Ferrari 400 Superamerica Aerodinamico SWB |
Completed: |
1962 |
Originally delivered: |
Italy |
Original colour: |
Grigio scuro |
Original interior: |
blu scuro |
Comments: |
If there is such a thing as a formula for the ultimate luxury flagship, Ferrari had |
| certainly mastered it by late 1961. Ferrari presented at the Paris Salon an | |
| automotive jewel both powerful and elegant. It is the breathtaking example of | |
| one of Ferrari’s quintessential vintage flagship models: the 400 Superamerica | |
| SWB Coupe Aerodinamico. |
| The Superamerica model had been consistently developed from its inception in | |
| 1956, evolving into a short-wheelbase chassis powered by a 4.0-liter Colombo | |
| engine with the introduction of the 400 Superamerica in October 1959. A year | |
| later at the Turin Motor Show, this exceptional mechanical platform was clothed | |
| in its definitive coachwork variant, a Pininfarina design initially called the | |
| Superfast II. The new body featured a protruding tapered nose, delicate fender | |
| curves, and a sloping rear fastback, emphasising aerodynamics through | |
| groundbreaking styling. |
| Ferrari approved the design for a limited production, and 15 examples | |
| were ultimately built in the body style now officially known as the Coupe | |
| Aerodinamico. It is worth noting that this coachwork style was not nearly as | |
| aesthetically balanced when transferred onto the long-wheelbase Series II cars | |
| that followed, making the first-series examples not only more maneuverable, | |
| but also more attractive in the eyes of many enthusiasts. Capable of athletic | |
| performance yet appointed for the ultimate luxury touring experience with | |
| sumptuous leather-upholstered interiors, the 400 Superamerica SWB Coupe | |
| Aerodinamico was the elite flagship of its day, and it remains one of the | |
| marque’s most celebrated models. |
| This SWB Coupe Aerodinamico in particular is almost painfully beautiful. It is | |
| built like a Rolls Royce, but has the performance of a Ferrari... and the rarity of | |
| a Picasso. The Superamerica represents the pinnacle of what Ferrari did | |
| achieve at that time as it sought to pursue the top-tier grand tourer market - | |
| proving the marque was about more than merely the greatest competition cars. |
| Under the bonnet is the larget-capacity Colombo V12 engine ever fitted to a | |
| Ferrari road car, measuring 4.0 litres with its two cam layout. The 400 SA V12 | |
| engine Tipo 163 was nothing else than a short block variant which were used in | |
| the race thoroughbreds 330 GTO and 330 LMB having had a maximum power | |
| outcome of 400 bhp. The Bill Harrah car tested by Road & Track achieved in | |
| the US in a road test on a Nevada highway a 390 bhp and a | |
| top speed of 290 km/h. This in 1962. |
| In the early sixties the Ferrari 400 SA SWB was the most desirable, fastest and | |
| rarest automobile which aroused interest by celebrities, industrial tycoons or | |
| just wealthy car enthusiasts. Among the customers who favored these limited- | |
| production Ferraris was Count Giovanni Volpi di Misurata, the Italian nobleman | |
| who founded Scuderia Serenissima, one of the top privateer racing teams of the | |
| early 1960s. He purchased the one and only alloy bodied 400 SA SWB # 2809 | |
| SA which has been auctioned not long ago being sold for 6 Mio USD by Gooding | |
| & Company in Monterey. | |
| Under the first early owners are names like Achill Lauro, Count Somsky from | |
| Switzerland, Shah Reza Pahlavi of Iran, Emperor Bao Dai of Vietnam, Pietro | |
| Barilla and Gianni Agnelli who bought the very first special bodied 400 SA SWB | |
| # 1517 SA which was exhibited on the Torino Auto Saloon in 1959. And last but | |
| not least Enzo Ferrari received his personal 400 SA SWB # 3097 SA. |
| Ferrari 400 SA Aerodinamico SWB # 3621 SA |
| The 400 SA SWB # 3621 was delivered by Ferrari in October 1962 to the | |
| Italian Ferrari dealership Crepaldi in Milan/Italy. The colour combination | |
| was reported by Ferrari as Grigio scuro and Blu Franzi hide. It was the last 400 | |
| SA SWB built with the open headlight design. Just one of only 7 cars which were | |
| built in this layout of its areodinamic design. |
