Ferrari 342 America

Ferrari 342 America

By the end of 1952, Enzo Ferrari had been manufacturing cars under his own name for five years. During this time it became increasingly apparent that North America was developing into a lucrative marketplace for high performance European manufacturers. To exploit the US market, Ferrari felt he required a more user friendly, larger capacity vehicle to supplement his 212 Inter's. Thus, 342 America's had no pretension of being anything other than fast touring cars intended exclusively for road use.


Only six were completed between late 1952 and spring '53, three with Coupe bodies and three as Cabriolet's, all of which (save for a solitary Vignale Cabriolet) received designs by Pinin Farina. Designated Tipo 342, Ferrari's welded tubular steel frame for this car was very similar to the outgoing 340 America. However, a 2650mm wheelbase was 230mm longer than on the 340, the Tipo 342 chassis being Ferrari's largest yet. Furthermore, in addition to its stretched wheelbase, the 342 also featured an engine moved a full 12-inches further forward than the 340. There was also a widened track to free up more interior legroom. The 342's longitudinally-mounted Lampredi 60° V12 (designated Tipo 342) was essentially a de-tuned 340 America unit (Tipo 340/A). Thanks to a bore and stroke of 80 x 68mm respectively, displacement was 4101cc, output varying between 200 and 220bhp at 6000rpm. Compression was generally set at around 8.1:1 and three Weber 40 DCF carburettors fitted, but both could be tailored according to the desires of a particular customer. One significant development that was introduced on the 342 America was the adoption of a synchronised four-speed gearbox. Curiously though, the model was never given an early public debut, instead it merely became incorporated into Ferrari's model line-up during October 1952 when the first example (chassis 0232 AL) was completed.