Weinberger with his wife Lisa by his side, she devoted much of her later years to charity work, establishing the Footprints 501(c)3 Foundation as a vehicle for their charitable goals. Among its many philanthropic initiatives, the charity's Driven To Care program has given away nearly 100 used cars during the holidays to families and individuals in need over the years, who have overcome a variety of challenges. The cars are all presented wrapped in red bows in the Weinberger family's Continental Motors showroom. In John's memory, his widow Lisa has decided to further Driven To Care's philanthropic mission, both by supporting multiple myeloma research and by establishing a scholarship program for students pursuing careers in the automotive industry. The scholarships funded by Driven To Care will benefit those pursuing careers in automotive engineering, classic automobile restoration, skilled automotive trade, and automotive dealership management, marketing, and communications. It will also provide students with engaging behind-the-scenes tours of running venues across the country. With Weinberger's lifelong legacy secured, charitable efforts have now taken over, as RM Sotheby's offers the crown jewel of the Weinberger collection at the Monterey show, Vignale's winning 166 Ferrari 1953 MM, chassis no. . 0314M.
As co-founder of the famed Chicago-area Continental Motors dealership group, Weinberger became a favorite Ferrari customer and a longtime supplier of the Modena-based marque's sports cars. Likewise, the first owner of this exceptionally rare Ferrari 166 MM (1953 Ferrari 166 MM Spider Series II by Vignale Offered by RM Sotheby's with an Estimate: $4.000.000 – $5.000.000 USD) Edoardo Lualdi-Gabardi, was also an early supporter of the prancing horse marque, becoming the owner of a number of legendary Ferrari racing cars, including four 250 GT Tour de France Berlinettes, two 250 GT SWBs, a 250 LM and two 250 GTOs. Nicknamed “Italy's mountain king” by Ferrari historian Marcel Massini, Lualdi-Gabardi regularly dined with Enzo Ferrari, and as such had the opportunity to acquire this example, no. 0314 M, the fourth of only six Vignale Spider Series II sports racers.
With this spectacular Ferrari from the 166s participating both in the Mille Miglia and simultaneously with Weinberger at the wheel, the sporting provenance of this historic 0314 MM has been consolidated over time. True to the nature of Ferrari as a performance marque, as well as a true charity vehicle, it is only fitting that the auction of this spectacular Vignale-bodied Spider should at least in part benefit the future of the classic car hobby as a 'whole. With its legacy of treating people with kindness having impacted a great number of us across the classic car world, now RM Sotheby's will be offering this very special Ferrari, No. XNUMX M, at this year's Monterey auction.
