166MM/212 Export "Uovo", handmade Ferrari, constructed in 1952 will be auctioned at RM Sotheby's in Monterey in USA next August and is estimated at 4,5 million dollars. Its coachbuilder, Giannino Marzotto, a descendant of a family of textile entrepreneurs, was very passionate about Ferrari and regular client of the house of Maranello. In fact he and his brothers Paolo and Vittorio purchased a lot of cars. The following year, after winning Mille Miglia with Ferrari 195 S, with the big wish to create something more aerodynamic, he finally decided to build his personal racing model of Ferrari. Consequently 23 years old Giannino turned to the machine designer, Franco Reggiani, who designed the car for him so that it was possible for the car to race on the roads with the high wind resistance. The next step was bringing this project to coachbuilder Paolo Fontana (co-pilot of Vittorio Marzotto who won third place with 195 S during the Mille Miglia) who installed on 166 Mille Miglia an aluminium bodywork to reduce the weight . Ferrari engineer Gioacchino Colombo was able to mount an engine V12 2.6 on the 212 Export. The result was amazing, since the car had 150 horsepower, that later became 180, and Giannino Marzotto was very near to win two consecutive years the Mille Miglia, but he fell short because of a technical problem that caused his retirement from the race. Soon he won Toscana race, where Uovo reached the maximum speed at that time of 230 km/h.
"Other cars were maybe uglier but they were lighter and faster compared with other Ferraris" - commented Giannino Marzotto referring to another Ferrari made by Reggiani and Fontana, so-called "Carretto Siciliano" with which he was able to win second place in a race in Sicily in 1951.
In short Uovo can be considered as "time machine", the symbol of the golden era of Italian racing.
After the last race in Tuscany the car appeared only once at Mille Miglia Storica. Now kept in the Ferrari museum, the car will be put up for auction on August at Sotheby's in Monterey.