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172 of 155 lots
Lot 172
1959 OSCA Tipo S-187
Estimate:
$500,000 - $600,000
Starting bid:
$260,000
Passed
Live Auction
Amelia Island Auction 2023
Description
Jim Eichenlaub, Ellwood City, Pennsylvania (acquired new via importer Edgar Fronteras)
John Igleheart, Greenwich, Connecticut (acquired from the above in 1960)
Scott Gerrish (acquired circa 1963)
David Castelhano, Hollis, New Hampshire (acquired from the estate of Charlie Rainville circa 1985)
Berlinetta Imports/Monte Shalett, New Orleans, Louisiana (acquired from the above)
Dan Hedborg, Helsingborg, Sweden (acquired from the above in 1979)
François Cointreau, France (acquired in 2010)
Current Owner (acquired from the above)

Chassis: 764

Outstanding Example of a Thoroughbred OSCA Sports Racing Car
Fabulous History as the 1959 SCCA National H-Modified Champion
1961–1963 SCCA New England and East Coast Champion
Exceptional Period Racing Record and Well-Documented Provenance
Accompanied by Extensive History File as Well as FIVA and FFSA HTP Papers

846 CC DOHC Inline 4-Cylinder Engine
Dual Weber Twin-Choke Carburetors
Estimated 75 BHP at 7,700 RPM
4-Speed Manual Gearbox
4-Wheel Hydraulic Drum Brakes
Front Independent Suspension with Double Wishbones and Coil Springs
Rear Live-Axle Suspension with Leaf Springs

Established in Bologna, Italy, during late 1947 by Ernesto, Ettore, and Bindo Maserati, Officine Specializzate Costruzione Automobili, best known as OSCA, quickly established a brilliant competition record with its cars scoring international victories with the era’s finest drivers and teams. On both sides of the Atlantic and into the 1960s, OSCA entries proved highly competitive and gained a fierce giant-killer reputation, winning their respective classes with regularity and sometimes taking overall victories against ostensibly more-powerful opponents.

Introduced in 1956, the S-187 was OSCA’s definitive small-bore sports racer, featuring a potent and durable proprietary 747 cc DOHC four-cylinder engine, which was often bored out by racers to 850 cc and up to 1,000 cc. Sporting a low-slung and heavily braced tubular chassis, the S-187 was OSCA’s first sports racing car to feature easy access with clamshell-style front and rear bodywork. In addition to its speed and handling prowess, the S-187 remained highly competitive, long after its contemporaries retired.

This 1959 OSCA S-187, chassis 764, was purchased new by Pennsylvanian racer Jim Eichenlaub from official OSCA importer Edgar Fronteras, who operated from New York City and later in Chicago. Having just lost his job as a research chemist, Eichenlaub campaigned this OSCA extensively across the US and scored eight H-Modified class wins and several podiums to capture the 1959 SCCA National Championship. In 1960, Eichenlaub started two more races before selling the car to John Igleheart of Greenwich, Connecticut, who also campaigned the car extensively, scoring eight class wins and three consecutive SCCA Regional titles (1961–1963). After the 1963 season, the OSCA was sold to Scott Garrish and driven by SCCA veteran racer and future IMSA driving force, Charlie Rainville, from 1963 to 1965, including several thrilling racetrack duels with the car’s former owner, John Igleheart. It also appears that both Rainville and Gerrish entered and won several northeastern SCCA races with this OSCA during the 1965 racing season.

Subsequently, the car was retired and dismantled by Rainville, remaining with him until his eventual passing in 1985. The OSCA was then acquired from the Rainville estate by Italian-car specialist David Castelhano, later passing through a broker to Dan Hedborg of Sweden. Restored and finished yellow, this venerable OSCA S-187 received its FIVA Historical Technical Passport in 2003 under Mr. Hedborg. The S-187 was later sold to a buyer in France. In 2018, the car was refinished in red, as it was in its early years, and accorded French FSSA HTP papers.

Carrying irreplaceable and victorious racing history, as originally intended, this wonderful 1959 OSCA S-187 sports racer is a most fitting touchstone to the late-1950s and early-1960s glory days of American SCCA competition, a time never to be repeated, when small-bore racers could win national-level championships in the hands of committed racers who competed simply for love of the sport.