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Authenticity of 1960 race car offered by Mecum at Monterey auction questioned; records show that the original car was wrecked, scrapped and parted out.
Source: Nelson Ireson SPEED.com
We have received word through our tip line that the 1960 Maserati Birdcage #2459 going up for auction at the Mecum Monterey Auction during Pebble Beach week could be a fake and not an original restored Birdcage as advertised. We haven't been able to confirm one way or the other yet, but the evidence is compelling.
The Maserati Tipo 60/61 is called the Birdcage because of the latticework of tubes that make up the chassis. (Photo: Mecum Auctions)
The tipster led us to Autosport Forums, where member “RA Historian” posted up the details on the history of chassis #2459, including a quote from the Willem Oosthoek/Michel Bollée book The Magnificent Front Engined Birdcages, which states that the car originally built with that chassis code was scrapped and used for parts on other Birdcages after a catastrophic end-over-end wreck at Daytona in February 1962.
“Mecum Auctions is advertising the ‘Briggs Cunningham Maserati Birdcage #2459’ for its Monterey auction in August,” RA Historian wrote. “I find this interesting indeed, as the real 2459 no longer exists.
“The car in the Mecum Auction may have one or two items of the original, such as the gear shift knob, but by no means is it the original car. There is no original car anymore.”
RA Historian adds that he has written to Mecum about the issue, and was told in an email by John Kramen at Mecum, "The complete history and fitting of this specific racer is accurately and correctly stated in the website description at www.mecum.com, with information provided by the vehicle principle [sic]. Certainly the spectacular completion by world renowned and respected Birdcage expert Steve Hart in 2010 combined with FIA approval places this historic racer among the most desirable and sought after investment grade sports racers ever produced."
That non-response skirts the issue, but it does point toward Mecum's ad for the car, which represents it as a "restoration" rather than a reconstruction or replica. The auction description goes on to imply that the car up for auction is one of the remaining 21 original front-engine Birdcages in existence.
We have also contacted Mecum and are waiting for a response.
Source: Nelson Ireson SPEED.com
We have received word through our tip line that the 1960 Maserati Birdcage #2459 going up for auction at the Mecum Monterey Auction during Pebble Beach week could be a fake and not an original restored Birdcage as advertised. We haven't been able to confirm one way or the other yet, but the evidence is compelling.
The Maserati Tipo 60/61 is called the Birdcage because of the latticework of tubes that make up the chassis. (Photo: Mecum Auctions)
The tipster led us to Autosport Forums, where member “RA Historian” posted up the details on the history of chassis #2459, including a quote from the Willem Oosthoek/Michel Bollée book The Magnificent Front Engined Birdcages, which states that the car originally built with that chassis code was scrapped and used for parts on other Birdcages after a catastrophic end-over-end wreck at Daytona in February 1962.
“Mecum Auctions is advertising the ‘Briggs Cunningham Maserati Birdcage #2459’ for its Monterey auction in August,” RA Historian wrote. “I find this interesting indeed, as the real 2459 no longer exists.
“The car in the Mecum Auction may have one or two items of the original, such as the gear shift knob, but by no means is it the original car. There is no original car anymore.”
RA Historian adds that he has written to Mecum about the issue, and was told in an email by John Kramen at Mecum, "The complete history and fitting of this specific racer is accurately and correctly stated in the website description at www.mecum.com, with information provided by the vehicle principle [sic]. Certainly the spectacular completion by world renowned and respected Birdcage expert Steve Hart in 2010 combined with FIA approval places this historic racer among the most desirable and sought after investment grade sports racers ever produced."
That non-response skirts the issue, but it does point toward Mecum's ad for the car, which represents it as a "restoration" rather than a reconstruction or replica. The auction description goes on to imply that the car up for auction is one of the remaining 21 original front-engine Birdcages in existence.
We have also contacted Mecum and are waiting for a response.
