Luigi Chinetti

Luigi Chinetti
Born	(1901-07-17) 17 July 1901 Jerago con Orago, Italy
Died	17 August 1994(1994-08-17) (aged 93) Greenwich, Connecticut, United States
Occupation(s)	Racing driver, businessman
Known for	Three-time winner of 24 Hours of Le Mans; Ferrari importer in the United States; founder of North American Racing Team (N.A.R.T.)

Luigi Chinetti (born July 17, 1901 – passed away August 17, 1994) was a racecar driver originally from Italy, who relocated to the United States during the period of World War II. Over the course of his career, he participated in twelve straight 24 Hours of Le Mans competitions, securing three overall victories and achieving two wins at the Spa 24 Hours event. Chinetti was the proprietor of the North American Racing Team, which managed private Ferrari entries in both sports car and Formula One competitions. For an extended period, he served as the sole importer of Ferrari vehicles into the American market.

Biography

Born in Jerago con Orago, a small town north of Milan, Chinetti was the son of a gunsmith. He trained under his father’s guidance, earning certification as a lathe operator by age twelve and qualifying as a mechanic at fourteen. In 1917, when he was sixteen, he began working for Alfa Romeo as a mechanic, where he encountered fellow newcomer Enzo Ferrari. The ascent of Benito Mussolini's fascist regime in Italy led Chinetti to move to Paris, where he took on a role as an Alfa Romeo salesman.

Simultaneously, Chinetti embarked on a racing career, particularly distinguishing himself in endurance contests such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Driving vehicles from Alfa Romeo, Talbot, and Ferrari, he competed in every Le Mans race held between 1932 and 1953. Although he entered a car in the 1954 race, he did so solely as a sponsor rather than behind the wheel.

With the outbreak of World War II in Europe, Chinetti relocated to the United States. He arrived as part of the Lucy O'Reilly Schell Écurie Bleue team, which included driver René Dreyfus, to compete at the 1940 Indianapolis 500. Remaining in New York thereafter, he secured permission to work at Pratt and Whitney before contributing to the Allied war effort at J. S. Inskip, focusing on Rolls-Royce engines alongside Italian master mechanic Alfred Momo. Chinetti applied for American citizenship in 1947 and officially became a naturalized citizen on March 6, 1950, with sponsorship from Zora Arkus-Duntov.

After the war concluded, Chinetti returned to Europe late in 1949. Upon arriving in Paris, he discovered that his property had been lost during the conflict. From there, he traveled to Modena for a meeting with Enzo Ferrari, whose factory had been repurposed for wartime machine tool production. The two met on Christmas Eve in Ferrari's office. Some narratives describe this encounter as highly dramatic: Ferrari contemplated abandoning sports car manufacturing while Chinetti encouraged him to resume building racing cars. According to these accounts, Chinetti proposed financing race car production through sales of road cars that he would distribute in America and placed an order for twenty-five vehicles during this meeting. Other sources indicate that Ferrari had already begun constructing a new racing car—the 125—in June of that year. This model featured an engine designed by Gioacchino Colombo in August 1945 and first tested on a bench in September 1946; by October 1946, Ferrari had released a brochure outlining his planned vehicle lineup. It is also noted that while Chinetti had been selling pre-war Alfa Romeos and Talbots to American customers since at least 1946, it is unlikely he could have committed to such a large order at that time. Regardless, it appears that Chinetti left with an agreement to act as Ferrari's representative in both France and the United States.

Through his individual team ownership and via N.A.R.T., Chinetti fostered some of the era's most talented drivers as well as emerging stars. Among those associated with his teams were notable names such as Stirling Moss, Mario Andretti, Phil Hill, Pedro Rodríguez, Ricardo Rodríguez, Graham Hill, and Jean-Pierre Jarier. One driver whom Chinetti sought to promote was journalist Denise McCluggage. Although she was nominated by Chinetti for participation at Le Mans three times, her applications were declined. However, Chinetti successfully sponsored Yvonne Simon alongside Michel Kasse at the 1950 24 Hours of Le Mans and fielded an all-female team consisting of Simon and Betty Haig in the 1951 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Chinetti Sr. divested his business interests in 1977. He continued living in Greenwich, Connecticut after retiring and passed away there on August 17, 1994, aged ninety-three.

