Ferrari Type 340
Ferrari Type 340 - Over 10,000 Classic, Collector and Current Cars and Trucks at RemarkableCars.com
Ferrari Type 340 - Random Listings From Our Picture Gallery
 1953 Ferrari 340/375 MM Pininfarina Berlinetta | 1953 Ferrari 340/375 MM Pininfarina Berlinetta 1953 Ferrari 340/375 MM Pininfarina Berlinetta by Douglas |
 1951 Ferrari 340 America Berlinetta | 1951 Ferrari 340 America Berlinetta 1951 Ferrari 340 America Berlinetta Worldwide Group Auctions The Houston Classic Auction Saturday, May 2, 2009 Website: www.wwgauctions.com Lot # 46 276 horsepower at 6,000 rpm, 4,101.66 cc (250 cubic inch) single overhead camshaft Lampredi V12 engine with triple 40DCF Weber carburetors and dry sump lubrication, five-speed manual gearbox with reverse, independent front suspension with double A-arms and a transverse lower leaf spring, rigid live axle rear suspension with longitudinal leaf springs, four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes and steel ladder-type frame; wheelbase: 2,420 mm (96") CHASSIS NO: 0126/A Coachwork by Touring Aurelio Lampredi had joined Ferrari in 1947 and effectively succeeded Gioacchino Colombo at the head of Ferrari's design team in 1949. The technology of the time favored naturally aspirated engines in the 1 1/2 liter supercharged - 4 1/2 liter unblown formula then in effect for Grand Prix and Lampredi immediately designed a large displacement version of Colombo's original Ferrari V12. It retained Colombo's single overhead camshaft layout but adopted cylinder liners screwed into the heads to prevent head gasket failures which had been experienced by high compression and supercharged Colombo engines. The first Lampredi-designed 4 1/2 liter 375s appeared late in the 1950 GP season and were the team cars for 1951. When the FIA adopted Formula 2 for the 1952 World Championship the Lampredi long block engine quickly faded from Grand Prix racing, but equally quickly found its purpose in sports cars. Ferrari began to develop 3.3 liter Lampredi-engined sports cars using 212 chassis in 1950. Two of these 275S models entered the 1950 Mille Miglia driven by Ascari and Villoresi but dropped out with driveline failures. A further increase in displacement to 4.1 liters soon followed, creating the 340 series, now with a new chassis and driveline that measured up to the horsepower and torque of the Lampredi engines. Announced at the Paris Salon in October 1950, the 340s would become one of Ferrari's most successful and famous early models. Among them they established an outstanding competition record both for the factory and for their many private owners, notably including Giannino Marzotto's 1953 Mille Miglia victory. The most numerous of the 340s were the first series, designated 340 America apparently in recognition of the larger engine's attractiveness to Ferrari's growing base of customers in the United States and Mexico. Their 4.1 litre (4,101 cc to be exact) single overhead camshaft, roller cam follower, single plug, coil and distributor ignition engines made 220 brake horsepower at 6,000 rpm breathing through three 40DCF Weber downdraft carburetors feeding individual intake ports. Eight of the series had dry sump engine lubrication. Provided with a five-speed gearbox mounted directly to the engine, independent front suspension with transverse leaf spring and a live rear axle with semi-elliptical leaf springs the 340 Americas were potent, reliable, predictable road racers. Their purpose was clear from Ferrari's assignment of even-numbered competition car chassis numbers to the series. In common with many other Ferrari competition cars of the period production was roughly evenly split between open - primarily barchettas and spyders - and closed - primarily berlinettas - coachwork. The coachbuilders were Ghia, Vignale, and Touring. This 1951 Ferrari 340 America is one of only two to be bodied by Touring, both with dry sump lubrication, with this distinctive and attractive superleggera berlinetta coachwork reminiscent of the design of early Ferrari Touring barchettas, an instantly recognizable classic of Ferrari and Italian coachwork design. The chassis was completed at Ferrari on July 23, 1951, and finished by Touring three months later. It was delivered to Cavaliere Tommaso Sebastiani in October 1951 and retained by him for several years with seventeen separate records of service, repairs, and updates at Ferrari through 1954, suggesting an active but so far unconfirmed competition schedule. Sebastiani sold it later to Sidney Chaplin, son of the famous actor Charlie Chaplin. He in turn sold it about a year later to Marchese Pottino of Palermo, Sicily, who traded it back to Ferrari for a new car in 1958. The next owner was an unidentified American. At some point it acquired a Chevy small block engine. It was next seen in Washington state (other sources say it was at an aircraft hangar in North Carolina, geography more appropriate to an earlier reported but unverified appearance on the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba) where it was purchased by Peter Pheil in 1976. He installed a 250 GT engine and transmission and participated with it in the Mille Miglia retrospective in 1986, then sold it to Massimo Colombo in 1988. Colombo resurrected a 340 block which he believed to be 0126A's original engine which he had rebuilt by Bosato in Turin with new cylinder heads from Nuovo Lunelli of Modena and installed it in 0126A's chassis with a correct type and period five-speed transmission. In that form 0126A participated in the Mille Miglia again in 1991 (Colombo/Maher) and 1992 (Colombo/Ikusawa). After Colombo's death in 1993 it was passed through the ownership of knowledgeable collectors with appearances at a number of historic racing events, Concours, and the Mille Miglia retro. In 2003, it was entrusted to noted expert and restorer Patrick Ottis for inspection, service, and preparation. When the engine was disassembled it was identified as the appropriate vintage but not the original. It was comprehensively rebuilt including new valves, pistons, bearings, and camshafts. When run in on the dynamometer it delivered a very healthy 276 brake horsepower at 6,000 rpm. During reassembly the unsynchronized five-speed gearbox was replaced by a later four-speed synchromesh gearbox from a 250 GT Europa. It was acquired by its present owner in 2005 and has been maintained in race- and tour-ready condition. Finished in Italian racing red, it has sliding panel side windows, vent gills formed in plexiglas quarter windows, an outside filler cap on the right sail panel, and outside-laced lightweight wire wheels. Its lightweight Touring superleggera coachwork is a particularly attractive blending of the instantly recognized style of the early Touring barchettas with an ample enclosed passenger compartment. The body sides have a formed beltline ridge that emerges from the front wheel wells and continues through the length of the body to the taillights. Just a hint of rear fender fins foreshadows coming body design elements. It is one of the most attractive, aggressive, predatory berlinettas ever to grace a Ferrari chassis and with 276 horsepower has the potency and potential to back up its appearance. It has been professionally built, developed, and maintained to deliver superior performance and satisfaction and is - both on its own and on the strength of the prodigious accomplishments of its counterparts - eligible for the most important, enjoyable, and exclusive events throughout the world. It is an even-numbered Ferrari/Touring thoroughbred. by Douglas |
 1952 Ferrari Type 340 Coupe | 1952 Ferrari Type 340 Coupe 1952 Ferrari Type 340 Coupe by Douglas |
 1952 Ferrari 340 Mexico Race Car | 1952 Ferrari 340 Mexico Race Car 1952 Ferrari 340 Mexico Race Car Photo By: Douglas Wilkinson Location: The Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Museum (A-C-D) in Auburn, Indiana. by Douglas |
Related Pages
Ferrari Type 340 - Over 10,000 Classic, Collector and Current Cars and Trucks at RemarkableCars.com
Thanks
