Luigi Chinetti

Luigi Chinetti(July 17, 1901 – August 17, 1994) was anItalian-bornracecar driver,who emigrated to theUnited StatesduringWorld War II.He drove in 12 consecutive24 Hours of Le Mansraces, taking three outright wins there and taking two more at theSpa 24 Hoursrace. Chinetti owned theNorth American Racing Team,which successfully ran privateer Ferraris in sports car and Formula One races. For many years he was the exclusive American importer ofFerrariautomobiles to the United States.

Luigi Chinetti
Born	(1901-07-17)July 17, 1901 Jerago con Orago,Italy
Died	August 17, 1994(1994-08-17)(aged 93) Greenwich, Connecticut
Nationality	Italian(to 1946) American(from 1946 on)
24 Hours of Le Manscareer
Years	1932–1935,1937–1939,1949–1953
Teams	Raymond Sommer Alfa Romeo Private Lord Selsdon
Best finish	1st(1932,1934,1949)
Class wins	3(1932,1934,1949)

Biography

Chinetti was born inJerago con Orago,a little north ofMilan.The son of a gunsmith, he apprenticed in his father's workshop where he earned a lathe operator's certificate at age 12 and qualified as a mechanic at age 14.In 1917, at age 16, he went to work forAlfa Romeoas a mechanic, where he met another young hire namedEnzo Ferrari.The rise to power ofBenito Mussolini'sNational Fascist Partyin his native country prompted a move toPariswhere he worked for Alfa Romeo as a salesman.

He also began to race sports cars as a driver, earning a reputation in endurance events, the24 Hours of Le Mansin particular. Driving cars from Alfa Romeo,Talbot,and Ferrari, Chinetti competed in every Le Mans race held between 1932 and 1953. He entered a car in the 1954 race, but as sponsor rather than driver.

Following the outbreak of World War II in Europe, Chinetti went to the United States of America. He traveled as part of theLucy O'Reilly SchellÉcurie Bleue team, that also included driverRené Dreyfus,for an appearance at the 1940Indianapolis 500.Chinetti remained in New York, getting approval to work atPratt and Whitneyand then supporting the Allied war effort at J. S. Inskip, working on Rolls-Royce engines in the same shop as Italian master mechanicAlfred Momo.Chinetti applied for American citizenship in 1947, and took the oath of allegiance on 6 March 1950.His naturalization was sponsored byZora Arkus-Duntov.

When the war ended, Chinetti returned to Europe in late 1949. He first went to Paris, only to find that his property had been lost in the war.From there he carried on to Modena for a meeting with Enzo Ferrari, whose car factory had been converted to making machine tools for wartime production. The two men met on Christmas Eve in Ferrari's office. Some accounts of this evening describe a highly dramatic meeting between an uncertain and somewhat despondent Ferrari considering abandoning the making of sports cars, and a confident and enthusiastic Chinetti countering that Ferrari must stop making machine tools and resume building racing cars; that the race cars would be paid for by building road cars that Chinetti would sell in America; and placing an order then and there for 25 cars.Other sources point out that in June of that year, Ferrari had already begun building a new racing car; the125.This new car would use an engine designed byGioacchino Colomboin August 1945 and first fired on a test bench in September 1946, and that one month after that Ferrari issued a brochure outlining the types of cars he planned to build. It is also pointed out that, while Chinetti had been selling cars such as pre-war Alfas and Talbots to American customers from as early as 1946, he would not have then been in a position to commit to an order of the rumored magnitude. In either case, it seems that Chinetti left the meeting with an agreement to be Ferrari's agent in France and the United States.

As both an individual team owner and through N.A.R.T., Chinetti not only left a legacy of fielding some of the best drivers of the era, but of cultivating some of the highest quality up-and-coming talent, the two groups including names such asStirling Moss,Mario Andretti,Phil Hill,PedroandRicardo Rodríguez,Graham Hill,andJean-Pierre Jarier.One driver that Chinetti tried to promote was journalistDenise McCluggage.The three-time Le Mans winner submitted McCluggage's name as one of his drivers for Le Mans, but the application was denied. Chinetti was able to sponsorYvonne Simonin the1950 24 Hours of Le Manspartnered withMichel Kasse,and fielded the all-female team of Simon andBetty Haigat the1951 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Chinetti Sr. sold his business in 1977.He remained inGreenwich, Connecticutafter his retirement and died on 17 August 1994 at the age of ninety-three.

