The 290 MM was developed by Ferrari to contest the 1956 World Sports Car Championship and the Mille Miglia, hence the MM initials, and to reclaim dominance over past and present competitor—Mercedes-Benz—and its great domestic rival, Maserati. For Enzo Ferrari, this was just as important as his efforts to win the Formula One World Championship. Chassis no. 0628, set for RM Sotheby’s Petersen Museum sale, was the fourth and final example ever built. Equipped with an all-new powertrain, composed of the Tipo 130 V-12, 3,490 cc engine, with highly developed cylinder heads, high-lift camshaft, bigger valves, twin spark plugs, 9:1 compression ratio and dry sump, coupled with the Tipo 520 transaxle, the 290 MM was the car to bring the manufacturer title back to Maranello for the third time. Bodied by Scaglietti, the 290 MM is a truly impressive, brutal, and beautiful machine, and is estimated to achieve $22 million to $26 million in Los Angeles this December.

In serving for the Scuderia Ferrari team, the racing history of this 290 MM speaks for itself. At its debut in the 1956 Mille Miglia in 860 Monza specifications, chassis no. 0628 finished 2nd overall while wearing number #551, piloted by Peter Collins and Louis Klemantaski. In the same year, Olivier Gendebien and Hans Hermann took the car to 4th at the Targa Florio in Sicily, while Umberto Maglioli finished in 2nd place with the car in the XVIII Aosta-Gran San Bernardo Hillclimb, also in Italy. The legendary Fangio raced the car in the Swedish Grand Prix just months later. Upgraded to 290 MM specifications by the factory in 1957, its remit outside Italy extended as Alfonso de Portago, Wolfgang von Trips and Eugenio Castellotti finished 3rd in the 1000km Buenos Aires, and two months later the car entered the 12 Hours of Sebring with Phil Hill and von Trips at the wheel.