Nowadays, whenever you hear the word Ferrari, you think elegance, class, and prestige. As a car enthusiast, I believe Ferrari’s are the epitome of a sexy car. Ferrari’s only have their prestige now because of the reputation they gained from previous, less elegant models. A key example of this is the Ferrari America series, which is a collection of high end Ferrari’s that were produced in the 1950’s and 1960’s. This specific Ferrari series came out at a time when the interest of Ferrari’s was rapidly growing. This interest lead to some concerns about whether or not the Ferrari could become more flexible, simply because the motors inside these cars were extremely powerful, but didn’t offer themselves to customization at all.

342 America

The first installation was the 342 America. The 342 satisfied many people who critiqued Ferrari’s flexibility. The 342 had many different aspects compared to previous types of Ferrari’s. It was a four-seater, had a much more flexible engine, synchronized 4-speed gear box and better overall handling.

Fun fact, the 340 and 342 models were the first Ferrari road cars to have a Aurelio Lampredi-designed engines.

I believe that the classic Ferrari America series is a beautiful car, and a true testament to how amazing both cars have become and how amazing the human mind is. The great thing about the 342 America was that it was more accommodating to road drivers, while at the same time still keeping its beautiful aesthetics.

Different Models

The 342 was an amazing car with a fantastic design. It was possibly the most revolutionary and set the stage for the next Ferrari’s in the collection. An example of some of the cars that followed are the 410 Superamerica, the 500 Superfast, and the 365 California. It is interesting to note that all of these cars had different engines, with each one being better than the next. All of the Ferrari America series had the engines in the front also.

Watch this clip about the 342:

How do these Cars link to other Ferrari’s Today

The Ferrari America series changed the way people perceived Ferrari’s. It made Ferrari’s much more attractive to road users, which in turn helped the company make much more money. In this day and age, Ferrari’s such as the Ferrari 450, Ferrari 480 and the Ferrari concept are amazing cars because the models that came before them were perfect concepts. The Ferrari’s you see today are amazing because of the Ferrari’s that were made in the past.