The 500 Mondial, above, is a really special Ferrari. Built in 1955, it was raced 28 times in Europe, South and North America. In 1960, Navy Lieutenant Junior Grade Robert Phillips, an avid amateur racer, found it abandoned in the back of a Rambler dealership in Richmond, California.
In RADM Phillip's words from the article he wrote for Cavallino magazine, "It was in sad shape. It sat on jack stands with no wheels in sight. Under the rear end was a large wooden box full of strange looking gears and pieces of metal that were twisted and scored with streaks of blue shading from obvious overheating. There were no seats or windscreen, and the hood and metal tonneau were stacked in the cockpit. The rear body work was crushed in, with slabs of broken white bondo nearly two inches thick in places showing under the mud covered blue paint. The sides showed the evidence of random paint gun spray pattern testing in at least three colors. The open engine compartment was filled with an oil, mud and grime covered assemblage resembling a V-8. My only mistake that day was to grab a rag and wipe across one of the valve covers which revealed those hypnotic letters FERRARI! That did it, I was hooked and I would have to find a way to give this forlorn pile of junk a more proper home..."
He did. Within three weeks he had found the owner, the wheels the seats, agreed on a purchase price and arranged for a loan equal to nearly two thirds an his annual salary. He was a Ferrari owner and has owned S/N 0556(0446) continuously since then. He restored and maintained this car throughout his naval career.
You must pick up the June/July issue of Cavallino magazine and read the rest of the wonderful story of this lovely 500 Mondial which, in August 2008, was awarded First-in-Class and the Enzo Ferrari trophy for best Ferrari on the field at Pebble Beach. In 2009 it was awarded the Scuderia Ferrari Cup for Best of Show, the La Coppa Per Quattro Cilindri for Outstanding Four Cylinder Ferrari and a Platinum Award for the Racing Class at the Cavallino Classic Concours d'Eleganza at the Breakers in Palm Beach.
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