The 1960 Abarth 1000 Bialbero speed record car "La Principessa."
Looking like something Marvin the Martian would drive, this 1960 Abarth 1000 Bialbero speed record car will cross the auction block at the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours de'Elegance in August.
Gooding & Co, the auction house, is not releasing a pre-sale estimate for this one-of-a-kind speed machine, but it will likely do well in a room filled with some of the most devout car collectors in the world.
Named "La Principessa," (or "The Princess") the car was designed for Abarth by legendary coach-builder Pinin Farina — now best known for their long-time partnership with Ferrari — and shaped in the wind tunnel at the Turin Polytechnic University in Italy.
The goal: to break the world record for the highest speed maintained for the longest amount of time.
After it premiered at the Turin Motor show in 1960, it set a total of nine world records, according to the auction house, including 10,000 km at an average of 118.7 mph and 72 continuous hours at 116 mph.
The unique machine is original, unrestored, and has never been publicly sold.
The car was designed by Pinin Farina using a local university's wind tunnel.
... the result was a drag coefficient of just 0.20 — compare that to the 0.24 mustered by the Tesla model S, one of the slipperiest cars available today and the result of another 55 years of aerodynamic advancement.
... "La Principessa" would slice its way to nine world speed records.
Completely unrestored and original, the car will make a wonderful, one of a kind addition to someone's collection. Though for a likely six-figure price tag they will only get half a steering wheel.