Superamerica by Ghia: the ugliest Ferrari in history (12 photos)

We are accustomed to idealize the work of Italian automotive designers. Pininfarina, Bertone, Giugiaro, Italian "bodybuilders" released masterpieces and hits, but not always.





Although Enzo Ferrari did not like Americans, he could not ignore their market, mostly because americans loved it cars and were willing to shell out large sums of money. In the 50s and 60s years, the top of the Ferrari lineup was the America model, and, as As the name implies, it was aimed at overseas buyers.



Under the name America there were models 340, 342 and 375 and more luxurious and powerful models called Superamerica, which were known as 400 and 410. Most of them were purely Italian origin, both in terms of mechanics and style, because Enzo knew that was what the Yankees wanted. There was no need "Americanize" Ferrari because, after all, the rich buyers did not require it. And then the studio appeared on the horizon Ghia and built a car that to this day is considered one of the the ugliest Ferraris in history.





It is worth noting that Ghia had a great experience of cooperation with many American companies. But back to the Ferrari 410 superamerica. The model was produced from 1955 to 1959 and during this time 35 copies released.



At the time, wealthy industrialist Bob Wilk was a big a fan of Ferrari and wanted to be different from all other owners of this legendary Italian car. He just contacted Ghia and asked to create an "American Ferrari".



The Italians received the 410 Superamerica chassis, and it was Wilk chose the direction of design and made frequent visits to Italy until he was satisfied with every detail.



There is no denying the fact that the style is borrowed from American models of the 50s, as abundant amount of chromium and tail fins. Ferrari wouldn't be Ferrari without bright red color, and the entire body is made of aluminum. Automobile looks dramatic and you can't say that it was created in the Ghia studio.



But while the style may not have been Italian, the mechanics was. The 410 Superamerica was equipped with a 5.2-liter 12-cylinder a gasoline engine that produced 365 hp. Power was transferred to rear wheels through a four-speed manual transmission, and the maximum speed reached 270 km / h.



The car made its debut at the Turin Motor Show in 1956, after which he was sent to New York. Wilk picked it up at the port and personally took him to his hometown of Milwaukee.



It remained in his ownership until his death in 1970, after which it changed owners several times and today is in private hands. After this model, Ghia rarely worked with Ferrari. This model, definitely something special, but not everyone liked it, so in the future, Ferrari continued to offer the Yankees only purebred Italian cars.