Chassis No. 0265 EU Engine No. 162 Transmission No. 273 E Differential No. 116 M The story of chassis 0265 EU is inseparable from one of cinema’s most famous romances. Rumors of a passionate love affair swirled around Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman and Italian neorealist director Roberto Rossellini as they filmed Stromboli, with news of Bergman’s pregnancy in late 1949 before her divorce from her first husband all but confirming the affair. Throughout 1950 and 1951 their union remained the pièce de résistance of international gossip columns, and by 1952, with the birth of twin daughters Isabella and Isotta, the scandal surrounding their relationship had begun to fade, bolstered by acclaimed performances in Rossellini’s Europa ’51 and Viaggio in Italia. It was against this backdrop of romance, scandal, and cinematic achievement intertwined, that Ferrari entered their story. In April 1951, Bergman and Rossellini attended the Turin Auto Show where they were drawn to Ferrari’s latest creations. Rossellini ultimately ordered a sporting new Vignale-bodied 250 MM for himself, chassis 0230 MM, and in return, promised to gift Bergman a companion Ferrari with a more refined Coupe body. Rossellini, a close personal friend of Enzo Ferrari and ever the Prancing Horse devotee, commissioned several significant Ferraris and wasn’t shy about putting them to the test. In fact, he personally entered chassis 0230 MM in the grueling 1953 Mille Miglia against Bergman’s wishes—later retiring from the race in Rome after Bergman flung herself across the car and refused to move until he agreed to withdraw. For Bergman’s own Ferrari, chassis 0265 EU, she specifically chose Carrozzeria Pinin Farina for her car’s coachwork, a decision no doubt influenced by Ingrid’s warm friendship with the Farina family. According to marque historian Marcel Massini, the car was completed in late 1952 as a 212 Europa chassis and dispatched to Pinin Farina that December. Finished new in an elegant combination of Nero (Black) lower body with a Grigio Saloma (Saloma Grey) over Grigio (Grey) Connolly leather, the Coupe carries the period details that distinguish the first Pinin Farina-bodied Europas, such as the triple brightwork blades on the hood with the center spear reaching the Ferrari badge. Before delivery to Bergman and Rossellini, Ferrari selected 0265 EU for the stand at the XXIII International Geneva Motor Show, held 5–15 March 1953, where the understated two-tone presentation announced a new design language for Maranello’s road cars. The couple subsequently took delivery of the Coupe on 21 May 1953 for a sizable sum of 4.500.000 Italian Lire, with Bergman dubbing it her “Growling Baby.” In conversation with Enzo Ferrari himself during this commission, Bergman quipped, “Instead of getting a new flat, we’re getting a new Ferrari with a bigger trunk.” Her witty remark to Il Commendatore encapsulated the couple’s priorities, and indeed the gift Ferrari would come with grand touring luggage in mind. After taking delivery of the Ferrari in Rome, the couple embarked on an epic European journey to celebrate—a nearly 1,800-mile tour from Italy to Sweden. They wound their way north through the Alps of northern Italy and Switzerland, through Germany, and caught a ferry to Denmark en route to Bergman’s homeland. By the time they rolled up to Stockholm’s Grand Hotel in the early morning hours, news of their adventure had preceded them, and the star couple received a hero’s welcome in Sweden captured in period images on file. The car’s subsequent ownership history is continuous and well documented. In January 1954, Rossellini sold 0265 EU to Enzo Fidanzini of Rome, and later that summer, it briefly passed to noted American filmmaker Clarence Leon Brown—director of The Last of the Mohicans among other classics. The Ferrari returned to Fidanzini in September and would continue to change hands through a series of Italian owners in the late 1950s, documented by thorough Automobile Club d’Italia registration records. In 1959, chassis 0265 EU crossed the Atlantic to the United States, where it would reside in California. Early American custodians included Gordon A. Wiker, Frank Atkinson, Sid Colberg, and Bob Taylor. By the late 1970s, the Ferrari had been relocated to the dry climate of Texas, where it entered the care of Robert B. Lloyd and J. Katherine McClure. In October 1980, Bob Smith Coachworks of Gainesville, Texas, acquired 0265 EU in disassembled condition and undertook a comprehensive restoration, with the engine overhauled in Dallas. Emerging in red over tan, the Ferrari immediately embarked on a tour of major concours d'elegance. It was shown in August 1984 at the International Ferrari Concours at Rancho Cañada Golf Course in Monterey, California, placing fourth in class, and the following summer at the Ferrari Club of America Annual Meeting at Watkins Glen and Corning, where it won its class. The car’s crowning achievement of Best in Class at the 35th Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in August 1985 solidified its position among the best early Ferrari Gran Turismos, and the following year was featured in Cavallino magazine issue 35, with an article by Alan C. Boe. By 1996, chassis 0265 EU had entered the care of Dallas, Texas, collector John Ridings Lee, with a February 1996 letter on file from the Dallas Museum of Art addressed to Lee, thanking him for exhibiting the Ferrari in the museum’s Hot Cars, High Fashion, Cool Stuff: Designs of the 20th Century exhibition. In 1997, the car sold to Erich Taber of Berne, Switzerland, but would remain in the United States until 2005, when it finally returned to Europe under the care of Mario Bernardi in Germany. Bernardi subsequently showed the Ferrari at the European Concours d’Elegance in Schwetzingen in September 2006 before embarking on a complete restoration of the car from 2007–2008. The work included returning the exterior to its original and highly attractive livery of black with a silver roof and trimming the cabin in grey (YM3230) Connolly leather. In April 2011, the Ferrari joined the current caretaker. Under his long-term, careful stewardship, the car has been returned to regular use in top-tier historic motoring events. It was driven in the Silvretta Classic that July with race number 31, and the following January it was issued a FIVA identity card. The following year, chassis 0265 EU was invited to appear at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este in May 2012. It has since participated in a remarkable series of Mille Miglia Storica gatherings—2014, 2016, 2018, 2022, and 2024—frequently with members of the consignor’s family as crew, as well as the Passione Caracciola rally in Switzerland in 2019. The car's continued eligibility for the Mille Miglia Storica is secured through its registration in the Mille Miglia Registro under number 3554E5324, dated 18 April 2024. This registration, which requires extensive documentation, is therefore a meaningful advantage for the next owner and facilitates future participation in this celebrated event. Underscoring the significance of 0265 EU, the car was exhibited at the Ferrari Museum in Modena from February 2020 to March 2021. It was subsequently submitted to Ferrari Classiche and has been issued its “Red Book” certification in advance of the sale. The certification confirms the original chassis and matching-numbers Tipo 212 V12 engine (no. 162), while noting that the gearbox and differential are correct-type replacements with casings produced by Ferrari Classiche. Beyond its celebrity first ownership, 0265 EU stands as a benchmark example of the 212, a pivotal model in Ferrari’s early competition exploits and in establishing a long-term liaison with Pinin Farina. The understated design remains among the most tasteful of early Ferrari road car bodies, presented today in its original two-tone scheme and with characteristic hood brightwork and period details. Offered with a file that traces its assembly in Maranello, continuous ownership, numerous concours successes—including Pebble Beach and Villa d’Este—and its more recent European restoration and repeated participations in the Mille Miglia Storica, chassis 0265 EU combines provenance, presentation, and usability to a degree rarely encountered. It is a significant early Ferrari with a life story that bridges the factory stand at Geneva, the glamorous travels of Rossellini and Bergman, and decades of careful, enthusiastic stewardship on both sides of the Atlantic.