St. Gallen, May 2010
There has been a lot of talk about some European
Ferrari-Collections during the last months, after the bankruptcy of
the Kroymans Corp. the private collection has been sold to the
US and will be split up. Furthermore there were speculations
about the future of the Maranello Rosso Museum in San Marino
after Fabrizio Violati passed away in January. But there are still
great collections in Europe, some of them more private but some
of them can be even visited.
In March we had the opportunity to visit one of these important
collections, the Turning Wheel Collection of the Stieger Family in
St.Gallen. This collection features some of the rarest examples of
the marque dating from 1951 to the latest 599 GTB.
Right at the moment there are 27 cavallino rampante in the
stable, the oldest of them is the 1951 212 Inter (s/n 0211EL) with
a beautiful two-tone Vignale Berlinetta body. This car was
delivered new to no less a figure than Gianni Agnelli who owned
several Ferraris years before Ferrari became part of the
FIAT-Group. Another early example is the 1953 250 MM Vignale
Spider (s/n 0332MM) with Portuguese racing history. This car
was exported early in its life to America were it stayed until 1991
before it became part of the Turning Wheel collection in 1998. It
replaced another 250 MM that was rebodied, showing the
ambition to get the best available car for the collection.
One can see that this is a vivid collection rather than remaining in
a status quo as with some of the newer cars some earlier had to
make way. One reason might be the limited space in the garage
but maybe also a self-restriction to a number of cars that can be
kept in good running condition within reasonable efforts. And they
are kept in running condition as was indicated during our visit by a
bunch of battery chargers to get the cars over the winter.
Another reason might be the focusing on the cars of the 60s as
most of the cars given away are from the 50s as the collection
once featured a 375 MM, a 410 Sport (0598CM that was just
shown a few days earlier in Amelia Island by its new owner), a
250 GT LWB Berlinetta TdF and a duo of 4-cylinder cars (500
Mondial and 750 Monza).
But one has to know that these cars were once part of the
collection to miss something as the 60s are very well presented
with all the icons of the 250 series including GTO, SWB, LM and
California Spider.
During the 1980s with the steadily increasing value of the classic
Ferraris many cars were on the market and this was the ideal
time to build up a collection. In the 60s and early 70s many of the
today most valuable Ferraris were just used cars unable to win
races any more. They started their second life in private
collections with enthusiasts of the first hours, some of them were
wealthy, some of them had to part with their cars when the value
and therefore the insurance costs surpassed their means. Some
cars did not even had the luck to be with a real enthusiast and
waited to be remembered of because of their value. The 250 GTO
(s/n 3589GT) in the collection was one of these cars. After its
active racing career in the hands of Michael Parkes and Ines
Ireland it was later donated to the Victoria High School to practice
students. Even later the car ended on a trailer uncovered in a field
so the car was in need of a total restoration when acquired by
Engelbert Stieger in 1988. After a close inspection of the car it
became clear that a reuse of the original body would have meant
that a large section of it had to be replaced. Instead of ripping
apart the original one just to claim it is still on the car the wise
decision was made to build a completely new body. The original
body was put aside and today graces the collection in unpainted
form as a piece of art. Where else can one see an original GTO
body including the hammer finish of the Carrozzeria Scaglietti?
The new body was build exactly to the specification prior to the
rebuild of the car including the air intakes on the front wings and
the louvred bonnet. The car is finished in the very elegant original
dark blue and a small white nose band around the radiator.
Another jewel in the collection is the 250 GT SWB (s/n 1931GT),
an all alloy competition car that finished 5th overall in Le Mans
1960. The car is finished in yellow wearing the number “18” just
as it did in 1960. Furthermore there is a SWB California Spider
(s/n 2537GT) once owned by Ferrari works driver Graf Berghe von
Trips. The car is an open headlight model without bumpers and an
unusual set-up of the instruments on the dashboard.
As already mentioned earlier the cars are kept in working order so
it is no surprise that some cars are missing from time to time due
to required mechanical work. During our visit the 250 LM (s/n
5897) was missing due to work on the engine.
Another focus of the collection are the racing cars of the 1970s.
The 312 P (s/n 0888) of 1972 was a very successful car in the
hands of Jacky Ickx, Mario Andretti, Brian Redman and Clay
Regazzoni. It won races in Daytona, Monza and on the
Nürburgring to name a few before it was sold by the factory to the
Swiss Collector Albert Obrist. Together with the 512 S/M (s/n
1018) it was campaigned very successful in the Ferrari Historic
Challenge over the years by Patrick and Christoph Stieger as one
can see by the very impressive collection of trophies. Until today
the cars are used the way they were intended for and although
the Historic Challenge now is history they are still on the track
regularly. The sports car prototypes are rounded of by a Dino
206S (s/n 010) and a 512 BBLM (s/n 27579).
Furthermore one can admire two very rare formula 1 cars, a 1976
312 T3 (s/n 025) and a 1979 312 T4 (s/n 038). The first was driven
by Nikki Lauda and Clay Regazzoni in the 1976 season that
would have saw Nikki Lauda as World Champion without his
accident on the Ring. The T4 brought Jody Scheckter the title that
should become the last for 20 years until the beginning of the
Schumacher-Ferrari-era.
The collection is rounded of by a duo of Daytonas (GTB/4 and
GTS/4), a 365 GTB/C and a 512 BB on the classic side. Fans of
the modern Supercars can admire a 288 GTO, a F40 and the
latest Enzo and F430 Challenge Stradale. With just the F50
missing this is an almost complete set.
Although this is a private collection it can be visited by
appointment, there are guided tours several times during the year.
The best thing is that the guides are Engelbert, Patrick or
Christoph Stieger personally, giving the visitors a great inside view
by first-hand of the history and the ownership of these gems
rather than just stories learnt by rote as in most other museums.
If you became curious by this report and the galleries please visit
the museums website for further details.
www.turningwheel.ch
Text and images ...Peter Singhof
www.ClassicCarPhotography.de
Ferraris in the collection as on March 2010:
1951 Ferrari 212 Inter Vignale Berlinetta s/n 0211EL
1953 Ferrari 250 MM Vignale Spider s/n 0332MM
1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB s/n 1931GT
1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider s/n 2537GT
1962 Ferrari 250 GTO s/n 3589gt
1964 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso s/n 5627gt
1964 Ferrari 250 LM s/n 5897
1965 Ferrari 275 GTB/2 s/n 07899
1966 Ferrari Dino 206 S s/n 010
1970 Ferrari 512 S/M s/n 1018
1972 Ferrari 312 P s/n 0888
1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Coupe s/n 15441
1972 Ferrari 365 GTC/4 2+2 s/n 15547
1973 Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spider s/n 16475
1973 Ferrari 365 GT4 2+2 Prototype s/n 17117
1976 Ferrari 312 T2 s/n 025
1979 Ferrari 312 T4 s/n 038
1979 Ferrari 512 BB s/n 25067
1979 Ferrari 512 BBLM s/n 27579
1985 Ferrari 288 GTO s/n 53317
1988 Ferrari F40 s/n 83272
1993 Ferrari 512 TR s/n 94932
1994 Ferrari 456GT 2+2 Coupe s/n 99216
1996 Ferrari 550 Maranello s/n 108188
2003 Ferrari Enzo Collectors Edition s/n 131239
Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale s/n 136779
Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano s/n 153698
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