Birth of the Legend: The 1956 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta ‘Tour de France’ by Scaglietti

Every once in a while, a machine comes along that doesn’t just participate in history—it dictates it. In the world of high-stakes automotive collecting, names like “Monza,” “Daytona,” and “California” carry a heavy weight, but few monikers possess the sheer, unadulterated racing pedigree of the “Tour de France.”

Yet, while we’ve grown accustomed to seeing that TdF badge on modern, carbon-fiber-clad Ferraris, there is one singular car that birthed the legend. We are talking about the 1956 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta ‘Tour de France’ by Scaglietti, specifically chassis number 0557 GT.

This isn’t just a high-end collector car; it is the actual namesake for which the entire “Tour de France” nomenclature was instituted. It is the architectural blueprint for every legend that followed, and it is currently the talk of the horological and automotive world.

To understand the magnitude of this Ferrari, you have to understand the man who first mastered it: the Marquis Alfonso de Portago. A godson to King Alfonso XIII of Spain, de Portago was the ultimate 1950s archetype—an Olympic-level bobsledder, a relentless international playboy, and a Ferrari Works driver who treated danger like a casual acquaintance.

In September 1956, he entered this very chassis in the Tour de France Auto, an grueling 2,800-kilometer odyssey that combined hill climbs, drag races, and six circuit races at iconic tracks like Le Mans and Reims.

De Portago and his co-driver Ed Nelson didn’t just win; they dominated, taking the top spot in five of the six circuit races and finishing 1st overall. The victory was so monumental and the car so impressive that Ferrari forever rebranded the model in its honor.

Structurally, chassis 0557 GT is a work of art from the golden era of coachbuilding. It is the ninth of just 14 first-series cars and the seventh of only nine ever clothed in Scaglietti’s breathtaking, early no-louvre coachwork. Its lines are clean, aggressive, and purposeful, representing the dawn of Ferrari’s dominance in the GT class.

What makes this particular example a “unicorn” even among Ferraris is its perfect record: it is the only known Ferrari to take victory in every single race it entered in period.

This unbeaten streak is matched by a equally impressive concours pedigree, as the car also secured 1st in its class at the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 1994. Very few cars in existence can claim to be both a savage on the track and a darling of the aesthetic elite.

As of January 2026, the car has reached a new pinnacle of provenance, having just been awarded the hallowed “Red Book” certification by Ferrari Classiche.

This official nod from Maranello confirms that the car is a fully matching-numbers specimen, having retained its original engine, gearbox, rear axle, and bodywork through seven decades of history. It has been held by a remarkably short ownership chain of just five caretakers, ensuring that its history is as transparent as it is illustrious.

When you consider that it currently carries an estimate well in excess of $15,000,000, you begin to realize that this isn’t simply a vehicle; it’s a blue-chip historical artifact that single-handedly changed the trajectory of the Prancing Horse.

For the modern collector, acquiring 0557 GT is an unparalleled opportunity to own the foundation of Ferrari lore. It is a car that exists at the intersection of high fashion and high-octane violence, a machine that was equally at home being kissed by the Marquis’s famous girlfriends at a Rome checkpoint as it was screaming past a factory Mercedes-Benz 300 SL at Le Mans.

It stands as a testament to an era where the drivers were flamboyant and the cars were invincible. Whether it’s displayed on a lawn at Monterey or tearing through the French countryside during a rally, the 1956 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta ‘Tour de France’ remains the definitive expression of why we love the automobile.

It is the original, the namesake, and quite possibly, the most significant competition Ferrari ever to see the light of day.

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