Ferrari 410 Superamerica Series III Coupé

The Ferrari 410 Superamerica Series III Coupé, chassis 1285SA, is a rare and historically rich example of Ferrari’s elite grand touring machines, designed for the most discerning clientele of the late 1950s. Completed on February 3, 1959, this Pinin Farina-bodied coupe featured left-hand drive and a striking white exterior with a grey roof. It was delivered new to J. A. “Gus” Stallings, a prominent General Motors distributor based in Phoenix, Arizona. Stallings, no stranger to speed, quickly brought the car to the Bonneville Salt Flats where it recorded an impressive 151.77 mph during the 1959 World Land Speed Record Attempts. He returned again in 1960, using the Superamerica to further explore the limits of performance for a production-based luxury Ferrari. By 1962, the car was traded back to Luigi Chinetti in New York in exchange for a 400 Superamerica Cabriolet, and not long after, the original engine was replaced with a unit from chassis 0495SA, an earlier Series I 410 Superamerica. Around this time, it was also repainted a Havana brown with a beige interior. The car then passed to an unidentified owner in New Jersey before ending up in the hands of Jackson Brooks in Fort Collins, Colorado, in 1969. At that point, the car was in severely poor condition. Brooks, together with Ron Kerr, undertook a mechanical restoration between 1969 and 1970, reviving the neglected Ferrari. Ownership transferred to Philadelphia-based dealer and enthusiast Kirk F. White in 1970, and later in the decade, to Howard P. Sheronas of Coconut Grove, Florida. In September 1978, Sheronas offered the car for sale at $13,500, noting that while the body and interior remained intact in brown and beige, the engine required rebuilding. During this time, the original engine—1285SA—was held separately by Steve Griswold. Eventually, Griswold’s engine was reunited with the car, replacing the 0495SA unit, though the fate of the latter remains unclear. Glen Kalil of Miami acquired the car in 1979, followed by several offers and transactions through the early 1980s, including a listing by Thorobred Motorcars in Virginia for $34,000. Paul Chamberland of the UK owned the car briefly, during which time the engine was again removed, leading to ambiguity about which unit now resided in the chassis. By the mid-1980s, Jack Lucas of France owned the car, before it eventually reappeared in 2001 at a Sotheby’s Monaco auction, then painted white again, though it failed to sell. The car found its way to noted Ferrari expert Tom Shaughnessy in California during the 2000s and appeared at The Quail in 2008. It resurfaced at prestigious concours events such as the Cavallino Classic and the Classic and Sports Sunday in 2020, bearing Texas plates. Sam Lombardo of Vero Beach, Florida, later became the custodian, showing it at Pebble Beach in 2024 where it won third in Class M2 under the stewardship of David MacNeil, and at Villa d’Este in 2025 with Lombardo once again presenting this remarkable and well-traveled machine.