Friday's Ferrari

I took this photograph in the area set aside for members of the Ferrari Owners Club at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1995.

Originally a 1947 Ferrari 125 Spyder #01C it competed in various races, including the 1947 Mille Miglia in the hands of Franco Cortese and was also driven at Livorno by Tazio Nuvolari. Following an accident in practice at Modena when being driven by Fernandino Righetti it was rebuilt as a 166 Spyder Corsa and renumbered as #010I. On 6 July 2012 I showed an almost identical photograph of this car that I'd taken earlier at the meeting, at which time I'd not been able to confirm if it was an original car or a replica.

Friday's Ferrari

This is a car seen at the Christie's International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1992 in the Ferrari Owners Club area.

There's nothing in the programme about the car, but I understood at the time that it was a replica of the 1947 Ferrari 125S which was the first car ever to bear the Ferrari name. I've found an article on a website called 'conceptcarz.com', however, which has the following to say about this car:

'This is the first Ferrari ever built. Proving that they were 'in business,' Enzo Ferrari held a debut on March 12, 1947. Then, Ferrari demonstrated the car, much to the acclaim of the automotive press, as a rolling chassis. On May 25, 1947, this car had become a lovely roadster, looking as it does now. It was driven into the beginning of history by Franco Cortese, to win Ferrari's first race at the Grand Prix of Rome. It went on to a continued successful 1947 racing season. The car was renumbered from 01C to 0101 for 1948, receiving an engine upgrade to 166 and a lighter Corsa body suitable for many types of racing. It could be run with or without fenders and its separate headlights. With that body, this car continued to win races in 1950. (Not to lose any history, the second body had been preserved on a rolling buck.) Now, this car is restored to its original 1947 appearance - done by Italian craftsmen who do special projects for the Ferrari factory.'