Ferrari 212 Inter Vignale Coupé

Information

First owned by Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands with Dutch Royalty plates HX-13.

Not long after the Prince had this car, Enzo Ferrari heard about the Dutch Prince driving in only a 'used Ferrari. So he wrote a letter to Bernhard: That is not a good car, come to Maranello with your Ferrari, and I will offer you a new Ferrari. Prince Bernhard drove to Maranello with a friend in this Ferrari 212 Inter Vignale Coupé s/n 0139E, and traded the car for a new Ferrari 212 Inter Pinin Farina Coupé s/n 0269EU. That car was restamped to 0139E, so Prince Bernhard drove back to the Netherlands with his new 212 Inter Pinin Farina Coupé s/n 0269EU which was restamped to 0139E.
The old original 212 Inter Vignale Coupé 0139E was traded in, it had driven 9,500 km. The chassis and engine of the car were restamped with numbers 0269EU, and later resold.
Later, Prince Bernhard traded his 212 Inter Pinin Farina Coupé s/n 0269EU (that was restamped and used the identity 0139E) in for his new Ferrari 250 Europa GT s/n 0387GT. This Europa GT was also restamped 0139E, so that identity was now used by Prince Bernhard for the third time. That car still wears that s/n 0139E today. The previous 212 Inter Pinin Farina Coupé 0269EU, that was restamped to 0139E as well, was now again restamped to 0387GT and later resold.

The original 212 Inter Vignale Coupé 0139E was later owned by someone in New York in 1963. The car was fitted with a Chevy V8 engine, automatic transmission, and rear axle.

The original 212 Inter Vignale Coupé 0139E was later damaged during transport in 1981; 'the car was packed in a crate without being tied down so that the car had rolled back and forth across the Atlantic'.
The bodywork of the car was supposedly rebuilt later in the 1980s, and was fitted with the engine from 0259EU.