Four magnificent motorsport legends will return to the public eye at Gooding & Company’s Pebble Beach Auctions on August 18-19, in association with the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. The quartet is made up of a 1928 Bentley 4.5-Liter Le Mans Sports “Bobtail” team car, the 1964 Ford GT40 Prototype 104, a 1955 Ferrari 857 Sport and a 1960 Porsche RS60 Spyder.
The Bentley, YW 2557, is a 1928 4.5-liter Vanden Plas Le Mans Sports “Bobtail,” one of the few purpose-built 4.5-liter Le Mans team cars and the only remaining example in “Bobtail” form. It was completed in 1928 for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which another Bentley team car won. The following year Bentley Boys swept 1st through 4th places, the “Bobtail” taking 3rd with J. Dudley Benjafield and Baron Andre d’Erlanger at the wheel. This car has recently been restored to its 1929 Le Mans specification. Its estimated value is $5.5–$7.5 million.
Ferrari built just four 857 Sports models, of which 0588 M was the last. After a brief tenure with the Ferrari works team, 0588 M eventually went to Scaglietti, where it received its spider coachwork on the allungato modificato chassis. In 1956, American John Edgar purchased it, and in its U.S. competition debut Jack McAfee took 2nd at Palm Springs, and shortly thereafter also finished 3rd at Pebble Beach. It was later raced by Carroll Shelby, before ending up a decade later in the possession of pop artist Andy Warhol. Eventually sold into a European collection, its current owner has restored the car to its 1956 livery, and as a matching-numbers, original-bodied 857S, it is one of the rarest Ferraris anywhere, with an estimated value between $5–$7 million.
Initially entered in the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans, this lightweight Ford GT40 prototype (SN 104) was one of three cars in Ford’s first official outing at the grueling endurance event, but failed to finish. It was subsequently entrusted to Shelby American and refinished in Shelby’s iconic blue and white livery. At the 1965 Daytona 24 Hours it finished 3rd in the hands of Bob Bondurant and Richie Ginther, as teammates Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby won in a sister car. Retired from racing it was returned to Ford where it was used by the styling department as a show car. GT/104 is one of the finest historically significant examples of Ford’s all-conquering sports racer, with an estimated value of $5–$7 million.
Porsche’s RS60 became one of the German marque’s most legendary racecars in North America when one dominated the 1960 running of the 12 Hours of Sebring. One of only 14 customer RS60s built, 718-060 is an exceptional matching-numbers, original-bodied example of Porsche’s ultimate four-cam Spyder. This Wendler-bodied example was first delivered to Bill Wuesthoff, a gentleman driver and car dealer from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He launched its illustrious racing career, capturing 12 class wins in just four seasons at premier venues such as Elkhart Lake, Meadowdale and Watkins Glen. With exceptional originality and an unbroken chain of distinguished owners, 718-060 is widely regarded as one of the most successful and original RS60s ever, simply an extraordinary automobile. Its estimated worth is $2.5–$3 million.
