The 1956 - 1966 Ferrari Superamerica and Superfast have been touch on to as " the ultimate street Ferraris " by automotive historiographer Richard M. Langworth , who described them as " heinously powerful and blindingly tight . " These fabled railcar are highly respect today .
The final theoretical account of the serial publication , the 500 Superfast , has been called the " Ferrari ' Royale ' " by Ferrari expert and author Antoine Prunet , who is of course referring to the huge and grand Bugatti Royale .
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These magnanimous and epicurean ( at least by Ferrari measure ) Ferraris became fabled in their own time , but it ’s doubtful that Enzo Ferrari would have make them had sealed circumstances not fare together , among them a perceive pauperism for a Ferrari for American tug conditions and a desire to expand the line .
Most gondola troupe – even the builders of modified - product high-pitched - performance cars – broaden their model groundwork when possible to cover as much of the market as deliberate desirable by management . dissimilar doctrine go forth , with some companies seeming to think in broad terms than others . Consider the fairly broad views of Porsche , BMW , and Mercedes - Benz equate to the narrow-minded glide path of Aston Martin and Lamborghini .
study its size of it , Ferrari build an amazing variety of simulation types in the former 1950s , with locomotive that roam in size and conformation from a 4.5 - liter V-12 to a 2.0 - liter four . It offer a number of cars with Gioacchino Colombo - designed V-12 engines – the 2.0 - liter 166 , the 2.3 - liter 195 , the 2.6 - liter 212 , and the 3.0 - cubic decimetre 250 .
Aurelio Lampredi - designed V-12s powered the 250 , the 4.0 Miter 340 , the 4.1 - liter 342 ( 25 cc more displacement than the 340 ) , and the 4.5 - liter 375 . Concurrently , Lampredi - designed engines could be found in the 500 ( 2.0 - l four ) , the 625 ( 2.5 - liter four ) , the 750 ( 3.0 - liter four ) , the 860 ( 3.5 - liter four ) , the 118 ( 3.75 - liter six ) , and the 121 ( 4.4 - liter six ) .
The majority of Ferrari ’s cars in the early fifties were competition machines , but Luigi Chinetti , Ferrari distributor for the United States , had been try out to convince Enzo Ferrari to make a route car with a prominent engine – one that would appeal to American buyers .
In those day , drivers of Chrysler hemis and Oldsmobile 88 Rockets reign as mogul of the American road , at least in place upright starting time quickening and in stop number ( over a straight road ) . Chinetti argued forcibly that while an MG possessor might brag about handling , an slowly - shifting four - speed manual transmission , and good Pteridium aquilinum , someone who had just yield the far side of $ 12,000 for his silken Italian steed could n’t use that sort of rationalization after an American " barge " had just left him standing at a stop weak .
To see how these treatment ensue in change for the 1956 Ferrari , remain to the next Sir Frederick Handley Page .
For more information on railcar , see :
Changes to the 1956 Ferrari
Ferrari inclose change to the 1956 Ferrari during the fall of 1955 when it present a new chassis at the Paris Auto Salon in September .
At first glance , it looked much like previous Ferrari efforts , with a big oval - section tubelike frame and rotund - segment X - member and crown of thorns - member , and self-governing front suspension with inadequate - length A - branch and whorl springs , which exchange the thwartwise leaf that Ferrari had used since 1947 . The unrecorded rear axle was attached by two semi - elliptic bounce , with a twain of parallel trailing arms on each side to absorb acceleration and braking torque .
A close examination of the chassis , however , revealed that the frame went over the rear axle instead of under , as had been the practice previously . Also , the car was grownup , taking its 110.2 - inch wheelbase from the 250 Europa and 375 America , both of which had just been phased out .
The engine was a fresh edition of the familiar Lampredi V-12 design , grow for Ferrari ’s rattling prix machine in 1951 and used in the sport racers through 1954 . distinctive of Lampredi ’s engines , the cylinder drumhead and block on each bank were made as one piece and bolted to the crankcase , with screwed - in cylinder liners sealed at the bottom by O - rings .
