Ferrari 340 Mexico Coupe - Carrera Panamericana 1952
Car scale model kit in 1/43 scale manufactured by Tameo Kits (ref. TMK017)

By its third edition in 1952, the Carrera Panamericana had become the world’s premier road race, attracting a number of factory teams. This forced the organisers to introduce a separate class specifically for European sports cars.

Ferrari built four 340 Mexicos for this event – three Berlinettas and a Spyder, all with Vignale bodies. They were powered by the powerful 4.1-litre Lampredi long-block V12, capable of generating up to 276 bhp, making it by far the most powerful car of all those competing in the 1952 Carrera Panamericana. Ferrari’s biggest competitor was to be Daimler-Benz, which fielded three of its new 300SL models.

Two of the Ferrari 340 Mexico cars, chassis 0226 AT and 0222 AT, were sold new by Luigi Chinetti to Texan oil magnate Allen Guiberson III in October 1952. As part of the sale agreement, Chinetti would arrange for the two 340s to be driven by Ferrari's own factory drivers, one of whom was none other than the then Formula 1 world champion Alberto Ascari.

Ascari had finished second in the Mexican race the previous year, and for this new attempt he would be assisted by F1 team mechanic Giuseppe Scotuzzi. Starting 14th out of 92 entrants, Ascari overtook nine cars in the first 80 kilometres of the race, clearly indicating the world champion's intentions to go for the win. Unfortunately, on a slippery section the car hit a rocky outcrop, bringing the race of chassis number 0226 AT driven by Ascari to a premature end. The best result for the Ferraris at the end of the race, which was attended by only 39 teams, was third place in the general classification for Luigi Chinetti.