Page 29 - Demo

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ScM Analysis This car, Lot 153, sold for
$4,290,000, including buyer’s
premium, at RM Auctions’ Amelia Island sale on March
12, 2011.
The early 1950s were formative years for Enzo
Ferrari’s car company. In just a few short years from the
production of his very first self-named automobile, his
cars were competing on the world stage and establishing
themselves as serious contenders. The arduous Mexican
La Carrera Panamericana race had quickly developed
a reputation as the toughest race on the world circuit,
and if Ferrari was to prove they could run with the big
dogs, winning this race would do it.
Traversing 2,100 miles across Mexico, the La
Carrera race celebrated Mexico’s new Panamerica
highway. Far from an easy race across a modern high-
way, La Carrera’s difficult stages ran on primitive and
non-existent roads crossing deserts and mountains. It
was the ultimate punishment any car or driver could
face.
Serious injury was common, and over 20 contes-
tants met their maker in the early years of the race. It
was a run-what-you-brung event, with amateurs in hot
rods competing with professionals in factory-prepared
specials. Competing was the racing equivalent of climb-
ing Everest or running with the bulls. It was guts and
luck that separated the winners from the losers.
A fictional depiction of the La Carrera can be found
in Burt Levy’s wonderful book, Montezuma's Ferrari,
where an illustration of our subject car, 340 Mexico s/n
0224AT, graces the cover
Stronger and lighter
Ferrari met the challenge of La Carrera by building
four 340 Americas, with a stronger—but lighter—chas-
sis and high-horsepower Lampredi long block engines.
These were named a type 340 Mexico and given suffix
AT. The bodies were styled by Giovanni Michelotti and
built by Vignale coachbuilders. It was a dramatic shape,
with fins rising from the rear fenders—and front fenders
protruding past the front bumpers.
The distinctive Mexico shape was described in
Warren Fitzgerald and Richard Merritt’s essential
Ferrari history book, Ferrari: The Sports and Gran
Turismo Cars as “one of the most dramatically handsome Ferrari bodies ever built.”
I propose that line could only have been written very late at night after a few glasses
of wine.
Larry Nicklin, who owned the car from 1979 until its 2011 sale at Amelia Island,
is one of the fathers of the American Ferrari hobby. His fascination with all things
Ferrari led to a lifetime of collecting and sharing cars, memorabilia, and informa-
tion. With a small group of Ferrari owners, Nicklin helped found the Ferrari Club of
America. The club was an essential networking tool for early Ferrari owners and lives
on as an informational and social hub for Ferrari enthusiasts throughout America.
Nicklin’s ownership of our subject car for 32 years adds a bit more luster to an already
sparkling history.
one chance to own automotive history
RM’s $4,290,000 sale of 0224AT will be one of the highlight sales of the year. The
car shot past the estimate and joined the rarified air of the most valuable cars on
the planet. The Mexico is a distinctive—but rather odd-looking—car with legendary
tricky handling. The sale had many experts blowing off the results as a couple of
billionaires trying to outdo each other, but that is not the point.
All it takes is a lot of money to buy a 250 GTO or a 250 Testa Rossa, but it takes a
true appreciation of automobile history to understand a 340 Mexico. While a Mexico
will get invited to the best events, the bidders on 0224AT would already have multiple
cars in their garages that get invited to the same events.
Prospective bidders weren’t buying
status, beauty, or performance—but
rather a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
to own an important piece of automotive
history. The storied history of the La
Carrera is unique in the racing world.
It’s a Hemingway-like tale of man versus
nature—with brutal consequences for the
loser.
The fact the 0224AT finished the
Carrera is impressive, and finishing
third with Luigi Chinetti behind the wheel
makes the car Ferrari royalty. Its impec-
cable provenance following the race and
its impressive ownership chain make it a
plum piece for a collector who appreci-
ates quality over flash. It is rare that a
Mexico is available for purchase and
0224AT is the best of the series. It was a
great return for the seller, but the buyer
got a trophy more valuable to him than the
money spent. ♦
(Introductory description courtesy of
RM Auctions.)
June 2011 45