• Type 
    Automobilia
  • Lot number 
    2
  • Location
    United States

Description

Michele Conti was one of the most talented and acclaimed model makers of the 20th century. He began his career working with full-scale cars at Stabilimenti Farina and Pininfarina. During his tenure at Pininfarina, in his free time and evenings, he began making building custom, scale models. Because of his dedication to realism, many manufacturers entrusted Conti with actual factory drawings. Most of the models were one-offs and his construction mimicked the full-scale cars: bodywork shaped over a wooden buck, interiors reproduced in upholstery materials, and tires cast from rubber from miniature molds he made of the originals. His models appeared in the New York Museum of Modern Art and Enzo Ferrari was so amazed at his model’s perfection that he wrote personally to Conti to lavish him with praise.

This lovely 1:12 scale model is an entirely scratch-built model of the iconic 1958 Vanwall driven by Stirling Moss to victory in the inaugural Formula One constructor’s championship that year. This is an extremely early and very rare Conti model, produced around 1958. It features an aluminum, hand-beaten body and various brass parts. According to the consignor, a master model builder and collector himself, the Vanwall remains in largely original condition with a wonderful light patina. It was purchased by the consignor a few decades ago out of a collection in Italy. In his care it has benefited from general cleaning and polishing, with very minor conservation touchups to small chips at the outer edge of the nose opening. Rarely does an early Conti model such as this come up for sale, let alone in as captivating original condition as this model is. Dimensions: Display case is 18" x 10" x 7.25"