Throughout the mid-1950s, the two-liter sports car category was an extremely competitive field in which Ferrari and Maserati battled for both race results and sales. The 500 Mondial, Ferrari’s first four-cylinder sports car, produced early successes. However, by 1955, even the upgraded Series II models were no match for Maserati’s brilliant A6GCS.

After hiring famed engineer Vittorio Jano from Lancia, Ferrari developed an improved four-cylinder sports car. Although the new two-liter engine shared the basic internal dimensions with its predecessor, the tipo 131 was designed to address several issues discovered in the Mondial and incorporated a revised cylinder head, strengthened bottom end, and improved connecting rods.

Likewise, the complicated transaxle and De Dion rear suspension were dropped in favor of an engine-mounted gearbox and a rear live axle. Front suspension was now by wishbones and coil springs, a major improvement from the earlier transverse leaf-spring arrangement. Significantly lower than the 500 Mondial, the updated chassis allowed Scaglietti and Touring to fashion more modern and aerodynamic designs.

The result, unveiled in April 1956, was the 500 TR. Notably, it was the first Ferrari to use the Testa Rossa moniker, a reference to the bright red crackle finish applied to the cam covers.

Unlike the 500 TRC, which was never run by Scuderia Ferrari, the factory campaigned the 500 TR throughout the 1956 season. Its strong results helped Ferrari capture the all-important Manufacturers’ Championship. Perhaps the new two-liter’s most significant outing took place at the 1000 Km Supercortemaggiore Grand Prix at Monza, where Scuderia Ferrari entered three works 500 TRs, which ran alongside 10 privately entered 500 TRs and 500 Mondials, with the hope of defeating an imposing field of two-liter Maseratis. It was a fine display for the new 500 TRs – the Scuderia Ferrari drivers finished 1st, 3rd, and 4th.

After Monza, 500 TRs went on to capture class wins at Dakar, Sebring, Montlhéry, and Reims. Franco Cortese even won the Italian Championship in the two-liter class with his privately entered Scaglietti Spider. Beyond its European laurels, the four-cylinder Testa Rossas earned a fearsome reputation in the US. In the right hands, the 500 TRs were consistent class winners and true giant-killers, regularly beating cars of much larger displacement.

The 500 TR Scaglietti Spider presented here, chassis 0654 MDTR, is the last of 17 examples built. According to the research of Ferrari historian Marcel Massini, it was sold new via North American distributor Luigi Chinetti Motors to Robert Tappan on behalf of French racing driver François Picard.

By the time he acquired 0654 MDTR, Picard had already owned and successfully campaigned two other four-cylinder Ferrari sports racing cars – a 735 Sport and a Series II 500 Mondial. On June 30, 1956, he debuted his new 500 Testa Rossa at the 12 Hours of Reims in France, entering it under the “Cercle Los Amigos” banner with co-driver Roberto Manzon. Wearing race no. 6, Picard and Manzon finished the high-speed endurance race in 5th Overall and achieved 1st in Class.

The following month, the 500 TR was entered in the 24 Hours of Le Mans sporting a striking new blue and white livery with race no. 22. Picard and Tappan’s hopes were dashed relatively early in the race, when they were disqualified for illegal refueling on lap 135. Photographs of Picard’s wonderful two-tone Testa Rossa have been published in many books on the marque and model, most notably Ferraris at Le Mans by Dominique Pascal.

Chassis 0654 MDTR next appeared at the Grand Prix of Sweden at Kristianstad in August, an event that now counted toward the FIA World Sportscar Championship. Robert Tappan entered the 500 TR under his name and drove it with Herbert Mackay-Fraser and Olle Persson to an impressive 9th Overall, 6th in Class result.

Following these three outings, Picard traded 0654 MDTR back to Chinetti Motors and the Ferrari was exported to the US. That December, Chinetti sold the 500 TR to its second owner, Howard Hively of Cincinnati, Ohio.

An avid sportsman, Cadillac dealer, and former WWII USAF Lieutenant, Hively began racing Ferraris in 1954, starting with a 250 MM and then a 375 Plus. Soon after acquiring this 500 Testa Rossa, he entered it in the annual Bahamas Speed Week in Nassau, winning his class in the Governor’s Trophy and placing 8th Overall in the Nassau Trophy.

