VIN: the works / Rene Marchand / Bill Devin / Masten Gregory Ferrari 340 America chassis 0202 A
History of chassis 0202 A
Chassis 0202 A was one of five 340 Americas originally equipped with closed bodywork by Vignale. The first (chassis 0082 A) was a works car used by Luigi Villoresi and Pasquale Cassani to win the 1951 Mille Miglia. The other three were road cars.
Ferrari built chassis 0202 A as a quasi-works entry for the 1952 Le Mans 24 Hours where it was driven by the French pairing of Andre Simon and Lucien Vincent. The car raced under a Luigi Chinetti entry and was painted French Racing Blue. It was completed shortly before the big race and registered on the Bologna plate BO 13548.
The 1952 Le Mans 24 Hours took place over the weekend of June 14th and 15th. Grid positions were decided on engine size.
Simon got a great start and by the end of lap one he was third behind the Cunningham C-4RK of Phil Walters and the Jaguar C-type of Stirling Moss.
On lap two, the Frenchman set a new lap record and moved up to second as Moss dropped to fourth behind Alberto Ascari’s works Ferrari 250 Sport.
Ascari then set his own lap record as he and Simon streaked passed Walters to head the field on lap three.
A short while later, Simon was promoted to the lead when Ascari headed for the pits with clutch problems.
At the ten lap mark, 0202 A had a comfortable 31 second lead over Moss’s Jaguar.
The Frenchman was still in the lead at the two hour mark, by which time the works Gordini T15S of Jean Behra was second.
However, during the third hour, Simon began having to nurse a slipping clutch and the Gordini took the lead.
Soon after Lucien Vincent took the wheel, 0202 A made the first of several pit stops for attention to the clutch. Vincent then beached the blue Ferrari in the sandbank at Mulsanne corner which dropped the car well down the order.
Once 0202 A had been dug out, Vincent and Simon gradually recovered lost ground and eventually finished the race in fifth overall. They were 27 laps behind the winning Mercedes 300 SL and claimed second in the five-litre class.
After Le Mans, 0202 A was sold to Parisian amateur, Rene Marchand.
Two weeks later, Marchand entered the car for the Bressuire road race in Aquitaine where he finished second behind the Ferrari 225 Sport of Jean Lucas.
On September 21st, Marchand arranged for Lucien Vincent to race 0202 A at the Montlhery Coupe d’Automne. Despite having the fastest car in the race, Vincent was hampered by technical problems and came home sixth. Pierre Levegh won the event in his Talbot-Lago T26 GS.
Chassis 0202 A was subsequently returned to the factory where it was freshened up and given a handsome coat of dark red Rosso Scuro paint.
Marchand then may have used the car for an attempt on the 1952 Carrera Panamericana (which he failed to finish).
Afterwards it was sold to Bill Devin in California who had Jack McAfee contest the SCCA National race for Modified cars at Bergstrom Air Force Base on April 12th 1953. McAfee finished the 161km race in sixth behind winner Jim Kimberly’s winning Ferrari 340 America, three Jaguar C-types and an Allard.
Chassis 0202 A was then sold to Masten Gregory of Kansas City via Ernie McAfee’s Ferrari dealership on Sunset Boulevard in California.
Gregory raced the car twice. On September 20th 1953 he finished third in the 40 lap Madera road race behind Phil Hill (Ferrari 250 Mille Miglia) and Sterling Edwards (Jaguar C-type). On May 2nd 1954, Gregory was second in the 20 lap SCCA Regional Iowa City Airport race behind winner, Loyal Katskee (Jaguar C-type).
Shortly afterwards, chassis 0202 A was reputedly crashed.
Masten Gregory sold the damaged car to George Sawyer in California who had it repaired and fitted with a cut-down Spyder body. Sawyer then ran the car in a couple of minor events during 1955.
Afterwards, chassis 0202 A went through the hands of several of American owners before the heavily modified chassis appeared on eBay in 2006. It was sold to Tom Shaughnessy, reunited with its original engine and restored to 1952 configuration by Ferrari Classiche.
Notable History
French Blue
Scuderia Ferrari (Luigi Chinetti entry)
Registered BO 13548
15/06/1952 IND Le Mans 24 Hours (A. Simon / L. Vincent) 5th oa, 2nd S5.0 class (#14)
Sold to Rene Marchand, Paris
29/06/1952 IND Bressuire (R. Marchand) 2nd oa (#11)
21/09/1952 IND Montlhery Coupe d'Automne (L. Vincent) 6th oa (#137)
Returned to the factory and repainted Rosso Scuro
Sold to Bill Devin, Lytle Creek Canyon, California
12/04/1953 SCA National Bergstrom (J. McAfee) 6th oa, 5th CM class (#75)
Sold to Ernie McAfee, Los Angeles, California
Sold to to Masten Gregory, Kansas City, Missouri
20/09/1953 IND Madera (M. Gregory) 3rd oa, 2nd CM class (#78)
02/05/1954 SCA Regional Iowa Trophy (M. Gregory) 2nd oa, 2nd CM class (#82)
Crashed
Sold to George Sawyer, Lafayette, California
Rebuilt and rebodied as a cut down Spyder
05/06/1955 IND Santa Rosa (G. Sawyer) ran (#106)
21/08/1955 IND Buchanan Field (G. Sawyer) ran (#??)
1958 sold to Bill Owens, Houston, Texas
Fitted with a Chevrolet V8 engine and later a fibreglass Devin body
Subsequently restored by Ferrari Classiche
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Ferrari - https://www.ferrari.com