Ferrari

Enzo Ferrari appointed Chinetti as his Ferrari factory agent in the United States. Chinetti opened the first—and for a while the only—Ferrari dealership in the country. Later his territory became all areas east of the Mississippi River. Chinetti's reputation continued to draw clients from across the country throughout his career. In addition to handling Ferrari, Chinetti Motors was also U.S. agent forAutomobili OSCAof Bologna until 1967. The original showroom of hisGreenwich, Connecticutbusiness has been demolished but the business with new location remains open, owned by Miller Motorcars, a Ferrari-Maseratidealership.

The first Ferrari sold by Chinetti to the US was a Tipo 166 MM Touring Barchetta, chassis 0002 M, sold to Tommy Lee in Los Angeles in the first three months of 1949.The second car sold, and the first sold through the dealership, was aFerrari Tipo 166 Spyder Corsa,chassis 016-I, toBriggs Cunningham.Cunningham drove it to second place at Watkins Glen in 1949. That car ultimately ended up in Cunningham's motorcar museum. The third car was Tipo 166 MM Barchetta 0010 M sold to Kimberly-Clark tissue-paper fortune heir Jim Kimberly. Kimberly and the Ferrari appeared at some eastern events, but on 1 April 1951 with Marshall Lewis behind the wheel it would be the first Ferrari to race and win west of the Mississippi. In 1952 Chinetti sold 1951 Ferrari 212 Export Barchetta 0078E to Phil Hill near the beginning of the future World Champion's career.Chinetti would later hire Hill as a driver, and later still recommend him to Ferrari, who at first put him insports-racingcars and later added Hill to theirFormula One(F1) team.Most of Chinetti's other sales were kept secret to protect the privacy of his wealthy clients.

N.A.R.T.

Main article:North American Racing Team

Chinetti founded the privateer North American Racing Team (N.A.R.T.) with financial support from George Arents and Jan de Vroom.Chinetti's reputation and existing relationship with Ferrari guaranteed a supply of former works cars and support for many years. The team ran very successful endurance racing programs both at Sebring and Le Mans right into the 1970s.

Ferrari's F1158sraced in N.A.R.T. blue and white for two races at the end of the 1964 season.When the FIA refused to homologate theFerrari 250 LMfor international sports car racing, Enzo Ferrari returned his competition license and vowed to never race in Ferrari Red again. With the championship on the line, Ferrari's cars appeared in N.A.R.T. colors for the 1964United States Grand Prixat Watkins Glen, and again at the1964 Mexican Grand Prix.By the start of the 1965 season the dispute was resolved, and the cars were painted red once again.

In addition to the racing cars, the team commissioned limited-run special variants of Ferrari road cars. One such project was the275 GTS/4 NART Spyder.Left without a convertible model after production of the250 GT Californiaended in 1962, Chinetti obtained factory permission to have coachbuilderScaglietticonvert a series of 4-cam 275GTB/4 coupés into open-top cars. Of a planned run of 25, only 10 are believed to have been built.

In the mid-1970s Chinetti commissionedGiovanni Michelottito begin a series ofFerrari Daytonaswith heavily customized bodywork that would be called the Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona NART Spider.The first was shown at the 1974Turin Auto Show.The second conversion was chassis number 15965, and was built up as a racing car in anticipation of an appearance at the 1975 24 Hours of Le Mans, although the car was withdrawn before the race. In 1975 Chinetti ordered three more Michelotti conversions built to road car specifications. One of these three, chassis 14299, was completed in 1977 and then specially customized by Chinetti as a gift for his wife.

Personal life

Chinetti married on 18 April 1942.He and wife Marion had one son; Luigi "Coco" Chinetti Junior.

On 27 July 1963 Luigi Jr. married Mamie Spears Reynolds (1942–2014), daughter ofU.S. SenatorRobert Rice Reynoldsand Evalyn Washington "Evie" McLean.Reynolds was the first woman to qualify for the Daytona 500. Luigi Jr. and Reynolds divorced after two years.