Ferrari

Enzo Ferrari designated Chinetti as the official Ferrari factory representative for the United States. Chinetti established the nation’s inaugural—and initially sole—Ferrari dealership. Eventually, his jurisdiction expanded to cover all regions east of the Mississippi River. Throughout his career, Chinetti’s esteemed reputation attracted customers nationwide. Besides representing Ferrari, Chinetti Motors also served as the U.S. agent for Automobili OSCA of Bologna until 1967. Although the original showroom in Greenwich, Connecticut has since been demolished, the dealership continues to operate under new ownership by Miller Motorcars, a Ferrari-Maserati dealer.

The first Ferrari Chinetti sold in the U.S. was a Tipo 166 MM Touring Barchetta, chassis number 0002 M, purchased by Tommy Lee in Los Angeles during early 1949. The second vehicle sold—and the first through his dealership—was a Ferrari Tipo 166 Spyder Corsa, chassis 016-I, acquired by Briggs Cunningham. Cunningham drove this car to a runner-up finish at Watkins Glen in 1949, and it eventually became part of his automotive museum collection. The third sale was a Tipo 166 MM Barchetta 0010 M, bought by Jim Kimberly, heir to the Kimberly-Clark tissue-paper fortune. Kimberly and his Ferrari participated in several Eastern events; notably, on April 1, 1951, with Marshall Lewis driving, it became the first Ferrari to race and claim victory west of the Mississippi River. In 1952, Chinetti sold a 1951 Ferrari 212 Export Barchetta 0078E to Phil Hill early in his career before he became World Champion. Subsequently, Chinetti employed Hill as a driver and later recommended him to Ferrari, who initially placed Hill in sports-racing vehicles before promoting him to their Formula One (F1) squad. Many other sales made by Chinetti were kept confidential to protect his affluent clientele's privacy.

N.A.R.T.

Main article: North American Racing Team

Chinetti established the privateer North American Racing Team (N.A.R.T.) with financial backing from George Arents and Jan de Vroom. His longstanding rapport with Ferrari ensured access to former factory race cars and ongoing support for numerous years. N.A.R.T. operated highly successful endurance racing programs at venues such as Sebring and Le Mans well into the 1970s.

Ferrari’s F1 158 cars competed under N.A.R.T.’s blue and white livery during two events at the conclusion of the 1964 season. When the FIA declined to homologate the Ferrari 250 LM for international sports car competition, Enzo Ferrari responded by surrendering his competition license and pledging never to race in Ferrari Red again. With championships at stake, Ferrari’s vehicles appeared in N.A.R.T. colors at the 1964 United States Grand Prix in Watkins Glen and subsequently at the 1964 Mexican Grand Prix. By the start of the following season in 1965, this dispute had been settled, and Ferrari’s cars returned to their traditional red paint.

Beyond racing entries, N.A.R.T. commissioned limited-edition special versions of Ferrari road cars. One notable example is the 275 GTS/4 NART Spyder. After production of the 250 GT California convertible ceased in 1962, leaving no open-top model available, Chinetti secured factory authorization to have coachbuilder Scaglietti transform several four-cam 275GTB/4 coupes into convertibles. Although a run of 25 was planned, only about ten were completed.

During the mid-1970s, Chinetti engaged Giovanni Michelotti to create a series of extensively modified Ferrari Daytona models named Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona NART Spiders. The initial vehicle debuted at the 1974 Turin Auto Show. The second conversion, chassis number 15965, was prepared as a racing car intended for participation in the 1975 24 Hours of Le Mans but was withdrawn prior to competition. In 1975, three additional Michelotti conversions were commissioned for road use. One of these three, chassis number 14299, was completed in 1977 and subsequently personalized by Chinetti as a present for his wife.

