Prince Igor Nikolayevich Troubetzkoy (; 23 August 1912 – 20 December 2008) was a French aristocrat and athlete (skiing, cycling, car racing) of

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

descent.

Early life and family

Prince Igor Nikolayevich Troubetzkoy was born on 23 August 1912 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France. He was a member of the princely

Trubetskoy family The House of Trubetskoy, (; ; ; Ruthenian: ''Trubetsky''; ; ; ; ; ; ) is a Russian gentry family of Ruthenian stock and Lithuanian origin, like many other princely houses of Grand Duchy of Lithuania, later prominent in Russian history, science, ...

. His brother, Youcca Troubetzkoy, was an actor in French films during the 1920s and 1930s.

Career

Being a good skier and athlete (cycling) in younger years, Igor started automobile racing in 1947 in a Simca-Gordini, taking a bronze at the Coupe de l'Agaci (Oct 26, 1947). With Count Bruno Sterzi he started the Scuderia Inter racing team in 1947 and bought three Ferrari 166 S, among the first cars made by

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

: *Spider Corsa, #006I open 2-seater by Allemano, cycle fenders and lamps (raced by

Clemente Biondetti Clemente Biondetti (18 October 1898 – 24 February 1955) was an Italian auto racing driver. Born into a working-class family, Biondetti raced motorcycles before turning to automobiles where he had greater success. Biography Born in Buddusò, S ...

and

Tazio Nuvolari Tazio Giorgio Nuvolari (; 16 November 1892 – 11 August 1953) was an Italian racing driver. He first raced motorcycles and then concentrated on sports cars and Grand Prix racing. Originally of Mantua, he was nicknamed ("the Flying Mantuan") ...

in his last

Mille Miglia The Mille Miglia (, ''Thousand Miles'') was an open-road, motorsport Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race established in 1927 by the young Counts :it:Franco Mazzotti, Francesco Mazzotti and Aymo Maggi. It took place in Italy 24 times f ...

) *Spider Corsa, #010I (ex-#01C) open 1-seater track car. Igor raced this car in 1948. *Spider Sport, #001S by Allemano, open 2-seater, road-registered in which Igor won

Targa Florio The Targa Florio was a public road Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near the island's capital of Palermo, Sicily, Palermo. Founded in 1906 Targa Florio, 1906, it was the oldest sports car ra ...

(April 3, 1948) with

. He retired from racing due to an accident at

Circuit d'Albi The Circuit d'Albi is a motorsport race track located in the French town of Le Sequestre near Albi, about northeast of Toulouse. Built to replace the nearby ''Circuit Les Planques'' public road circuit, Albi has 70 years of history in moto ...

(August 29, 1948). Sterzi had left the ''Scuderia'' and it ceased to exist, but the name was used for

Ferrari 166 Inter The Ferrari 166 Inter was Ferrari's first true grand tourer. An evolution of the 125 S and 166 S racing cars, it was a sports car for the street with coachbuilt bodies. The Inter name commemorated the victories claimed in 166 S models by Scuder ...

, the company's first

Grand Touring A grand tourer (GT) is a type of car that is designed for high speed and long-distance driving with performance and luxury. The most common format is a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive two-door coupé with either a two-seat or a 2+2 arrangement ...

car.

Personal life

He was married to American heiress

Barbara Hutton Barbara Woolworth Hutton (November 14, 1912 – May 11, 1979) was an American debutante, socialite, heiress and philanthropist. She was dubbed the "Poor Little Rich Girl"—first when she was given a lavish and expensive debutante ball in 1930 ...

in March 1947 and inspired her son from an earlier marriage, Lance Reventlow, to take up racing. After his divorce from Hutton in 1951, Igor took up painting. In 1953, he fathered a son, Arnaud Marie, who in the 1970s started ''Troubetzkoy Paintings'' (Paris, New York City) that makes replica paintings.

References

External links

Igor (car #48) racing his last race
at the

(Aug 29, 1948). {{DEFAULTSORT:Troubetzkoy, Igor 1912 births 2008 deaths Igor Troubetzkoy Nobility from Paris Russian racing drivers Grand Prix drivers Woolworth family Racing drivers from Paris