1953 Ferrari 340 MM Spyder

In the hands of Villoresi, the Ferrari 340 MM won its racing debut in the Giro di Sicilia. The next event the 340 MM was entered was the Mille Miglia. At the start of the race, Ferrari had entered 340 MM's. Two were Touring spyders and two were Vignale Spyders. The two Touring spyders were 0268 and 0294. The Vignale spyders were 0284 and 0280. The example show is a Touring spyder with chassis number 0268 which was driven by Nino Farina and Parenti during the Mille Miglia. Though a Vignale spyder finished the race in fourth place, this one failed to finish due to a broken differential.

It is a right-hand drive vehicle and the sole surviving Superleggera 340. After being raced by Scuderia Ferrari, it was sold to Pierre Boncompagni who continued its racing legacy. Pagibon drove the car to a first place finish in the Montlhery race. In June of 1953 the car was in an accident at the 12 Hours of Hyeres where the front end encountered major damage. It was sent back to the factory for repairs and later it was imported to the United States and into the possession of Luigi Chinetti.

Since then it has had various owners. It spent some time in the Cunningham Museum. It has been driven at the Monterey Historic races at Laguna Seca, and other historic racing competition such as the Mille Miglia and the Colorado Grand. It is seen here at the 2005 Pebble Beach Concours.

By Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2007