The chain - tug exclusive overhead camshaft on each money box operated a exclusive inlet and exhaust system valve for each cylinder via rocker arms and roller followers . The fain valves were closed by two mousetrap springs per valve – a feature that was mutual to both Colombo and Lampredi engines at the clock time . One spark plug per piston chamber was feast from a Marelli distributer jump on vertically at the rear of each camshaft , although some later Superamericas had front - mounted distributors .
Because each piston chamber bank had its own ignition arrangement , the engine could be described as two sixes mounted on a single crankcase and partake a uncouth crankshaft . With a calibre and separatrix of 88 x 68 mm and a displacement of 4,963 cc , the engine crank out 340 horsepower at 6,000 rpm , harmonize to mill literature . The compression ratio was only 8.5:1 , one of the lowest of all Ferraris .
Power belong through a multiple - disc clutch and a four - speed transmission to the rear axle , with several ratios between 3.11:1 and 3.66:1 being offered . Top speed , again according to Ferrari literature , ranged from 137 to 161.5 miles per hour , depending on last geartrain ratio . Unfortunately , no contemporary route exam figures were available to verify or refute the claims .
Assuming that the engine could pull out up to redline in top cogwheel , the car would have performed as claimed . The hefty gearboxes installed in the 410 Superamerica had the ability to absorb the tremendous torque , but the batch was a borderline building block ; great tending had to be taken to see to it anything close to long seize life .
The infection had an unusual switch pattern , whereby reverse , third , and first were target left to right across the top , and quaternary and 2d were left and properly across the bottom – the H - form was a mirror - trope of most four - speed .
For more on the 1956 Ferrari 410 Superamerica , see the next page .
1956 Ferrari 410 Superamerica
In January , a staring 1956 Ferrari 410 Superamerica was show at the Brussels Auto Salon . Bodied by Pinin Farina , it assert a family resemblance to the smaller 250 GT Ferrari , another Farina design that would be build by Boano and Ellena through 1958 .
The main visual difference between the two cars could be seen in the side vents on the front buffer flanks of the 410 : a rounded trapezoidal shape with four upright bars within the opening and one horizontal bar starting ahead of the opening and continuing past the vent at the back . And unlike the 250 , the 410 body sported slightly blaze up wheel openings .
Inside , an Al - spoked steering wheel with laminated woodwind instrument flange was distinctive of contemporary Ferraris . The instruments sit immediately in front of the driver , an 8,000 - rpm tach to the left , a 300 - km - per - hour speedometer to the right . Each of them appraise almost six inches in diameter , with easy - to - read white numbers on grim faces .
Between them was a three - way telephone dial bear fuel level , water supply temperature , and oil pressure gauge , and a small clock could be establish in the centre of the splashboard . Full leather clipping covered the seats and doorway panel , and carpeting compensate the story and transmission / driveshaft burrow , as well as the bole floor .
The 410 Superamerica face no direct competitor . Visually , it was n’t that much unlike from a 250 GT , and neither were driver or rider amenities , but its carrying out and price put it into a existence all its own .
A 250 GT coupe sold for about $ 12,500 in the U.S. in 1956 , fully grown money at a prison term when a Corvette started at $ 3,159 . But when shown at the New York Auto Show a few weeks after the 410 ’s launching in Brussels , the Superamerica heel for a stratospheric $ 16,800 .
Even at that price , the 410 for certain did n’t dwarf the 250 GT in acceleration , handling , or braking . The existent departure came in the means the execution of the larger V-12 was return : tedious - rev with high - torsion output at depleted rpm , take a crap the 410 more suitable for cross - country and ho-hum in - townspeople drive than its higher - rev siblings .
That , Chinetti feel , would appeal to the more affluent and often older American driver who might want to indulge himself in an alien Italian car but was n’t quite ready to meet the demands of a modest - torque , high - revving engine . With its eight - in - foresightful wheelbase , the overall size of the initial 410 also seemed better suitable to the American market in 1956 .
Though it ’s considered heavy and truck - like by many Ferrari enthusiasts , the Superamerica still had its Ferrari pedigree . It was built for foresighted - distance touring and could hide huge sweep with olympian ease .
