Of all the famous coachbuilders, Pininfarina is arguably the one most closely associated with Ferrari, having penned many of Maranello’s greatest prancing horses up until the 458, F12, and FF. However, they weren’t the first — those honours go to Touring, who in 1948, became the first official carrozzeria approved by il Commendatore. After producing the 2.0-litre V12-powered Ferrari 166 in the early years, engineer Aurelio Lampredi looked to invigorate Ferrari’s sports cars by increasing the displacement to 4.1-litres, thus creating the Type 340 engine.
One of the first models to feature the new 230 horsepower V12 was the Ferrari 340 America, which debuted on April 23, 1951 at the Mille Miglia with Luigi Viloresi and Piero Cassani piloting a Vignale-bodied coupe. Unsurprisingly, the name ‘America’ was chosen to help these prancing horses sell in the United States, where demand was steadily growing for these Italian automotive sculptures. In total, 22 Ferrari 340s were built; 10 by Vignale, 4 by Ghia, and 8 by Touring, of which only two were closed-roof variants such as this stunning 1951 Ferrari 340 America Berlinetta.
Delivered new to Brussels-based Ferrari dealer Comptoir Automobiles Richard SA in August of 1951, this 340 America was later exhibited at Ferrari’s stand at the Brussels Motor Show in 1952. From then on it became the object of desire for Ferrari fanatics the world over, and was eventually purchased by the legendary Jacques Swaters of Garage Francorchamps, who commented “In straight line this was one of the fastest early Ferraris that I've ever driven”. Naturally, that pace was put to good use, with this 340 America being driven by Armand "Blary" Blaton, the father-in-law of Jacky Ickx, at the 4th Rally d'Automne in 1957. It would also go on to compete in the Mille Miglia no less than 7 times, making it to the finish line on every occasion. Eventually, this rare dry sump-engined Ferrari — a set up used strictly for competition — was purchased by Dr. Paul F. Schouwenburg, who meticulously restored his dream car, documenting the process in his book “Ferrari Fever”.
Following Dr. Schouwenburg’s ownership, this Ferrari resided in the famous Lucchini collection in Italy from 1986 to 2010, after which it was purchased by the current custodian in 2013. Now available with Axel Schuette, this magnificent Ferrari Classiche-certified 340 America Berlinetta is looking for a new stable.