Racing career

Chinetti winner of the1932 24 Hours of Le Mans

Driving anAlfa Romeo race carentered by his co-driverRaymond Sommer,Chinetti won at his very first24 hours of Le Mansrace in1932.The following year, withLouis Chironas co-driver, he won theSpa 24 Hoursendurance race inBelgium.He teamed up withPhilippe Étancelinin1934to win his second 24 hours of Le Mans.

At the1949 24 Hours of Le Mansrace he drove the firstFerrariever to win the event, and became the second three-time winner of the race. TheFerrari 166Min which Chinetti won was turned over toBaron SelsdonofScotland(Peter Mitchell-Thomson) for twenty minutes during the race, making Thomson the official co-driver although Chinetti had driven twenty-three of the hours of the race. Following the race, Thomson purchased that automobile through Chinetti.

Chinetti made three appearances at theSpa 24 Hours,taking outright wins in 1933 in an Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 partnered with Phillipe Varent, and again in 1949 in a Ferrari Tipo 166 MM driving for Ferrari withJean Lucas.

He also posted wins at the Paris 12 Hours; once in 1948 in a Ferrari Tipo 166 SC, and again in 1950 in a Tipo 166 MM teamed with Jean Lucas.

In 1951, he was the riding mechanic in theFerrari 212that won the gruelingCarrera Panamericanarace, a 2,100-mile (3,400 km), five-day competition acrossMexico.Chinetti appeared in the Carrera Panamericana three more times in subsequent years, with the highest finish being a third place in 1952.

Racing record

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1932	Raymond Sommer	Raymond Sommer	Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 LM	5.0*	218	1st	1st
1933	Soc. An. Alfa Romeo	Philippe de Gunzbourg	Alfa Romeo 8C 2300	5.0*	233	2nd	2nd
1934	Luigi Chinetti	Philippe Étancelin	Alfa Romeo 8C 2300	3.0	213	1st	1st
1935	Luigi Chinetti	Jacques Gastaud	Alfa Romeo 8C 2300	3.0	116	DNF
1937	Luigi Chinetti	Louis Chiron	Talbot T150C	5.0	7	DNF
1938	Luigi Chinetti	Philippe Étancelin	Talbot T1500 SS Coupé	5.0	66	DNF
1939	Luigi Chinetti	Taso Mathieson	Talbot T26	5.0	102	DNF (Contact)
1949	Lord Selsdon	Peter Mitchell-Thomson,Baron Selsdon	Ferrari 166MM	S2.0	235	1st	1st
1950	Luigi Chinetti	Pierre Louis-Dreyfus	Ferrari 195 Sport	S3.0	121	DNF (Transmission)
1951	Luigi Chinetti	Jean Lucas	Ferrari 340 America	S5.0	246	8th	5th
1952	Luigi Chinetti	Jean Lucas	Ferrari 340 America	S5.0	250	DSQ (Early refuel)
1953	Luigi Chinetti	Tom Cole	Ferrari 340MM Spider	S5.0	175	DNF (Fatal accident - Cole)

• Note *:equivalent class for supercharging, with x1.4 modifier to engine capacity.

Complete 12 Hours of Sebring results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1950	Briggs Cunningham	Alfredo Momo	Ferrari 195 S	S3.0	104	7th	1st

Complete Carrera Panamericana results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers/Navigator	Car	Class	Pos.	Class Pos.
1951	Centro Deportivo Italiano	Piero Taruffi	Ferrari 212 InterVignale	-	1st
1952	Industrias 1-2-3	Jean Lucas	Ferrari 340 Mexico Vignale Berlinetta	S	3rd	3rd
1953	Scuderia Guastalla	Alfonso de Portago	Ferrari 375 MM Vignale Spyder	S+1.6	DNF (Over time limit; engine)
1954	John Shakespeare	John Shakespeare	Ferrari 375 MM Pinin Farina	S+1.5	6th	4th

World Sportscar Championship results

Season	Team	Race car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
1953	Luigi Chinetti Scuderia Gustalla	Ferrari 340 MM Ferrari 375 MM	USA	ITA	FRA	BEL	DEU	UK	MEX
					DNF				DNF
1954	John Shakespeare	Ferrari 375 MM	ARG	USA	ITA	FRA	UK	MEX
								6

Further reading

• Newman, Robert John (15 May 2014).Motor Racing Heroes: The Stories of 100 Greats.Veloce Publishing.ISBN978-1845847487.