During the first year of 410 production ( the watchword " product " being used rather loosely here ) – between late 1955 and late 1956 – only about 14 cars were make . Nine or 10 of them were similar to the car shown at Brussels in former 1956 , but each had minor remainder .
For more on the 1956 Ferrari Superamerica body , see the next page .
1956 Ferrari 410 Superamerica Body
One 1956 Ferrari 410 Superamerica body was created by Ghia – a world of chief couturier Mario Savonuzzi , who had penned the Chrysler " Gilda " and " Dart " show cars and to which the Ghia 410 drill a secure resemblance .
unluckily , it was not generally regarded as one of the better - seem Ferrari Superamericas because of its sharply designate fins that hulk almost a foot and a half above the rear fender air . Its monumental rearward bumper , which look as though it came directly out of Detroit , did n’t help either .
The motorcar also featured a wraparound windscreen , as was the vogue in the mid-1950s , complete with a small rear corner dogleg that bruise many a number one wood ' knees .
A newly established carrozzeria in Turin , Italy , build two bodies for the 410 – a coupe and a translatable coupe . The business firm was found by Mario Boano and his son Gian Paolo , both of whom had recently go away Ghia .
Their designs for the 410 also smacked of 1950s American automobile styling and wear down the then - stylish rear cowcatcher fin . While not as high as those on the Ghia car , they curved dramatically outward at the rear like the Wake Island of a speedboat .
The coupe even featured a split rear windowpane , this some seven years before Corvette take over one for the 1963 Sting Ray , although the Boano pattern was on a notchback rather than a fastback .
Pinin Farina stole the show at the Paris Salon in 1956 with his 410 Superfast design . He encompass the headlights with plastic fairings and adorned the rearward buffer with fins that cease in knifelike tip at the derriere .
The front fender air wall plug were simplified by having no grille workplace , and the top had no windscreen mainstay . Front and rear protection was furnished only by a pair of upright bumperettes with India rubber inserts .
The chassis of the automobile measured eight inches shorter than the other 410s , though the shortening was n’t particularly obvious . The car made the round at the more significant European motorcar shows that season , then was sold to American petroleum man Bill Doheny , but not before windscreen posts were supply to support the front of the roof .
See the next page for information about the 1957 and 1958 Ferrari Superamerica and Superfast .
1957 and 1958 Ferrari Superamerica and Superfast
When 410 yield start again for the 1957 and 1958 Ferrari Superamerica and Superfast , the cars had the 102.4 - inch wheelbase as seen on the Superfast in 1956 .
Body form continued as on old Farina - built model , and the short wheelbase usually move unnoticed ( the length reduction having been taken out of the doors ) . Seven of the " received " Farina - design models were produced , with small-scale variations between them .
Two extra second serial publication 410s were also build – one a rear - finned , somewhat rounded coupe by Scaglietti , the other a 2nd Superfast by Pinin Farina .
The former used a untarnished - steel top and strutted enough chrome cut down to be unusual for both Scaglietti and Ferrari . The overall Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe was n’t bad , but the consumption of two - feel paint in addition to the excess brightwork made the last upshot confutative to some .
The 2nd Superfast wore a front end treatment similar to that of the first but did not share its rearward fenders . That car , betray to American Jan de Vroom after the 1957 Turin Auto Show , was the subject of a route trial bySports Cars Illustratedfor its September 1958 issue . It flew through the quarter mile in 13.9 indorsement with a final speed of 108 miles per hour , make it the fastest cable car the cartridge holder had ever test .
The Paris Auto Salon in October 1958 realise the third series Ferrari 410 Superamerica make its debut . It had received changes to the railway locomotive , transmission , pasture brake , and trunk blueprint . Dame Muriel Spark plugs , for model , move from inside the quintuplet to outside the heads , adopting the apparatus used in the Testa Rossa .
Also , a high-pitched 9.0:1 compression ratio boosted HP to 360 at 7,000 rpm . pasture brake swot up with giving diameters came straight from the latest Ferrari variation racing elevator car , and the unexampled four - speed used a normal " H " shift formula .
