Chassis: 0434 MD
Engine: 0434 MD
Salesroom Addendum
Please note that this vehicle has combined acceptance to two 1000 Miglia events – the Warm Up USA Event in October 2024 and the 1000 Miglia 2025 – subject to registration and payment of entry fee, thus providing its next owner with an exciting and rare opportunity to participate in this historic event.
One of Only 14 Pinin Farina-Bodied Mondial Spiders
Sold New to Dutch Racer Herman Roosdorp via Garage Francorchamps
Period Competition History Includes Successful Outings at Spa and Zandvoort
Exhibited at Pebble Beach (1978) and the 1000 Miglia Retrospective (1990 and 1994)
Provenance Includes Noted Collectors Ed Niles, Peter Sachs, and David Sydorick
Retains Matching-Numbers Engine and Transaxle per Factory Build Sheets
1,985 CC Tipo 110 DOHC Inline 4-Cylinder Engine
Two Weber 45 DCOE Carburetors
Estimated 170 BHP at 7,000 RPM
4-Speed Manual Transaxle
4-Wheel Hydraulic Drum Brakes
Front Independent Suspension with Transverse Leaf Spring
Rear De Dion Suspension with Transverse Leaf Spring
In December 1953, Ferrari unveiled its first four-cylinder production sports car – the 500 Mondial, named in honor of Alberto Ascari’s back-to-back World Championships.
Like Ascari’s 500 F2 Monoposto, the Mondial featured a two-liter, twin-cam, four-cylinder engine designed by Aurelio Lampredi. Known internally as the tipo 110, this engine was a direct development of the inline-four used in Ferrari’s contemporary Grand Prix machines. Its advanced specification included gear-driven camshafts, dry sump lubrication, hemispherical combustion chambers, twin-spark ignition, and a pair of Weber DCO carburetors. Each cylinder displaced just under 500 cc, hence the “500” in the model’s name. Constructed using traditional Ferrari methods, the Mondial featured a tubular steel chassis with independent transverse leaf-spring suspension, a De Dion rear axle, Houdaille shock absorbers, finned aluminum drum brakes, and a rear-mounted, four-speed transaxle.
In all, Ferrari built 22 examples of the Series I 500 Mondial for the 1954 season. Most wore handsome Pinin Farina bodies styled along the lines of the contemporary 375 MM, though several received Scaglietti coachwork designed by Dino Ferrari. A compact and nimble sports racer with thumping four-cylinder power, the 500 Mondial proved successful from the outset, capturing class wins at Barcelona, Casablanca, Imola, and the Mille Miglia.
The 500 Mondial Series I Pinin Farina Spider presented here, chassis 0434 MD, is surely among the finest examples of this rare breed of sports racing Ferrari.
As chronicled by marque historian Marcel Massini, Ferrari delivered the newly completed 0434 MD to Jacques Swaters’ Garage Francorchamps in Ixelles, Belgium, on May 17, 1954. In his various capacities as a dealer, driver, and racing team manager, Swaters endeared himself to Enzo Ferrari through successful early dealings with the automaker and became the official importer for the Benelux region. The relationship would span 50 years and make Swaters one of the world’s most important Ferrari dealers and collectors.
The 500 Mondial Spider was destined for Herman Roosdorp, a Dutch racing driver who had previously owned and raced a Ferrari 166 MM Barchetta.
Roosdorp, who acquired 0434 MD as a replacement for his Jaguar C-Type, promptly began campaigning the new Ferrari in local events, first at the Grand Prix of Sports Cars at Spa-Francorchamps on May 23, 1954, where he placed 5th in Class. Greater successes quickly followed. A month later at Zandvoort, Roosdorp drove the Mondial to a 2nd Overall finish, and in July he posted a pair of class wins. That year, Ferrari recognized Roosdorp’s successes by including a photo of him with 0434 MD in the company’s famous yearbook.
Late in 1954, Roosdorp sold the Ferrari to another Dutch enthusiast, Simon Maasland, who intended to have his son, Hans, race it. In May 1955, Hans Maasland and Dries Van der Lof drove the Mondial to a 1st in Class result at Zandvoort’s International Whitsunday Sports Car Race. As testimony to its enduring competitiveness, 0434 MD captured another 1st in Class at Zandvoort with Maasland as late as May 1956.
