1961 Ferrari Superamerica Aerodinamico Coupe
Classic Ferraris from the 1950s and '60s consistently rank among
the highest-ticket items at collector car auctions, where models from the 250
series – GTO, LM, Testa Rossa, California Spider – often sell for tens of
millions. The Superamerica coupe you see here won't sell for that much, but
it's bound to fetch several million when the gavel drops next month in Arizona.
What you're looking at is a 1961 Ferrari 400 Superamerica SWB Coupe
Aerodinamico – one of only 32 ever made. It was based on the powerful and
elegant grand tourer that Ferrari built specially for the US market, with a
4.0-liter V12 that was larger than the 3.0-liter version on which it was based,
smaller than the 5.0 in the 410 which it replaced, and more powerful than
either.
With 340 horsepower on tap and more class than a university professor, the
Superamerica was the Bugatti Veyron of its day. It also featured disc brakes
where the preceding 410 Superamerica got by with drums, and all the luxury and
prestige any business tycoon or Hollywood star could ask for.
RM Sotheby's alone has
sold six of them in the past three years, with prices rising from under US$ 3
million in 2013 to US$ 4.4 million earlier this year, breaking the US$ 4 million
recoed for this model set by Gooding & Company the year before. At that
rate you might expect this stunning example to sell for even more, but for our
part we'll be content just sitting back and admiring the photos captured by
Karissa Hosek for RM Sotheby's, which will auction off the car as part of its
sale at the Arizona Biltmore near Scottsdale on January 19-20, 2017.