Pinin Farina ’s trunk blueprint bear a thin resemblance to the 1956 Superfast , but was more hard-nosed from the stand of casual use . The headlamp sported curve clean-cut charge plate blanket , while the radiator opening forsake the flattened ellipse seen on previous Superamericas . In fact , the front oddment looked more like a California Spyder than it did a Superamerica .
A sculpture line ran from the top of the front wheel arch , curving somewhat down to the rear roulette wheel opening , and the side aura outlet grill on the front fenders had five erect slats and three horizontal measure . The rear end of the young 410 boasted a design that Farina would also utilise on the 1959 - 1961 250 GT coupes .
The greenhouse looked short , own large fourth part windows behind the door , which had no vent wings , and a smaller non - wraparound rearward window . The 410 seen at Paris was paint in a two - feel vividness scheme , but the same car arrived at the Turin show a few calendar week later in hearty dark fleeceable metallic .
To follow the Ferrari Superamerica and Superfast into 1959 , continue on to the next page .
1959 Ferrari Superamerica and Superfast
When the third series Superamerica enrol production early in 1959 , the rear quarter window had been replaced by a metal venire with three erect vent louver – like those on the second Superfast of 1957 – and the vent wing were back .
Approximately 12 to 15 of the third series cars were build in 1959 ( no one seems to know the exact phone number ) , all bodied by Pinin Farina . Like the late versions , they were essentially likewise but with underage particular and cut down variations . The last four or five produce apparently had a more formal headlight treatment without the clear plastic covers .
A strange - looking Superamerica showed up at the 1959 Turin show , the first , plainly , of the upcoming 400 serial publication . Its body was rather bare looking and feather - off , boast a big , square grille filled by a very fine eggcrate insert . It also featured quadruplet headlight – another copy of an American styling craze .
The nursery looked very light because of a wraparound windshield and thin B pillar behind the door . This airy top conception and large glass area might have looked expert on some cars , but on the Superamerica ’s impenetrable and ponderous consistence it looked out of place .
The car was sold to Gianni Agnelli ( afterward to head Fiat ) , and eventually found its way of life to America , where it was donated to the William F. Harah Automobile Foundation in a deplorable country of repair . It had been doss , and the intact front terminal sheet metal along with the windscreen ask switch .
The new 400 Superamerica differed importantly from its forerunner , even to the way it received its model designation . Up through the 410 , the number stage the supplanting for each cylinder in three-dimensional centimeters , round off to the nearest 10 . Thus , a 250 V-12 preempt 3,000 cc , the 410 – actually , about 413 – almost 5,000 cc . For the first meter in Ferrari history , get going with the 400 , the act signal the displacement in deciliters – about 4,000 cubic centimeter total , rounded off .
For the 400 , Ferrari abandon the use of the long - block Lampredi V-12 . Instead , the car was power by a development of the Colombo design that dated back to 1947 . It placed the spark plug on the outside of the V and used coil valve springs instead of hairpin springiness .
The multiple - disc clutch pedal of the 410 was supersede by a single dry - home clutch , and the four - speeding transmittance now had a British Laycock de Normanville electrically actuated overdrive behind the gearbox . The wheelbase had alter , too , from the 410 ’s 102.4 inches to 95.3 inches . Also , the lever - action hydraulic shock absorbers were replaced by Koni telescopic units , and four - wheel Dunlop disc pasture brake became standard .
To come after the Superamerica and Superfast story from 1960 to 1963 , extend on to the next page .
1960, 1961, 1962, and 1963 Ferrari Superamerica and Superfast
The Ferrari Superamerica and Superfast proceed through plenitude of changes from 1960 to 1963 , beginning with a new model . The 400 Superamerica bow at the Brussels Auto Salon in January 1960 . It boasted raw styling , a Colombo - design V-12 , and a cut wheelbase .
The gondola shown , a two - place cabriolet by Pininfarina ( the name was lawfully shift to one word in 1960 ) , made a further going away from the past .
Ferrari claimed 400 horsepower at 7,000 rpm , but that seems unlikely since the last 410 was also rated at 400 H.P. ( at 6,500 rev ) , and that with an extra liter of shift . The Colombo - based railway locomotive , unlike that of the 410 , had removable piston chamber heads .
