Igor Troubetzskoy

Introduce

Prince Igor Nikolayevich Troubetzkoy (1912–2008) was a French aristocrat, athlete, and automobile racer of Russian descent. Born on August 23, 1912, in Paris, France, he was a member of the prominent Trubetskoy family, with his father, Prince Nikolai Nikolaievich Troubetzkoy, and his mother, Countess Ekaterina Mikhailovna Musin-Pushkin, both from Russian aristocracy. His older brother, Youcca, was a notable actor in French cinema during the 1920s and 1930s.

Igor developed a passion for sports in his youth, excelling in skiing and cycling. His interest in automobile racing began in 1947 when he competed in a Simca-Gordini and won a bronze at the Coupe de l’Agaci. That same year, he co-founded the Scuderia Inter racing team with Count Bruno Sterzi, purchasing three Ferrari 166 S cars, among the first produced by Ferrari. Igor raced several of these vehicles, including the Ferrari Spider Sport #001S, with which he won the prestigious Targa Florio in 1948 alongside Clemente Biondetti.

His racing career was cut short after a serious accident at the Circuit d’Albi in August 1948. Following the incident, the Scuderia Inter team dissolved, although the name continued to be associated with Ferrari’s first Grand Touring car, the Ferrari 166 Inter.

In his personal life, Igor married American heiress Barbara Hutton in 1947. Their union inspired her son, Lance Reventlow, to take up racing. After divorcing Hutton in 1951, Igor turned to painting. He fathered a son, Arnaud Marie, who later established Troubetzkoy Paintings in Paris and New York.