| The first owner was Egidio Galbani which was not only a close friend from Enzo | |
| Ferrari but as well a steady client who purchased in 1956 his first Ferrari 250 GT | |
| Boano # 0521 GT, in 1961 a 250 GTE # 2257 GT, in 1962 a 250 GT SWB # 3639 | |
| GT and later in the same year this 400 SA SWB # 3621. He kept his 400 SA SWB | |
| not too long because it was sold again in 1966 through Crepaldi to its next | |
| Australian based owner Barry Batagol Melbourne/Australia. |
| Barry Batagol was a marque enthusiast who had beside his 400 SA SWB a Ferrari | |
| 750 Monza, a 365 GT/4 BB, which was preferably driven by his wife Cheryl and | |
| later a 512 BB. When the Ferrari prices following the passing of Enzo Ferrari in | |
| 1988 came to its first all-time high, Barry decided to sell his beloved toy through | |
| a Coys auction in Birmingham/UK in 1989 for astonishing 715.000,- GBP. In this | |
| time the overall and original mileage has been reported at 26 000 km. |
| It changed hands twice with Eddie Schah, Manchester/UK and later it came into | |
| the collection of the Ferrari collector Carlos Monteverde which is known for his | |
| enthusiasm not only to collect Ferrari but as well to appear with his cars on the | |
| race tracks of this world. He owned cars like the famous 750 Monza # 568 M the | |
| so called "Ice racer" and his 250 Testarossa # 738 TR. |
| In 1998 Carlos sold the 400 SA SWB through John Collins’ Talacrest again to | |
| Barry Batagol who obviously couldn’t sleep well without his beloved early Ferrari | |
| which he had bought in Italy in 1966. By this the 400 SA SWB moved a second | |
| time from Europe to Australia where it received a total mechanical check | |
| and overhaul. In the following years Barry took care of his beloved toy. There | |
| are some invoices and a list of work which had been carried out indicating the | |
| mileage in 1999 at 27 000 km and later in 2002 with 30 690 km. |
| In 2005 Barry parted again with his 400 SA SWB and it followed another shipping | |
| back to England where it received a major engine out service by well-known and | |
| famous Bob Houghton Ltd., Gloucestershire /UK. |
| It changed hands a last time in 2006. Since then, it has been part of our major | |
| Ferrari collection keeping it in its original condition with its original interior and its | |
| original and unrestored engine compartment. Over the years we had rarely | |
| driven it in order to keep its low mileage at 34 000 km. I suppose we didn’t use | |
| it for more than 3000 km in nearly twenty years. |
| In 2023 we decided that it would have come the time to step into a serious and | |
| deeper nut and bolt restoration which took in the end two years and an amazing | |
| amount of work hours and effort to bring it back into a new condition or even a | |
| bit better. The result is amazing, the engine compartment is detailed and like | |
| new, the frame, suspension and underneath it looks like new. We have kept the | |
| beautiful Blu Franzi interior documenting the 34 438 km which it has covered | |
| from 1962 until Summer 2025. I suppose that it is the best preserved original | |
| interior of any 400 SA SWB. |
| The restoration finished in July 2025 is documented by hundreds of pics and an | |
| amount of invoices totaling at 240.000,- € or appr. 300.000,- USD. The result | |
| is clearly good enough to win any major Concourse d’Elegance on the planet. |
| After its restoration we have carried out a number of test drives. By this we can | |
| confirm that it runs, drives and sounds exactly as it should. The 400 SA Tipo | |
| 163 engine develops an extraordinary amount of power thanks to its roots | |
| coming out of the motor sport being used for the Ferrari 330 LMB and Ferrari | |
| 330 GTO. This is a real thoroughbred not to be confused with the normal 4.0 l | |
| engine being used as the Tipo 209 in the Ferrari 330 GTC. The original Tipo 163 | |
| 4-speed gearbox is shifting gears perfectly and there is no vibration or noise | |
| coming out of the original Tipo 538 differential. |
| This is a complete different power unit which accelerates the 400 SA SWB | |
| tremendously. |
| Today the 400 SA SWB is in fabulous condition and seems to be with its | |
| 34 438 km one of the lowest mileage 400 SA SWB in existence |
|
Price: |
on request |
|
