Ferrari 375 MM

Ferrari 375 MM
Matt Stone

If the new 612 Scaglietti has a forebear, this is it

An aristocratic, world-renowned Italian filmmaker. His beyond-beautiful, Oscar-winning wife. The Don of exotic sports car builders. Money. Fame. International intrigue.

A great movie script? Heck, no. Just a confab between Roberto Rossellini, Ingrid Bergman, Enzo Ferrari, and a custombodied Ferrari.

Rossellini and Bergman's marriage ran hot and cold, but the former's love for Ferraris burned at high intensity for decades. He and Enzo were amici speciali, and among Roberto's fleet at one time or another was Ferrari 375 MM chassis #456.

It would be unfair to accuse Pininfarina and lead designer Ken Okuyama of going retro with the look of the new 612 S. Yet there's no question the long-hooded proportions, scalloped side treatment, and cat's-eye-shaped headlights drew inspiration from this 1954, also-Pininfarina bodied Paris show car.

Romantic legend says that the car was purchased for Bergman by Rossellini as a gift immediately after the Paris show. But, according to Ferrari expert Pete Vack, in an article published in FORZA magazine, those closer to the family insist that Mrs. Rossellini was never particularly crazy about her flamboyant husband's taste in cars and never considered this one as hers. "I'm sure Roberto doesn't know the effect it has on me," she is claimed to have said, "when he roars off in one of those monsters."

Love, hate, and lore aside, the 375 MM was a grand and timelessly elegant statement. Just like Bergman herself.