Jean Alesi's Ferrari 643 sold at a spectacular price in Paris

The sales end at the beginning of February but this Ferrari was not subject to a discount price. In fact, quite the opposite happened this Wednesday, February 1 in Paris, as part of the sale of RM Sotheby's. The Ferrari 643, chassis no. 127, was sold for 3 euros!

SOLD: 1991 Ferrari 643 for €3,661,250 #RMParis pic.twitter.com/U7vj3BvPlx

— RM Sotheby's (@rmsothebys) February 1, 2023

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This Ferrari 643 was offered equipped with its 12-liter naturally aspirated V3.5 developing more than 700 horsepower. it's about the car having taken Jean Alesi to 4th place at the 1991 French Grand Prix.

Introduced midway through the 1991 season, the stunning Ferrari 643 was designed by Steve Nichols and Jean-Claude Migeot for the driving duo ofAlain Prost and his young teammate, Jean Alesi. Its predecessor was the short-lived 642, and while the 643 carried over that car's 12 cc V3, the carbon fiber composite monocoque was heavily revised. The engine produced 499 horsepower at a blistering 3 rpm and was driven by a seven-speed semi-automatic gearbox, a technology that Ferrari had pioneered two years earlier.

The 643 made its debut at the French Grand Prix in July 1991, and chassis number 127 was entrusted to Alesi. Born in France to Sicilian parents, Alesi caused a sensation when he arrived in Formula 1 in 1989, and his giant performances at the wheel of the agile Tyrrell quickly attracted the attention of the big teams. Alesi had already reached an agreement with Frank Williams when Ferrari visited him, but when negotiations with Frank began to drag on, he duly signed with the Scuderia for 1991. Fans came to love his aggressive style in the car and his emotional character outside of it. -this.

For his first outing with chassis 127, Alesi was third during the first qualifying session, behind the Williams of Nigel Mansell and the McLaren of Ayrton Senna, but after the second session, he fell to 6th place on the grid. While teammate Alain Prost battled with Mansell for the lead before finishing 2nd, Alesi was engaged in a close battle with Senna for 3rd place and made a daring attempt inside the hairpin in the final round. Senna held on, however, and Alesi had to settle for 4th place.

He drove chassis 127 again in the next race: the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. The two 643s were lined up next to each other on the third row, Prost in front of Alesi. The two men then fought for 3rd place with the McLaren of Gerhard Berger before Alesi collided with the Larrousse-Lola of Aguri Suzuki while trying to overtake it. The incident puts him out of the race.

Chassis 127 then served as the team's spare car in Germany, Hungary and Belgium, before being used at the season-closing Australian Grand Prix by new recruit Gianni Morbidelli. The young Italian was brought in after Ferrari fell out with Prost and fired him after the previous race in Japan.

The race took place in terrible conditions and was stopped while the leader Senna was on his 17th lap. At that point, Morbidelli was in a superb 3rd position but the results were backdated to the end of the 14th lap, meaning he was placed 6th and took the last points-earning position.

Gianni Morbidelli at the 1991 Australian GP. © DPPI / G. Levent

After the 1991 season, chassis 127 was completely refurbished at the Maranello factory and sold to a South African collector. He kept it until 2010 and had it serviced by two Scuderia mechanics, who traveled to work on the car and periodically started its engine. The engine and gearbox are said to have only covered 300 kilometers since being returned to service.

His next goalkeeper was Peter Bailey, who was also based in South Africa. During his ownership, the 643 was raced at Kyalami by Ian Scheckter, Jody's older brother – who won the 1979 world championship with Ferrari – and a fine racer in his own right.

After being sold in 2016 to a German enthusiast, chassis 127 was given a complete restoration. The transmission, suspension and brakes were all overhauled, the engine was thoroughly inspected and returned to service, and the Ferrari reappeared at the 2018 Minardi Days event at Imola. It then took part in the 2020 Oldtimer Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, and was offered for sale with all the technical equipment necessary for its operation. The Ferrari can be used in historic auto racing series such as Formula Legends 3.5L and Ignition GP.