Piero Drogo was something of a renaissance man. He was born in Vignale Monferrato, a small town in Northern Italy, on August 8th, 1926. His family emigrated to South America shortly after World War II and Piero began his motor racing career shortly thereafter. His first recorded result was an overall win in the 1956 Premio Nacional Ciudad de Maracay in Venezuela, driving a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL. In 1958 he returned to Europe to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and ended up staying on, setting up home near Modena. He ended his motor racing career in 1960 with a creditable eighth place finish in the Formula One Italian Grand Prix, driving a Cooper T43. During this period he was helping to fund his racing exploits by working as a mechanic at Stanguellini in Modena.
In 1960 Drogo established Carrozzeria Sports Cars in Modena, together with Otello Benedetti, Mario Allegretti and Lino Marchesini. Drogo was the undisputed leader of the company. He spoke several languages fluently and was a talented businessman with great connections in the upper echelons of motor racing society. He quickly began taking on small sports and racing car commissions from Modena based manufacturers, Ferrari included.
Drogo’s bodies were used by Scuderia Serenissima, Iso and Bizzarrini, but it was his work for Enzo Ferrari that brought him great fame. Drogo played a major role in the design of legendary Ferraris such as the Dino 206 SP, the 330 P4 and the famous 250 GT SWB ‘Bread Van’. His relationship with Enzo Ferrari was such that Ferrari gave Drogo permission to use the iconic Prancing Horse badging on his Ferrari based creations.
After trading for a little over ten years, Drogo’s company ran into financial difficulties and finally closed its doors in 1971. The following year he set up a car dealership specializing in Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche sports cars, but tragically lost his life on April 28th, 1973 in a head on collision in the Allocco tunnel near Bologna. Perhaps fittingly, he was driving a Ferrari 250 GT California Spider at the time of his death. His widow, Anna Pia Fornaciari, later went on to marry famed Lamborghini test driver and development engineer Bob Wallace.
1964 Ferrari 250 GT Drogo 2493 GT
In 1964, Piero Drogo built the car featured here. Initially constructed around chassis # 0716TR, a 1957 pontoon fendered Ferrari Testa Rossa, the spectacular berlinetta bore a close family resemblance to the legendary Ferrari 250 GTO. In 1978, perhaps due to climbing Testa Rossa values, the decision was made to reclaim the 0716TR chassis, around which a new Testa Rossa body was constructed. At the same time, the Drogo body was married to the chassis and drivetrain of car number 2493GT, a 1961 Ferrari 250 GTE.
