After the disappointing 1962 Formula 1 season, Il Commendatore Ferrari himself ordered the cars to be cut up and the pieces to be used in the concrete of the factory forecourt. And so the legend of the ‘Sharknose’ began. The fact that none of the cars remained created a desire in the minds of many enthusiasts that survived unfulfilled until a car appeared in the late ’90s.

The musician Chris Rea had written a film script about Wolfgang von Trips and the Sharknose and had built a lookalike 156 as a prop. This car created a wave of new interest, leading to collector Jan Biekens commissioning the Jim Stokes Workshop to build a car. Having found an original 65-degree 1500cc motor and gearbox, as well as chassis drawings, they built a replica that was accepted as the definitive 156 copy.

Biekens decided to sell the car and I jumped at the chance to buy it. I have been a lifelong fan of Phil Hill and so the purchase of the car became the realisation of a dream that I never imagined would be fulfilled. One of the conditions of the purchase was that the car be exhibited in the Ferrari Museum in Maranello for six months. When I purchased the car, I had planned to make some changes to the bodywork as I felt that it was not right, and I spent hours looking for photographs, but out of the blue, I found a set of original body drawings.