Advertised for sale in the German car magazine Auto, Motor und Sport in October 1956, the Ferrari was subsequently imported into the US by Chuck Fee in 1964, and then sold to Asa Clark of Los Angeles. In September 1965, pioneering Ferrari enthusiast Ed Niles of Los Angeles purchased the Mondial from Mr. Clark, beginning an on-again/off-again relationship that would see him sell and reacquire the car multiple times over the next decade. Ultimately, Mr. Niles had the Mondial restored for exhibition at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance® in August 1978 before finally parting ways with 0434 MD in June 1979.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the Mondial was owned by some of the world’s leading Ferrari collectors, including Erich Traber, Peter Sachs, Bill Jacobs, and David Sydorick. In their hands, 0434 MD demonstrated its remarkable versatility, taking part in vintage races, prominent international rallies, and Ferrari club concours. In 1990, Mr. Traber loaned the Mondial to Swiss racing driver Fredy Lienhard for that year’s running of the 1000 Miglia, while Mr. Sydorick drove it in the same event in 1994.
Mr. Jacobs reacquired the car from Mr. Sydorick circa 2000, and the Mondial would remain a cherished prize in his collection throughout the next decade. Following Mr. Jacobs’ passing in 2010, 0434 MD joined a significant private collection comprised of the finest postwar sports and racing cars. Since 2018, the 500 Mondial has been a fixture in a prominent Los Angeles-based Ferrari collection, where it has benefited from regular exercise and maintenance.
Today, 0434 MD stands out as a rarity among 500 Mondials, as it is one of the only examples known to have survived with its original chassis, Pinin Farina coachwork, engine (internal no. 17 MD), and transaxle (internal no. 14 MD) intact. Indeed, the only notable deviations from factory-correct specification are its updated Weber carburetors and tubular shock absorbers. Its outstanding presentation is further bolstered by a documentation file that includes a report by Ferrari historian Marcel Massini, copies of the factory build sheets, period images, magazine articles, and correspondence.
Between 1954 and 1957, Ferrari built a remarkable variety of highly competitive four-cylinder sports racing cars, including famous models such as the 500 Mondial, 750 Monza, 857 Sport, and 500 TRC. In period, these cars achieved tremendous success in international racing, thanks to their exotic, high-output engines and robust chassis. Following their active racing careers, many of these Ferraris suffered high attrition and other indignities, making a car like 0434 MD even more extraordinary.
Successfully raced in-period at major European circuits like Spa-Francorchamps and Zandvoort, this beautiful sports racing barchetta has continued to pique the interest of distinguished collectors for the past 60 years. Surely one of the most beautiful competition cars of its era, the Mondial’s gorgeous, perfectly proportioned Pinin Farina body, with its fantastic trails of exposed rivets, and magnificent Grand Prix-derived Lampredi powerplant remain as impressive today as they were in 1954.
Rare in its relatively uncompromised character, this well-documented example of a beloved Ferrari sports racer should not be overlooked. Its appearance at auction represents a significant opportunity for the most discerning collector.
Herman Roosdorp, Brussels, Belgium (acquired new via Garage Francorchamps in 1954)Simon Maasland, The Netherlands (acquired from the above in 1954)
Asa Clark, Los Angeles, California (acquired via Chuck Fee circa 1964)
Edwin K. Niles, Los Angeles, California (acquired from the above in 1965)
Kathy and Lyle Tanner, Carson, California (acquired from the above in 1965)
Edwin K. Niles, Los Angeles, California (reacquired from the above in 1965)
James Mitchell, Los Angeles, California (acquired from the above in 1966)
Edwin K. Niles, Los Angeles, California (reacquired from the above in 1973)
FAF Motorcars, Tucker, Georgia (acquired from the above in 1979)
Harold Javetz, Savannah, Georgia (acquired from the above circa 1979)
Peter G. Sachs, Stamford, Connecticut (acquired from the above in 1980)
William B. Jacobs Jr., Joliet, Illinois (acquired from the above in 1983)
Frank Gallogly, Englewood, New Jersey (acquired from the above)
Erich Traber, Bern, Switzerland (acquired from the above circa 1989)
David Sydorick, Beverly Hills, California (acquired from the above in 1993)
William B. Jacobs Jr., Joliet, Illinois (reacquired from the above circa 2000)
Private Collection (acquired from the estate of the above circa 2011)
Current Owner (acquired from the above in 2018)
