4,961cc SOHC V-12 Engine
Triple Weber 40DCZ Carburetors
400bhp at 6,500rpm
5-Speed Manual Transaxle
Independent Front Suspension by Coil Springs, Rear, Live Axle by Leaf Springs
4-Wheel Hydraulic Disc Brakes

*Original USA Chinetti Delivery, Left Hand Drive Example
*Formerly in the Collections of James Leake and John Mozart
*Documented 14,269 miles from new
*One of only 12 of the more desirable 5 Speed Series 2 examples built
*Matching numbers
*Offered with Marcel Massini history report

LUXURY AND DESIGN – THE FERRARI SUPERFAST

Bolstered by successful racing programs in grands prix, sports cars and gran turismos that energized the best engineers and designers in Italy - that is to say, the most creative, talented and enthusiastic engineers and designers of the Fifties and Sixties - Ferrari and his commercial agents in the U.K., Europe and America transferred both technology and image to a successful range of elite gran turismos and sports cars. Success in racing bred success in the market. But even as a Ferrari 250GT became the symbol of success to successful executives and professionals, Ferrari's elite clientele demanded singular automobiles of even more sophistication, power and visual distinction.

Ferrari's vision created the America, Superamerica and ultimately the Superfast series. Arguably the Bugatti Royales and Alfa Romeo 2.9s of the post-war era, these ultimate Ferraris set a standard to which others have since aspired but which few, if any, have approached. The ultimate expression of them is the Superfast, a series of only 37 automobiles of the highest possible performance, luxury and presence which found favor among the most discriminating clientele.

The Ferrari Superfast sprang from a series of styling exercises executed by Pininfarina between 1956 and 1962. The first Superfast, a 410 Superamerica (s/n 0483 SA) was an aerodynamically efficient teardrop shape disguised by tailfins and distracted by a cantilevered top without windshield pillars. It was succeeded in 1957 by a similar 4.9 Superfast, then in 1960 by Superfast II, a 400 Superamerica (s/n 2207 SA) with headlights under retractable body-color covers, partial rear wheel skirts, a finely tapered tail and a small elliptical grille. Superfast III appeared in 1962, believed to be on the chassis of Superfast II (2207 SA) with lighter greenhouse pillars and a retractable grille cover for better high-speed aerodynamics. It was shortly succeeded by Superfast IV with fully exposed wheels, tapered tail and low, wide grille.

These dynamic and efficient designs from Pininfarina inspired the 500 Superfast, a series of mythical stature even among the most refined Ferraris. Pininfarina refined its teardrop Superfast profile, adding a sharply cut off and slightly raised trunk that complemented the grille's oval shape. Gently curved windshield pillars tapered c-pillars and a large wraparound rear window belied the Superfast's size. It was an automobile at once both delicately shaped and imposingly powerful - trimmed and appointed to the highest standards and individually equipped to its discriminating clients' individual expectations.

Introduced in 1964 at the Geneva Salon, production proceeded at the leisurely rate of just one per month, allowing each Superfast to be personalized to customer order. A roll call of the latter includes some of the era's most celebrated collectors of fine automobiles: Shah Reza Pahlavi, of Iran, Prince Aga Khan, Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, German playboy Günther Sachs, Greek shipping magnet Peter Livanos and film star Peter Sellers. The final 500 Superfast - chassis number '8897' - was completed on August 1, 1966 for Colonel Ronnie Hoare, head of UK Ferrari importer, Maranello Concessionaires.

The multi-tubular Superfast chassis was constructed along similar lines to that of the contemporary 330GT and initially used the same four-speed/overdrive gearbox. Suspension was independent at the front by wishbones and coil springs and by a leaf-sprung live axle at the rear. To restrain the stupendous performance, superior servo-assisted Dunlop disc brakes were fitted all round.

Ferrari's racing heritage manifested itself in the Superfast's magnificent 5.0-liter, 'long block' V12 engine. The work of engineer Aurelio Lampredi, it was descended from the racing version that had enjoyed victory at Le Mans but used detachable cylinder heads instead of the competition unit's fixed type. There was a single chain-driven overhead camshaft for each bank of cylinders, while induction came courtesy of a trio of Weber 40DCZ/6 carburetors. The Tipo 208 unit's maximum output of 400bhp made it one of the most powerful production engines of its day and was sufficient to propel the aerodynamically efficient Superfast to a top speed of 175mph, a staggering achievement 50-odd years ago and a highly respectable maximum even today.

After 25 examples had been built, a revised Superfast was introduced in mid-1966, the most significant mechanical change being the adoption of a five-speed all-synchromesh gearbox. A further 12 cars were made, this later batch being outwardly distinguishable by their 3-vent engine bay louvres that replaced the earlier 11-vent style. As each and every Superfast was individually built to order, the common reference to 'Series I' and 'Series II' versions is somewhat misleading, particularly as some of the former were made with the five-speed gearbox and 3-vent louvres.

THE MOTORCAR OFFERED

The luxurious Superfast we present here adds remarkable provenance and originality to its existing stellar formula of performance and style. Its simple history is charted in the public domain and also through a report by respected Ferrari Historian Marcel Massini. This material documents the car to have been the 36th, or penultimate example constructed by Ferrari and fitted with body number 99621 by Pininfarina.

On completion, it was immediately destined for the USA, to be delivered new through Luigi Chinetti's New York agency to first owner John R. Winter of Napoleon, Ohio. To conjure a sense of how the car looked as new, one need merely look at it today, for it is finished as it was in silver, but moreover the interior with which Mr. Winter received his car remains the very materials in the car today, this aspect never having been restored. The reason for it still retaining that interior is almost certainly that in the intervening 67 years, it is believed that a mere 14,269 miles to the time of catalogue photography have been covered by the car.

As one might expect for a car of this stature, those custodians have clearly always cherished the car, and the brief list of names, much as those who owned them back in the day are well known luminaries within the community in each chapter. From Winter, the car passed to James C. Leake, the noted auctioneer and collector of Muskogee, Oklahoma in the early 1970s, and was included in an auction held in partnership with Christie's on May 26, 1974 in Arlington, Texas. The buyer at that event is believed to have been on Long Island, the car migrating close to its original supplier for the next 5 years.

In 1979, it was purchased and sold through Ed Waterman's long established Motorcar Gallery in Fort Lauderdale, the Ferrari joining the growing collection of John Mozart in Palo Alto. By this time the car had been repainted to a more appropriate color for the marque, being red, albeit not the most fitting for the lines of these cars.

For the next dozen years, the Superfast rested with Mr. Mozart. When he elected to sell the car, it was entrusted to the incubational Brooks team at only their second Monaco auction in 1991 as the dust was settling after the first meteoric rise of prices in the late 1980s. The choice of venue was seemingly very appropriate, as its purchaser would be Nicholas Seydoux of France, passing from one great collection to another.

The car remained in European ownership for much of the next sixteen years, being offered in Germany for sale in the mid-1990s, moving to noted collector Emilio Gnutti of Brescia in 2005, who returned the car to its original silver grey paintwork scheme. In 2007 it passed briefly through Jean Guikas respected GTC Sarl concern to the current owner. Throughout this time, its mileage accruals are confirmed with modest increases arriving to a total of 14,088 when it entered this collector's tenure. Over the course of the last 15 years, the car has added a mere 200 clicks to that tally, being statically displayed and stored.

Presented here from that long term ownership, in preparation for the sale the car has recently been checked over and made to run, but would certainly benefit from a more thorough mechanical review before active use. As a definitive Series II Superfast, well documented, and USA supplied it would be hard to find a better package in one of these cars.