While the car was in the Bahamas, Hively decided to enter it in the Cuban Grand Prix, held in Havana on February 25, 1957. For this race, Hively entrusted the Testa Rossa to Scuderia Ferrari ace Peter Collins, who drove it to a 1st in Class finish. A testament to Collins’ skill and the overall performance of the 500 TR, he finished 4th Overall behind Fangio’s Maserati 300S, Shelby’s Ferrari 410 Sport, and de Portago’s Ferrari 857 Sport – all cars with at least three-liter capacities.

Other than the Cuban Grand Prix, Hively didn’t race the 500 TR again until January 1958, when he entered it in the SCCA Orange Bowl races in Miami. Soon after this event, he sold the Ferrari to Robert Walker, an insurance executive and sports car enthusiast living in Stuttgart, Arkansas.

Walker, who had previously campaigned an AC Ace, now found himself a ride in a real thoroughbred racing car. He immediately repainted the Ferrari in a two-tone, red and white color scheme and entered it in the Mansfield sports car races held at the DeSoto Airport in Louisiana. That summer he campaigned the Testa Rossa at Eagle Mountain Air Force Base, Road America, and Hammond, where he scored back-to-back wins in the E-Modified class.

Robert Walker’s last race in the Testa Rossa took place at Meadowdale in September 1958. Tragically, he lost control in dusty conditions and rolled the car on a banking. Though the Ferrari was only lightly damaged, Walker succumbed to his injuries en route to the hospital.

In January 1959, Walker’s estate sold the Ferrari at auction. While it is unconfirmed, it is believed that the buyer was Bunnie Ribbs of San Jose, the father of famed racing driver Willy T. Ribbs.

Ribbs trailered the Ferrari back to California, where it was immediately sold to Frank F. Pinkerton, the proprietor of an air service company in San Jose. In April 1960, Pinkerton entered the Ferrari in the Cotati Road Races, but didn’t arrive at the event. Throughout the early 1960s, he stored the 500 TR in an airplane hangar and the service bay of his gas station. In 1967, Pinkerton moved to Southern California and brought 0654 MDTR, now partly disassembled, with him.

By 1969, Pinkerton sold the 500 TR to Joseph Castello, a fellow car and airplane enthusiast he had known in San Jose. Mr. Castello drove down to Southern California with a truck and trailer, finalized the purchase, packed and loaded the Ferrari, and trailered it home. The 500 TR then remained in static storage in Mr. Castello’s garage until the mid-1980s, when he finally found time to embark on an extensive restoration.

A trained machinist, Mr. Castello relied on a team of talented friends and local craftsmen to restore the Testa Rossa. John Merino of Santa Clara, California, restored the Scaglietti bodywork, while Castello oversaw the mechanical restoration, including rebuilding the engine, gearbox, suspension, and braking systems.

After completing the restoration, Mr. Castello debuted it at the 1991 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance®, where it was displayed in Class M: Ferrari Custom Coachwork through 1964. He returned to Monterey the following year to show the Testa Rossa at Concorso Italiano and then again in 1994, to take part in the Ferrari Club of America International Concours, where it received a class award.

Satisfied with his restoration efforts, Mr. Castello never exhibited the Ferrari again. Although it has not made any public appearances for three decades, it has always been treasured and lovingly maintained. As a result, the 500 TR still presents beautifully in its traditional Ferrari livery with its matching-numbers engine, no. 0654 MDTR, and original Scaglietti coachwork. Its outstanding presentation is further bolstered by a documentation file that includes a report by Ferrari historian Marcel Massini, period images, and an album of restoration photos.

Offered publicly for the first time since 1959, 0654 MDTR is surely among the finest surviving examples of the rare and desirable 500 TR – the first Ferrari to use the legendary Testa Rossa moniker. During its first year of racing, this Ferrari competed at legendary venues – from the 24 Hours of Le Mans to the Grand Prix of Sweden – and was driven by the likes of François Picard, Peter Collins, and Howard Hively. Throughout this period, 0654 MDTR placed well in the overall standings and captured significant class wins at the 12 Hours of Reims, Nassau Speed Week, and Cuban Grand Prix.

While other 500 Testa Rossas may lay claim to an illustrious race record or rich provenance, none has had a more loyal and devoted caretaker than this beautiful Scaglietti Spider. For the past 55 years, this Ferrari has been prized by its owners, who rescued it, then lovingly restored and displayed it at Pebble Beach and FCA concours. While any 500 TR is a Ferrari of immense appeal, 0654 MDTR is a truly special prize.