the 1956 Mille Miglia, Fangio raced in that 1000-mile event single-handedly, finishing an impressive fourth overall. Painted in a unique factory Argentinian colour scheme, the car featured a totally new 3.5-litre V12 engine, and was one of only four 290 MMs to be built.

Furthermore, it was one of the first Ferraris raced in Europe by Phil Hill, and also heralded the beginning of Wolfgang von Trips’ Ferrari-driving career. It was also piloted to victory in the 1957 Buenos Aires 1000km race by Eugenio Castellotti, Luigi Musso, and Masten Gregory. During its illustrious career, ‘0626’ was also campaigned by other legendary names including Alfonso de Portago, Peter Collins, Olivier Gendebien, and Joakim Bonnier.

The car arrived in the US in 1957, and continued to be raced up until 1964. Following the end of its racing career, 0626 remained in the US before being acquired by the Mas du Clos collection, where it remained for almost 34 years. Ferrari Classiche–certified, this car remains the best of all the four examples built, retaining its original chassis, matching-numbers engine, gearbox, and body. 

Driven by some of the greatest drivers of the 1950s, and built for possibly the greatest driver in history, this car’s originality, coupled with its extraordinary provenance and history, means that this Ferrari is one of the most desirable and valuable cars to ever come to the open market.

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Coaching from the bench: Casting plastic knobs and rubber parts

16 July, 2026

Casting rubber items is simple if you have a good original to work with. The item doesn’t have to be perfect. You can use plasticine to smooth out cracks, and you can even make whole prototypes out of low-fire modelling clay available from craft stores if you need to. Prototypes can also be made of wood or metal.
You will need mould dams to contain the liquid urethane moulding solution until it cures. You can build boxes out of strips of wood, but I have found that small plastic boxes and bowls such as those you would use for leftovers in your fridge work well if you spray them with a mould release agent.
Temperature is important to the chemical processes involved, so work in an area that can be maintained at around 20 degrees. You will also need adequate ventilation because the fumes can be dangerous to breathe. And you will want to wear latex gloves to protect your hands.

Fraser Cars – low flying into the fourth decade

10 July, 2026

With almost three and a half decades under its belt, Fraser Cars is one of New Zealand’s longest-surviving car manufacturers. The company first opened its doors for business in 1988, during the boom time for kit manufacturers. During the ’80s, around 40 different companies were building kits and turnkey cars for this niche market. Of those, only Fraser and Almac Cars (established 1981) are still in business today.
Most of the new kit car companies were killed off in the cradle by the threat of new legislation that never eventuated and definitively by the sudden availability of high-performance Japanese cars when the floodgates to second-hand imports were opened. The now long-retired founder of the company, Neil Fraser, first came across Lotus Seven replicas while racing Lotus Cortinas in the early ’80s. He regularly found himself racing against a little Caterham, a Lotus Seven–styled car built in England. He was very impressed by its simplicity and handling. In 1986 Fraser built his own Lotus Seven–type car, using the knowledge he had gained from several close looks at the Caterham.