Originally published in the Ferrari Magazine with words by Ben Barry.

If every 166 MM is special, the back story to chassis number 40 is extraordinary. Built in 1950, the original factory racecar’s history includes a fatal accident in its debut year of competition, a nut-and-bolt home restoration and the first ever run up the famous Goodwood Hillclimb. For five decades, it has also been much loved by Dudley and Sally Mason-Styrron – an intrepid British couple who met at a Ferrari Owners’ Club gathering at Goodwood, purchased the car in 1975 and subsequently raced and adventured all over the world in it (as well as undertaking local shopping runs). Now, after 50 years of continuous ownership and over two years since Sally’s passing, Dudley has kindly donated this treasured barchetta to the Museo Enzo Ferrari – where it is now on display.

The 166 MM helped put Ferrari on the world stage. Attractive ‘Superlight’ aluminium bodywork by Touring was shaped around a tubular steel frame, a 2.0-litre V12 engine sent 140 cv to the rear live axle, and the MM suffix referenced arguably the greatest road race of them all – the Mille Miglia. When a different 166 MM won the 1949 edition of that same race, it helped establish Ferrari’s reputation for speed, agility and durability during the Scuderia’s earliest days.

One of only a handful of factory racecars, chassis number 40’s competition history includes fifth in class (12th overall) at the 1950 Targa Florio, driven by Luigi Villoresi, and that fatal accident near the start of the 1950 Mille Miglia – where driver Aldo Bassi lost his life. When its factory career ended in 1950, it was airfreighted to Portugal, subsequently raced by accomplished local drivers and then displayed in a museum for many years. It found its way to the UK, probably at some point in the early 1970s, and from there to Dudley and Sally in 1975. Sally was the more experienced driver, Dudley the motorsport fan and student whom his wife coached to drive faster, and the 166 MM the perfect way to share their passion for driving.

‘We’d been on a drive event, spotted an old Ferrari that we quite fancied and thought we should buy something similar – then the 166 MM came up,’ Dudley recalls. ‘It cost £300,000, which was a huge stretch at that time, but already the older rare cars were starting to move in value so we thought we better get in quick.’ The 166 MM had not been mechanically well maintained, however – earning the nickname Mr Poo due to the amount of oil it dropped at that time – and a full restoration was in order.

The process was not particularly conventional. The engine rebuild and paintwork were outsourced, but the married couple stripped the car to just a body and frame, prepared the aluminium bodywork (a patch of factory red was left on the windscreen frame for reference) and managed all re-assembly at home.

Finally, after much hard work, chassis number 40 was ready to return the Mille Miglia in 1989. ‘There was very little else that it was eligible for back then because there wasn’t really a historic racing scene,’ recalls Dudley. ‘We did eight or nine of them and were never very competitive – we just had some kitchen clocks for timekeeping when we were being measured to a hundredth of a second – but it didn’t matter, we always had a fantastic time.’

Later, the 166 MM became the first ever car up the famous Goodwood hillclimb, in 1993, and the pair returned every year through to 2023. They also raced together at the Goodwood Revival, while Sally contested the Ferrari Shell Historic Challenge during the 1990s, and entered many other events besides. Through their colourful ownership, the car travelled to all four corners of the globe, including to Japan on the Festa Mille Miglia and back to Fiorano, where Piero Ferrari accepted the chance to drive around the test track. ‘In our hands Mr Poo travelled at least 40,000km and on every event he was our loyal companion who always got us home,’ reflects Dudley. ‘We had a lot of fun and made so many happy memories together.’

Sally unfortunately passed away in February 2023, and Dudley remains heartbroken. ‘For me it’s still a total disaster – we were never, ever apart, and always did the same things,’ he says. ‘But Sally really wanted Mr Poo to end up back at Ferrari once we’ve both gone, and I was very much for it, so I’m pleased to be able to honour those wishes.’ While the 166 MM is now safely inside the Museo Enzo Ferrari, Dudley remains free to use the car whenever he pleases. When he does, he re-connects not just with a car, but with 50 years of very happy memories.