FIAT 1400 KIT ABARTH WITH IMPORTANT PALMARES AT THE AUCTION “1000 FINARTE” Tuned by Gino De Sanctis with the dedicated Abarth kit. 29 documented races, with the owner and gentleman driver Ottorino Monaco at the wheel, including 3 Mille Miglia. First Fiat 1400 at the 1951 Mille Miglia. In 11 races the car led Monaco to be Italian Champion in class for 1952. From 1955, it passed in the hands of the journalist Eraldo Sculati, director of Autorama and Italian Auto, but famed above all as the Sporting Director of the Scuderia Ferrari in the two-year period 1956-1957, winning the world title with Fangio in 1956. FIAT 1400, chassis no. 015781 will be auctioned on May 14 at the Mille Miglia Museum with an estimate of 300.000,00 / 350.000,00 euro. The FIAT 1400, Chassis n. 015781, was sold by the Concessionaria S.V.A. of Rome on 5 January 1951 to Dr Ottorino Monaco and registered with Roma 143245 plate. Monaco was a dentist in Rome with a clientele of famous show business individuals. He was the brother of Eitel, a lawyer and renowned film producer. Ottorino Monaco was also Vice President of ACI Roma and later elected Member of Parliament. He was very close to Eng. Giovanni Canestrini, famous journalist and one of the creators and organisers of the Mille Miglia. Together they contributed to the construction of the Vallelunga Autodrome. Fond of motorsports, in 1950 Mr Monaco bought this Fiat 1400 setting it up for competitions with the intervention of the well-known tuner Gino De Sanctis who, in his workshop, elaborated it with the specific Abarth kit, adding unique parts and refining everything with its "secrets". In 1951, the car participated in ten competitions. It was the first ever 1400 to cross the Mille Miglia finish line. We recall, among other results, the debut with a 26th place overall at the Rallye del Sestriere. In 1952, the car took part in eleven races, it won the class at the Mille Miglia and earned the title of Italian Champion at the end of the year. In 1953, it ran again with excellent results in eight competitions including the Mille Miglia, but it had to interrupt the race due to the breaking of the differential. In that year, the car obtained the 3rd place in the Italian Championship, International Tourism Class, class 1500 cc. In 1953, a changing of the CSAI regulations put the Fiat 1400 into a more powerful car class, making it virtually not competitive anymore. In 1955, the Fiat 1400 was sold to the Eng. Eraldo Sculati, a known journalist and Sporting Director of the Scuderia Ferrari between 1956 and 1957. He used the Fiat 1400 as a commuter between Rome and Maranello. Sculati won the Ferrari world title with Fangio in 1956 and later on he founded and directed the magazines Autorama and then Auto Italiana. In January 1957 the car was sold in Modena to Francesco Aldini, owner of the rental company used by Scuderia Ferrari to take the pilots to the races and it received a new MO 41946 plate. In December 1960, it was withdrawn from active service. After Mr Aldini’s death, in 1982 the car was sold by the family to Francesco Tirtino in Foggia, where it was found in 2013. Today the car is still regularly registered with the MO 41946 plate, received the ASI Targa Oro, has Fiche CSAI and FIVA certificate. Optimally preserved, its engine has recently undergone a complete restoration. Thanks also to the Monaco family, to Mr Sculati’s widow, to the excellent archive work, and the abundant historical documentation and to the numerous original photographs it was possible to retrace the complete history of this car. Rare original features: the original Condor S5 car radio, a second spare wheel fixed in the trunk with leather straps, the Use, Maintenance and Spare Parts manuals, a briefcase with the name of Monaco, funnel and dipstick for the petrol measurement, the original roll of tools with the initials of Ottorino Monaco. Several are the testimonies of its races: a metal plate of the 1951 Mille Miglia, the trophy won at the 1952 Coppa della Consuma, a plaque of the 1952 Circuito di Roma, the stamping of the 1953 Tour of Sicily, as well as a relevant photographic and documentary evidence of its sporting period. The current livery of the Fiat 1400 is the one of the 1952 Mille Miglia, as well represented by a widespread 1/43 scale model of the Mille Miglia Collection. In 2016, 65 years after its first participation, the car took part in the historical Mille Miglia re-enactment, ending the race 65th overall. “A simple and charming car. The FIAT 1400 has been handed over to history as a quiet car for the family, but in this case, it shows a racing and winning character, thanks to the care of the legendary Italian engine wizards. A car with an important past and still capable of great results, to be achieved in jacket and tie, as back in the days.” said Sandro Binelli, Head of Finarte’s Automotive Department and founder of Automotive Masterpieces. The Fiat 1400 is counted among the AUTOMOTIVE MASTERPIECES, and you can visit the dedicated website at http://www.automotivemasterpieces.com/1950fiat1400sn015781.html Contacts Automotive Department, automotive@finarte.it, T +390236569100 Sandro Binelli – Department’s Head, sandro.binelli@automotivemasterpieces.com, M +393396331682