Meet the 1954 Ferrari 375 MM Spider, racing to auction for $10 million

Even by most classic-Ferrari tale standards, the story behind the star of Mecum's 2014 Monterey auction is remarkable. From its beginnings as a winning racer in the stable of a controversial Los Angeles construction magnate to its restoration in the hands of two Southern California college professors, this seductive 1954 Ferrari 375 MM Spider has more history in its Pinin Farina-sculpted body than an entire fleet of lustrous Prancing Horse garage queens.

"This 375 is simply an incredible racing car linked to the beginning of the Ferrari mystique, but step back from that and you see an amazing life," says Mecum's Sam Murtaugh, who adds that the auction house estimates the rare beast will fetch between $8 and $10 million when it hits the block during the company's Aug. 14-16 event.

"The car was a West Coast road warrior in its early years, with some great drivers getting behind its wheel," adds Murtaugh. Although there was a period where the car changed hands and shape, it was brought back to its original state by two men known for their perfectionism. "We feel confident about the price given that a 335 MM went for $9 million and a (more powerful) sister car, a 375 Plus, sold at auction for $19 million. Those are solid comparables."

Downshifting to the beginning, serial number 0362AM left Maranello and went directly to the Los Angeles home of Anthony Parravano, who was busy amassing a healthy collection of race-ready exotics. The 375 MM caused an immediate stir, hitting 172 mph at the dry lake bed of El Mirage in the spring of '54. A few months later, the car took first place at a race through San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park with car dealer Jack McAfee at the helm. McAfee repeated his winning ways a month later at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska.

The 375 MM (MM for Mille Miglia, the storied 1,000-mile race around Italy that would be shut down after its 1957 running resulted in the deaths of drivers and spectators alike) continued to make a name for itself over the next six years. Among the famous drivers who experienced the power of the 2,000 lb. car's 4.5 liter V-12 were Dan Gurney, Bob Bondurant and Skip Hudson. Veteran SCCA racer Don Hulette would write the final chapter in the 375's early race history, taking third at a Grand Prix for Sports Cars Consolation Race in Riverside, Calif.

Let's return for a moment to the illustrious car's first owner. By 1957, Parravano had become entangled in a cat and mouse game with the IRS, which immediately sought to seize his expensive four-wheeled toys as way to claim just some of the businessman's unpaid taxes.