VIN: the works / Allen Guiberson / AV Dayton Ferrari 340 Mexico chassis 0226 AT
History of chassis 0226 AT
Chassis 0226 AT was one of three Ferrari 340 Mexico Berlinettas built to contest the 1952 Carrera Panamericana. A Spyder was also constructed but did not attend the race.
Ferrari’s attack on the ‘52 Carrera followed their victory in the 1951 event with a pair of works 212 Inters.
In 1952, the event was opened up to sports racing machinery having previously been organised for production touring cars.
The trio of 340 Mexico Berlinettas were underwritten by Ferrari’s US importer, Luigi Chinetti, who agreed that he would buy one of the cars after the race and find a buyer for the other two.
The 1952 Carrera Panamericana consisted of eight stages over five days and took place from November 19th to the 23rd.
In addition to the 340 Mexicos, Ferrari’s attack comprised their unique 250 Sport which had won the Mille Miglia and Pescara 12 Hours earlier in the year.
0226 AT was allocated to Ferrari’s Formula 1 star, Alberto Ascari, who was co-driven by Giuseppe Scotuzzi.
Stage 1 was a 329 mile run from Tuxtla Gutierrez to Oaxaca and became increasingly mountainous towards the end. Unfortunately, Ascari did not manage to complete it; he lost control on a section with a loose surface and slid into a wall which heavily damaged the driver’s side of the car and the roof.
As there was no way such extensive damage could be repaired at the scene, 0226 AT retired on the spot. It was subsequently sent back to Italy for repair.
Only one of the four Ferraris finished (that of Chinetti / Lucas in third). Mercedes swept to a famous one-two victory with their W194 300 SLs.
Once repaired, Texan oil man, Allen Guiberson III, took ownership of 0226 AT along with 0222 AT. He paid $14,500 apiece.
Guiberson was a renowned engineer that developed oil field tooling and also created the first diesel radial engine.
Guiberson retained 0222 AT for an attack on the 1953 Carrera Panamericana. He sold 0226 AT to Oklahoma-based industrialist, AV Dayton, who owned the Tulsa-based Engineering Products Corporation.
Dayton entered the car for four races between July 1953 and March 1954.
In its first outing, Carroll Shelby and Jack McAfee finished second in the SCCA National race at Offut Air Force Base.
George Koehne Jr. then placed eighth overall at the Fort Worth Guardsman’s Trophy.
In 0226 AT’s final two races, Dale Duncan retired with electrical trouble at Turner and finished third at the Bergstrom Preliminary (both of which were SCCA National events).
Soon after the Bergstrom race, AV Dayton sold the Ferrari back to Luigi Chinetti.
The car subsequently went through the hands of several more East Coast US owners including Richard Londergran who displayed it at the 1958 Detroit Motor Show.
In 1959, 0226 AT was sold to Ferrari Club of America co-founder and GM designer, Larry Nicklin. Nicklin kept the car until 1969 and, ten years later, purchased the sister car, 0224 AT.
After three more US owners, 0226 AT was purchased by William Marriott of Maryland who had the car restored.
Twelve years later it arrived in the UK and in 2011 was sold by RM Sotheby’s in London.
Notable History
Scuderia Ferrari
Red Industrias 1-2-3 livery
23/11/1952 IND Carrera Panamericana (A. Ascari / G. Scotuzzi) DNF (#14)
Returned to Maranello for repair
Sold to Allen Guiberson, Dallas
Sold to AV Dayton, Tulsa, Oklahoma
05/07/1953 SCA National Offutt (C. Shelby / J. McAfee) 2nd oa, 2nd CM class (#12)
23/08/1953 IND Fort Worth Guardsman's Trophy (G. Koehne Jr.) 8th oa, 6th in ?? class (#??)
25/10/1953 SCA National Turner Modified (D. Duncan) DNF (#41)
28/03/1954 SCA National Bergstrom Preliminary (D. Duncan) 3rd oa, 3rd CM class (#1)
Sold via Luigi Chinetti to Dave Leopold, Buffalo, New York
1959 sold to Larry Nicklin, Leo, Indiana
1969 sold to Art Jacobs, Mineola, New York
1970 sold to Theodore Pratt, New York City
1975 sold to David Carroll, Boston, Massachusetts
1985 sold to William Marriott, Chevy Chase, Maryland
1997 sold to Carlos Monteverde, London, UK
1999 sold again
2011 sold by RM Sotheby’s
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Darin Schnabel courtesy of RM Sotheby’s - https://rmsothebys.com/