Personal life

Luigi Chinetti entered into marriage on 18 April 1942. He and his spouse Marion were parents to a single son, Luigi "Coco" Chinetti Junior.

On 27 July 1963, Luigi Jr. wed Mamie Spears Reynolds (1942–2014), who was the daughter of U.S. Senator Robert Rice Reynolds and Evalyn Washington "Evie" McLean. Mamie Reynolds was notably the first female to qualify for the Daytona 500. The marriage between Luigi Jr. and Mamie ended in divorce after two years.

Racing career

Chinetti, victor of the 1932 24 Hours of Le Mans

Chinetti achieved victory in his debut 24 Hours of Le Mans event in Template:24hLM, driving an Alfa Romeo race car entered by his teammate Raymond Sommer. The subsequent year, he partnered with Louis Chiron to secure a win at the Spa 24 Hours endurance race in Belgium. In Template:24hLM, teaming up with Philippe Étancelin, he claimed his second triumph at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

At the 1949 24 Hours of Le Mans, Chinetti piloted the first-ever Ferrari to win this competition, becoming only the second driver to achieve three victories at the event. During this race, the Ferrari 166M he drove was briefly handed over to Baron Selsdon of Scotland (Peter Mitchell-Thomson) for twenty minutes, officially making Thomson a co-driver despite Chinetti having driven for twenty-three hours. After the race, Thomson purchased this vehicle through Chinetti.

Chinetti competed three times at the Spa 24 Hours, securing outright wins in 1933 driving an Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 alongside Phillipe Varent, and again in 1949 behind the wheel of a Ferrari Tipo 166 MM with teammate Jean Lucas.

He also recorded victories at the Paris 12 Hours endurance race: once in 1948 driving a Ferrari Tipo 166 SC, and again in 1950 piloting a Tipo 166 MM paired with Jean Lucas.

In 1951, serving as riding mechanic in a Ferrari 212, he participated in and won the demanding five-day, 2,100-mile (3,400 km) Carrera Panamericana race across Mexico. Chinetti took part in this event three additional times over subsequent years, achieving his best result—a third-place finish—in 1952.

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

• Note *: denotes equivalent classification for supercharged engines, applying a x1.4 factor to engine displacement.

Full 12 Hours of Sebring outcomes

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Vehicle	Category	Laps Completed	Pos.	Class Pos.
1950	Briggs Cunningham	Template:Country data ITATemplate:Namespace detect showall Alfredo Momo	Ferrari 195 S	S3.0	104	7th	1st
Template:Center

Full Carrera Panamericana outcomes

Year	Team	Co-Drivers/Navigator	Vehicle	Category	Pos.	Class Pos.
1951	Template:Country data ITATemplate:Namespace detect showall Centro Deportivo Italiano	Template:Country data ITATemplate:Namespace detect showall Piero Taruffi	Ferrari 212 Inter Vignale	-	1st
1952	Template:Country data MEXTemplate:Namespace detect showall Industrias 1-2-3	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Jean Lucas	Ferrari 340 Mexico Vignale Berlinetta	S	3rd	3rd
1953	Template:Country data ITATemplate:Namespace detect showall Scuderia Guastalla	Template:Country data ESPTemplate:Namespace detect showall Alfonso de Portago	Ferrari 375 MM Vignale Spyder	S+1.6	DNF (Exceeded time limit; engine failure)
1954	John Shakespeare	John Shakespeare	Ferrari 375 MM Pinin Farina	S+1.5	6th	4th
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World Sportscar Championship performance

Season	Team	Racecar Model	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
								6th
Template:Center

Further reading

• Newman, Robert John (15 May 2014). Motor Racing Heroes: The Stories of 100 Greats. Veloce Publishing. ISBN 978-1845847487. Available at: https://books.google.com/books?id=BQD3AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA5

External links

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