Patek Philippe: Trossi Leggenda

A wristwatch belonging to an Italian mogul who takes pride in having won Grand Prix races and was president of Ferrari generated a sales of £1.1million against its pre-auction estimate of $1.9 million after selling off his gold Patek Philippe timepiece at Sothey’s Geneva auction house.

Count Carlo Felice Trossi’s priciest possession called the “Trossi Leggenda”, described as “really revolutionary” by experts, was the highlight amidst the other 200 timepieces. Trossi by profession was a racing driver, pilot and speedboat racer whose motor-racing triumphs count the 1947 Italian Grand Prix. Besides this another gold Rolex known as “Oyster Daytona Paul Newman” dating back to 1980 got sold for £76,000 almost two-fold of its pre-auction estimate of £25,000 to £40,000. The watch was christened after the Florida car race and for the American actor who helped promote this style.

Count Carlo Felice Trossi was born in Biella, Italy, April 27, 1908 and died in Milan, May 9, 1949. Trossi was an Italian race car driver and auto constructor. During his career, he raced for two teams, Mercedes-Benz and Alfa Romeo. He won the 1947 Italian Grand Prix and the 1948 Swiss Grand Prix. He died at only 41 years of age (brain tumor).

Trossi backed one of the most unusual Grand Prix cars, the Trossi Monaco of 1934. This car featured a 16 cylinder, two stroke cycle, two row radial, air cooled engine and an aircraft-like body designed by Augusto Monaco. The car was a spectacular failure and never raced in a Grand Prix event.












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