Six cabriolets were ramp up in 1960 – all well-nigh monovular , except for one Speciale , which had fair - in headlights like a Spyder California . A removable hardtop was offer and several of the open cars were so equipped .
At the Turin show in 1960 , Superfast II made its first public expedition . Ferrari boasted that the aerodynamic body blueprint had been make in a wind tunnel . Its shape , reminiscent of a fat plane wing , featured headlights that retracted into the nozzle of the torso .
In the winter of 1961 - 1962 , a hood scoop was added , the rear cowcatcher skirts were removed , and the headlights move into the front of the cowcatcher to be covered by slue plastic . The revised body became the " stock " 400 Superamerica .
Superfast III made its initial appearance at the Geneva Salon in March 1962 . It revert back to outwear rear fender skirts and using retractable headlights , featured a more unresolved nursery , and had a thermostatically controlled radiator cover .
Superfast IV appeared soon after III , with the ecumenical looking of its harbinger but now with four headlights minus the screening . In persuasion of the fact that Superfast II has disappeared , Ferrari historians conceive that IV was probably built on the II chassis . Never shown , Superfast IV was later sell in the U.S.
At the end of 1962 , the Superamerica see some significant change . The wheelbase was lengthen to the same 102.4 inches of the earliest Superamerica , with the extra length devoted to luggage capacity ; no 2 + 2 version was ever seen .
The hood air soap disappeared , and the last instance had a simple jut to treat the carburetors . The rearward fender annulus were gone for well . When the 400 Superamerica go out of production at the end of 1963 , about 19 cars had been build through the year , let in several cabriolets .
The coupe version of the 400 was referred to in mill literature was the " PF coupe Aerodinamico . " Total production of the 400 add up to about 48 cars , ramp up between late 1959 and 1963 .
See the next pageboy for item on the 1964 , 1965 , and 1966 Superamerica and Superfast .
1964, 1965, and 1966 Ferrari Superamerica and Superfast
Changes occur quickly for the 1964 , 1965 , and 1966 Ferrari Superamerica and Superfast . Less than two month passed between delivery of the last 400 in January 1964 and the presentation of its alternate – the 500 Superfast – at the Geneva Salon in March 1964 .
Similarities could be find between the 400 and 500 in overall body configuration , although the novel car had less control surface ornamentation and was not as interesting esthetically . The headlights were in the more normal stylus and not covered as before , and the nates of the body lark about a chopped - off Kamm - type tail .
The engine digest out as the machine ’s unique feature by using the long blockage distinctive of the Lampredi engines but with obliterable piston chamber question like the Colombo engines . The 88 x 68 - mm bore and shot resulted in a displacement of 4,962 milliliter , so the 500 denomination came from its displacement reckon in decilitre . The locomotive engine was rated at 400 horsepower at 6,500 rpm , and the transmittance remained a four - swiftness with overdrive .
The first serial of 500 Superfast cars , now ride a 104.3 - inch wheelbase , numbered about 25 unit of measurement , built through mid-1966 .
The 2nd serial publication of Superfasts pick up a figure of revisions . Most notably , the four - hurrying plus overdrive devote fashion to a real fully contemporise five - speed gearbox , and the 11 front fender air outlet fin were replace by a panel with three opening . Twelve of the second serial cars were built before the 500 Superfast was phased out in 1967 .
The large , powerful , and luxurious Ferraris were truly the " tops " cars of the line , totally free their Superamerica and Superfast identification . Their very size and weight unit , however , rendered them less enjoyable to drive than the small Ferraris , at least for true enthusiasts .
But the emptor of a Super series railway car was not perceived as an partizan anyway . The cable car made for excellent foresightful aloofness cruising , albeit with modified luggage capability and none of the familiar tool comfort such as air conditioning , machinelike transmission , or cruise control – item that were becoming necessities for the affluent American buyer in the fifties and 1960s .
With full production numbering a few more than 100 , the Supers ' sales possibility were limited . However , they believably did as well as Enzo Ferrari had expect or want . He was busy with more important thing , after all – like win races .
The Superamerica and the Superfast justified their name because they were the " Super " cars of the Ferrari line . They ’ve always been collectible , but Ferrari prices are soar these Clarence Day .
