Following the 1973 racing season, Scuderia Ferrari abandoned sports car racing entirely to focus on their Formula 1 program, which had not won a World Constructors’ Championship since 1964. As a result, the only Ferrari racing cars built for the next two decades were Grand Prix machines or production-based GT sports cars. It was not until the early 1990s, perhaps because of the urging of MOMO founder Gianpiero Moretti, that Ferrari looked to the new IMSA prototype regulations in the US for the basis of a new sports racing car.

This decision proved to be a significant turning point for the Ferrari racing department, which had not constructed a purpose-built sports racing prototype since the 312 PB, a model developed in the early 1970s. Unveiled in late 1993, the 333 SP set new standards for sports racing prototypes and heralded Ferrari’s return to the highest levels of international sports car racing after two decades.

Developed in partnership with Dallara, the 333 SP was a state-of-the-art design that featured a rigid carbon fiber monocoque, F1-style suspension, a sequential gearbox, and a four-cam, four-liter V-12 engine derived from the Ferrari 641 Formula 1 car, which won six Grands Prix during the 1990 season. It was, in effect, a Grand Prix car of the period cloaked in fully enveloping composite bodywork.

During eight seasons of active racing, the 333 SPs were campaigned by a select group of private teams and the program proved to be a runaway success. The 333 SPs claimed 47 outright wins and multiple Teams’, Constructors’, and Drivers’ Championships in both the American IMSA GT and the European ISRS and SRWC series. Along the way, the 333 SPs set the fastest lap at the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans and captured wins at both the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring.

The 333 SP presented here, chassis 010, is among the finest examples of this important series of Ferrari prototype racing cars.

Chassis 010 is one of only nine Evoluzione models constructed by Dallara in Varano, Italy – the first few 333 SPs were built in-house by Ferrari and the remainder produced by Michelotto in Padova, Italy. According to the research of Ferrari historian Marcel Massini, chassis 010 was sold new to an Italian collector, who provided the 333 SP to Andy Evans’ Scandia Motorsport team for the 1995 season.

Chassis 010 was used for most of the Scandia team’s testing and development, beginning in January 1995 when it was first driven at Daytona by Michele Alboreto, the former Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 driver. The following month, the Ferrari made its official competition debut at the 24 Hours of Daytona, where it was entrusted to Alboreto, Stefan Johansson, Mauro Baldi, and Andy Evans, but retired after 405 laps.

In March 1995, chassis 010 competed in the 12 Hours of Sebring with Baldi, Alboreto, and Belgian driver Eric Van de Poele. This event would prove to be a historic moment for the 333 SP, as the other Scandia Motorsport entry, chassis 003, won the race outright. This was the first time Ferrari won the 12 Hours of Sebring since 1972, when Mario Andretti and Jacky Ickx drove a 312 PB to victory. Chassis 010, meanwhile, started on pole position, led the race four times, and finished in 4th place Overall – the next best result for a 333 SP.

For the remainder of 1995, the 333 SP contested several rounds of the American IMSA GT Championship, competing in the high-profile World Sportscar (WSC) category. Throughout the season, chassis 010 was primarily driven by Mauro Baldi and Fermín Vélez and the pair achieved tremendous success with an overall win at the Halifax 3 Hours, 2nd Place finishes at Atlanta, Mosport, and Texas World Speedway, and Top 10 results at Lime Rock, Sears Point, and New Orleans.

At the end of the season, Fermín Vélez was crowned the IMSA Exxon World Sportscar Championship Driver’s champion and Ferrari won the manufacturer’s championship, thanks in large part to the results achieved in this car.

For 1996, Scandia Motorsport teamed up with an American and Belgian team in an effort to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Ahead of the race, Dallara and designer Tony Southgate optimized chassis 003 and 010 for the high-speed Circuit de la Sarthe, revising the bodywork to make the car more aerodynamic. At the Le Mans test days in April, 010 set the fastest time, followed closely by 003.

In May of that year, chassis 010 appeared at the Ferrari Days event at Spa- Francorchamps, wearing its new “Racing for Belgium” livery, with yellow and black stripes representing the national colors. That June, Eric Van de Poele, Marc Goossens, and Éric Bachelart started the 24-hour race from pole position wearing race no. 17. The Ferrari was running well until gearbox problems slowed the pace and then, after completing 208 laps, the 333 SP spun and lost a wheel, ending its chances.

For the 1997 season, chassis 010 was turned over to Gianpiero Moretti’s team and donned the now-iconic MOMO livery. According to Marcel Massini, the Ferrari’s first race for Moretti Racing was in February at the 24 Hours of Daytona, where it was driven to a 7th Overall, 4th in class finish. In IMSA competition, the 333 SP scored three outright wins – at Lime Rock, Pikes Peak, and Sebring – and placed on the podium in Atlanta and Laguna Seca.

The highlight of the 1997 season was undoubtedly the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Entered by Moretti Racing team, with Moretti, Didier Theys, and Max Papis driving, chassis 010 placed 6th Overall and 2nd in Class – the best overall finish for a 333 SP in the history of Le Mans.

After a single race in 1998, at Homestead in Florida, chassis 010 was sold to a Venezuelan collector. He owned it for a brief period before selling it to James McCormick, who exhibited the 333 SP at the 1999 Ferrari Club of America National Meet in Atlanta and the 2001 Cavallino Classic in Palm Beach, Florida. He also entered chassis 010 in one round of the Shell Ferrari Historic Challenge and took part in several historic events at Road America.

In 2013, the Ferrari 333 SP was sold to François Perrodo and joined his stable of endurance racing icons. Professionally maintained and used at select private track events, chassis 010 remained in Europe until its acquisition by the current owner, an American collector. Under his ownership, the Ferrari’s gearbox was rebuilt and upgraded by 333 SP specialist Michelotto.

In total, Ferrari built just 40 examples of the 333 SP between 1994 and 2001. These cars were the dominant prototype racing car for nearly a decade, competitive at the top levels of sports car racing until 2003, when Audi entered the arena with its R8. Without question, the 333 SP was the ultimate Ferrari of its era, a technological tour de force, which hailed the company’s return to the height of international endurance racing. Today it ranks among the most successful endurance cars in the history of the marque – a natural successor to legendary prototype models of the 1960s and early 1970s.

Surely among the most significant 333 SPs, chassis 010 was an integral part of the successful 1995 IMSA WSC championships season, in which Ferrari won the manufacturer’s championship and Scandia Motorsport’s Fermín Vélez captured the driver’s championship. Beyond these important achievements, this 333 SP competed with success at the world’s most important endurance races – the 12 Hours of Sebring, the 24 Hours of Daytona, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Notably, chassis 010 is one of only seven 333 SP Ferraris ever to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Not only did it compete there twice, but its 6th Overall finish in 1997 is the best overall result ever achieved by the model at the legendary endurance race.

During its illustrious career, chassis 010 was raced by the era’s best drivers including Michele Alboreto, Andrea Montermini, Didier Theys, Stefan Johansson, Gianpiero Moretti, and Fermín Vélez. Above all, it still wears the vivid Moretti Racing MOMO livery that has become synonymous with the model.

Since its retirement, this car has benefited from the care of knowledgeable private collectors and has been seldom seen in recent years except for select outings at private track events. Today, it is eligible for Ferrari’s exclusive F1 Clienti program and the increasingly popular Endurance Racing Legends series.

Never before offered for public sale, chassis 010 represents a singular opportunity to acquire one of the most important examples of a historically significant Ferrari prototype racing car. This may well prove to be the chance of a lifetime.

*Please note that this vehicle is sold on a Bill of Sale.