Grab a piece of 1980s history before its price goes through the roof

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It’s one of the rarest, original Ford GT40s of all…Works prototype Ford GT40 Roadster, chassis GT/111

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Imagine arriving at an historic race with your vintage Ferrari on this instead of in an enclosed trailer. Priceless.

The August issue of Classic and Sports Car arrived in my mailbox this week from the U.K. While thumbing through the cars for sale that I know I'll never be able to afford, this listing from Talacrest Limited caught me eye. It's a Fiat 682/RN2 truck/bus chassis that was rebodied by Carrozzeria Bartoletti between 1957 and 1959. From 1959 to 1965, it served as the Ferrari factory team transporter, and for the SEFAC Ferrari team in 1965 to 1970. Digging a little deeper into the history of this unique piece of motor sports history, I've been able to learn that Maranello also used at least two Fiat 642s that are similar to this vehicle (except they lack the two bars shown across the front grille of the 682). Maserati also used a similar vehicle. And a near twin of this vehicle was originally constructed for Lance Reventlow to transport his Scarab Grand Prix cars during their ill-fated 1960 season.

If, like me, you had the green two-car Matchbox race car transporter as a kid, this brought back fantastic memories.

Ready to own a car that has made its home on three continents and survived Castro's revolution?!

Finding cars for this column is only part of the fun. When you discover something really unique, like Chrysler's 1956 Plainsman concept, digging for the car's story is like reaching back into an Egyptian tomb, littered with the remnants of grave robbers and folklore that preceded you. There's much to find in the search but, in the end, you need to be able to discern what the actual facts are... and what's just not true.

Sometimes it's hard to tell which is which. And that's how we preface this story of a 54-year-old car that has seen a few owners (some of which may not have outlived their ownership of the car), as well as international revolutions, three continents, and even mistaken claims over its design ownership.

So our little tale begins in New York.