Ferrari 166 Inter Coupé by Vignale

Having won the first post-War Le Mans 24 Hours the previous year, in 1950 Ferrari was just finding its feet as a manufacturer. It had only built around 100 cars, some pure racing cars and others, such as this elegant coupe by Vignale, real ‘dual-purpose’ machines, as at home in the centre of Paris or Rome as on the Mille Miglia.

The classic barchetta styling of the type 166 that had won at Le Mans and the Mille Miglia was by Carrozzeria Touring. Touring also produced a berlinetta, another competition car intended for privateers such as the Marzotto brothers, rich sportsmen looking for an off-the-shelf winning car.
These three-Weber-carburettor cars, built for racing, carried the Mille Miglia (‘MM’) suffix.
For no less discerning clients wanting a fast sporting car mainly for the road, in 1948 Ferrari introduced a model known as the 'Inter'.


Most often equipped with a single 32DCF Weber, the Inter’s 1,995cc V12 produced 110bhp and was mated to a 5-speed gearbox and live rear axle, the powertrain set in a slightly lengthened chassis (wheelbase was now 2,420mm vs. 2,250mm for the 166 MM) designed for better interior comfort with a little usable luggage space.
Coachwork from a variety of Italian carrozzerie was available, and after initial efforts by Touring, Stabilimenti Farina and Zagato, Alfredo Vignale’s young designer Giovanni Michelotti was entrusted with styling a 166 Inter.


It was to be a successful relationship for Vignale and Ferrari, as not only did Michelotti develop and build upon the marque’s famous ‘egg-crate’ grille by widening it and recessing it into the bodywork, through his designs he helped the coachbuilder become a prolific supplier of bodies to Ferrari from 1950 until the late-50s. Although not all were stylistically successful, the simple lines of early cars such as this coupé were to look ‘modern’ for decades to come.


This particular 166 Inter, available from Classic Driver dealer Talacrest 2000 AD Ltd, is believed to be the 37th production Ferrari built. Like all Ferraris of the period it can be raced (it has period competition history) or shown on many a concours lawn worldwide. It can also be driven two-up on touring events, with the thought of a 5-star hotel overnight stop an extra bonus after driving hour after hour to the magical sound of Ing. Colombo’s classic Ferrari V12.

Related Links You can find out more about this rare car, currently for sale at Classic Driver dealer Talacrest 2000 AD Ltd, in the Classic Driver Marketplace

Text: Steve Wakefield(ClassicDriver)
Photos: Talacrest 2000 AD Ltd

Von Dutch and the 'flamed' Mercedes 300 SL

The ‘unconventional’ Von Dutch had many talents, including as a signwriter, gunsmith, knifemaker, metal fabricator, artist and mechanic. But it was his novel approach to car customisation which made him unpopular with a large group of the automotive community…

Born the son of a respected signwriter, Kenneth Robert Howard – more commonly known as Von Dutch – had perfected the art of pinstriping by age ten. A few years later, his talents were discovered while working as a clean-up boy in a motorcycle body shop; he had asked the owner to entrust him with pinstriping a customer bike overnight and, come the morning, he was tired, dirty and… promoted to a full-time pinstriper.
Throughout the 1940s, he worked for several different body shops customising motorcycles, racing cars and ‘hot rods’. In early 1950s Los Angeles, he struck up a friendship with Earl Bruce, owner of a lively watering hole a stone’s throw from the Competition Body Shop at which Dutch was stationed. Their friendship produced – among many unique creations – one of the most controversial works of Dutch’s illustrious career.

Having purchased what was one of the first 300 SLs in the United States, Bruce had it resprayed in a custom candy-effect Bronze which soon faded in the Californian sun. Meanwhile, Dutch had been applying flamework to motorcycles and racing cars for years (he recalled being inspired by the menacing schemes on WWI fighter planes), so Bruce took it to be ‘Dutched’ with the instructions “flame this thing to cover up the bad spots”.
With the worst-affected areas being the rocker and sides of the car, the pair decided on a white ‘flamejob’ with yellow pinstriping running around the lower portions of the Gullwing. In Dutch’s own words, they “ate up about two cases of beer, a few jugs of wine, and about twenty-odd rolls of masking tape”. For good measure, Von Dutch also fabricated a grille shield using his metalworking skills (his knives are particularly collectable nowadays).

Although revered in the then-burgeoning ‘Kustom Kulture’ community, the 1955 car was not well received by other aficionados. “After I turned this thing loose on the world it caused accidents,” recalled Dutch. “People couldn’t accept a flamed 300 SL Gullwing back then. They thought it was desecrating a shrine.”
Perhaps most importantly, though, Bruce was ecstatic with the outcome and it only served to further fuel his love for 300 SLs; apparently he went on to own another five.

As for the man christened Kenneth Howard, the nickname given to him as a youngster stemmed from the saying ‘as stubborn as a Dutchman’ – so you can imagine his response to the naysayers.

Related Links Plenty of Mercedes 300 SLs can be found in the Classic Driver Marketplace

Text: Joe Breeze(ClassicDriver)
Photos: Getty Images

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