RM Sotheby's Scottsdale auction will once again round up some of the most sought-after classic collector cars on the planet, with no less than three Mercedes-Benz 300SLs, two Lamborghini Miuras and a pair of the suddenly-expensive Ferrari Testarossas to choose from. But one Ferrari that'll have bidders digging through their Ferrari history books before the auction kicks off in Arizona at the end of January will likely be the 212 Inter Coupe by Vignale.

Haven't seen that one? No worries -- we suspect that a lot of attendees of the Arizona in January auctions will have only caught one in photos from Villa d'Este or Pebble Beach.

The 212 Inter Coupe hails from a time when Ferrari was a racing outfit that made cars on the side in order to pay the bills, and when selecting the bodywork was part of the buying process.

The 212 Inter by Vignale features a thick chrome strip that runs from the very front of the car to the back -- an interesting design feature. RM Sotheby's

The 212 model itself could be viewed as an update of the 166, one of Ferrari's first models sold in any volume (though volume is a relative term when it comes to early Ferraris). The 212 featured a Colombo V12 bored out to 2.5-liters. Making use of three Weber 36 DCF3 carburetors, it produced 170 hp. The very first examples were completed in late 1950, with customers having a choice of coachbuilders for the actual bodies and interior of the cars, one of which was Vignale of Turin.

This particular car features the classic Vignale bodywork of the time -- the Cunningham C-3 is probably what it reminds you of the most -- with a relatively small greenhouse, a narrow body and a truncated tail. This general design was applied by Vignale to a number of cars in the early 1950s, at least in profile, though the various details are of course unique to this model.

Vignale's take on the 212 Inter features a very prominent chrome belt strip that starts off as a bumperette of sorts on the front wings, and streaks all the way to the back. The profile is broken up by the two-tone paint that includes details on the hood and the rear arches. The interior, meanwhile, features a very rectangular dash painted in the red body color, topped with a wraparound sill that extends to the doors and is finished with the dark tan leather that covers the rest of the interior and door cards. A large steering wheel sits relatively high on the dash, at least through modern eyes.

The interior features a wraparound shoulder line that integrates into the doors, though the design of the dash is appropriately modest for the period. RM Sotheby's

Chassis number 0285 EU was the 23rd of a total of 26 Ferrari 212 Inters bodied by Vignale, and this car immediately came to the U.S. though legendary importer Luigi Chinetti. Its first owner was Pennsylvania State Senator Theodore Newell Wood, who was said to be an avid sports car enthusiast and racer. Wood is thought to have kept the car into the late 1960s or early 1970s, with the 212 changing hands numerous times since, settling in California about 20 years ago.

RM Sotheby's states that car is in "in largely original and unmolested condition," explaning that it has been maintained all this time rather than refreshed every couple of decades -- pretty remarkable for a 63-year old car. But the auction house does not elaborate just which parts have seen any kind of restoration work, indicating only that "cosmetic and mechanical maintenance having been performed as necessary over the years."

The auction house has not published an estimate for this car, though another Vignale-bodied 212 Inter coupe from 1952 brought $1,787,500 at Gooding & Co's Scottsdale sale two years ago, while one in project condition brought $660,000 at RM Sotheby's 2011 Amelia Island sale. This particular example is perhaps assured a result north of $1.5 million given the indicated condition (and the red exterior color), even if not everyone in the room is sold on the looks.

Visit the auction website to view the full list of lots from the upcoming Scottsdale sale.

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