Enzo Ferrari’s tireless pursuit of performance saw constant evolution and development of the mechanicals as production went on. Having experimented with a Tipo 555 ‘Super Squalo’ Formula 1 engine in a Series 1 Mondial Tipo 501 chassis, improvements were made to both chassis and engine. The resulting 750 Monza saw the Tipo 119 engine easily produce 260 bhp, which to put into perspective, was 20 bhp than the hottest 3-litre V12, 250 Mille Miglias of the previous year. Offering superb power and torque from just 2,500 rpm, the engine was an instant hit with the works drivers. Designed by Aurelio Lampredi, the 4-cylinder saved a considerable 90 kg over the V12, whilst delivering more power and low down torque. Unlike Colombo V12s of the time, the engine architecture resulted in almost instantaneous dynamic braking when off throttle. Skilled drivers could now approach corners in top gear, lifting off throttle without unsettling the car, and leveraging engine braking to negotiate corners at much greater pace. From Ferrari’s records, it is noted that this is the second Monza to be supplied to French racer Francois Picard. Having heavily crashed his preceding 750 Monza in May of 1955 after racing with several successes, Picard had ordered this car in replacement, waiting some 9 months to receive the car in February 1956. With its chassis more similar to that of the next by sequence 857 S and subsequent 860 and 290 MM, this Monza differs from its peers. It received the latest iteration of the chassis with oval tubes for greater rigidity and torsional stiffness. These modifications were coupled with a unique body that incorporated design cues that would not be seen again until the pontoon-fendered 250 Testa Rossas, ensuring it stands apart. This Monza received a prominent, indented belt line, aiding its identification in period photographs and resulting in a far greater competition history than noted in its 1989 Cavallino article. Picard ordered and raced the car in his national colour, the vibrant French Racing Blue, in which it would remain for its first 18 months. The 26th February 1956 would see the car make its debut at the Agadir GP, where Picard would place 3rd behind Maurice Trintignant and Harry Schell in the works’ Ferraris. The car would see a DNF at the next race in Dakar, but another 3rd place finish in 1000km of Paris the following month where Picard would share the drive with Trintignant. Picard’s finale race in the Monza would be the Rouen GP at the start of July 1956. A few weeks later he would compete at the 24 hours of Le Mans in his 500 TR. For the final race of the season however, the Swedish GP in December, the car would be piloted by Alfonso de Portago. After the race the car was sold directly to Tore Bjurström's Scuderia Ferrari Swezia. For 1957, a change in regulation saw the introduction of the new Appendix C. All cars racing in 1957 were required to have a full width windscreen, a passenger door, both seats to be of the same size and the cockpit be 1.2m wide. Over the winter of 1956, the car was sold to Tore Bjurström and his race team ‘Scuderia Swezia’ and these revisions carried out. Several drivers would race under the Scuderia Ferrari Swezia banner in 1957 and the first time the car would be seen was at the Helsinki GP in May at the hands of Eric Lundgren. Sporting a new centre stripe in yellow, the Monza leveraged the former French racing colour to make Sweden’s racing colours. Carl-Otto Bremer would race the car in the majority that year but shared his debut race with another Finn, Esko ‘Pinoaro’ (Keinänen), in the November Swedish GP. Thereafter he would race alone, his competition resulting in multiple podiums, and no doubt his successes contributing to his purchase of the car outright at the end of the season after a full engine rebuild at the factory. Bremer would repaint the Monza in silver with a blue nose band at the time of his purchase, with the livery remaining to this day. Evidence of the French racing blue and yellow central stripe remain and can be seen around the ignition switch on the dashboard. Bremer would race the car until 1961 after which point in passed through two further owners, Holger Laine and Pentti Groehn who competed in the car on a handful of occasions before it was placed into storage in a garage in Valkeakoski, Finland where it would remain for a quarter of a century. In 1988 the car was located by Kari and Jukka Makela who has spent considerable time exploring the rumour of a 750 Monza in a garage. Having denied knowledge of its existence for some time, he was converted by their persistence and knowledge, eventually allowing them to purchase the car. After some minor fettling and a fuel change, the Monza started up. Its discovery was documented by Cavallino magazine in 1989 and the coverage at the time noted just how original the car was. It would be ten years before the car was offered for sale at the Christies Pebble Beach sale; it went unsold by changed hands the following year to serial Ferrari collector Harry Leventis. The car was acquired by its current owner just a year later who has competed extensively in the car; in Europe, the USA and as far as Macao garnering multiple class wins and podium positions.