VIN: the Bob Wilke Ferrari 375 Mille Miglia chassis 0476 AM
History of chassis 0476 AM
For some customers, Ferrari’s flagship production model of 1953 to 1955 (the 375 America) was a little prosaic.
By any normal measure, this 300bhp Gran Turismo was among the world’s most desirable motor cars. However, the standard Pinin Farina styling was undeniably conservative and more or less identical to the cheaper 250 Europa.
If more power and greater individuality was required, the only step up was into a 375 Mille Miglia.
Originally created as Ferrari’s top flight challenger for the 1954 World Sportscar Championship, the 375 Mille Miglia was the ultimate platform upon which to commission a coachbuilt Speciale.
One customer to do just that was Bob Wilke of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Bob Wilke owned Leader Card, a company that manufactured high quality envelopes, cards and packaging. He was also heavily into sporting automobiles and, in addition to a fleet of super high end road cars, Wilke was patron of the Indy 500-winning Leader Card Specials for more than 15 years.
Between 1951 and 1955, Bob Wilke commissioned five special-order Ferraris.
The first trio were two-tone Vignale Coupes: a yellow and dark blue 212 Export (0128 E), a black and dark green 212 Inter (0257 EU) and a dark red and silver 375 America (0327 AL).
For the next, a 375 Mille Miglia road car (0476 AM), he turned to Ghia.
0476 AM was delivered to Ghia on November 24th 1954. Bob Wilke made several trips to Italy to oversee progress and must have been suitably impressed for, in March 1955, he commissioned Ghia to build him a second car: a unique 410 Superamerica (chassis 0473 SA).
As for 0476 AM, it was finished just in time to be displayed on Ghia’s stand at the Turin Motor Show which took place between April 20th and May 1st 1955. Painted salmon pink over anthracite grey with a matching two-tone interior, everything about the car was totally bespoke.
Wilke took delivery via Ferrari’s US importer, Luigi Chinetti. Although he later purchased a standard 250 GT Coupe, the Ghia specials were Wilke’s last custom Ferraris.
Bob Wilke retained 0476 AM until his death in 1970. By this time, the car had covered a little over 12,000km.
Four years later it was sold by Wilke’s son, along with another of his father’s Ferraris, to Robert Steiner, a doctor from Milwaukee.
In 1984, 0476 AM was sold via the Vintage Car Store, New York, to Ken Behring’s Blackhawk Collection in Danville, California. A Swiss purchaser then acquired the car in 1986 and retained it until 2002 when it was sold by Bonhams in Gstaad.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: RM Sotheby’s - https://rmsothebys.com/ & Ford - https://www.ford.com
