This 1951 Ferrari 212 Inter Coupe—which wears a unique “Supergioiello” design that places it firmly among the highest tier of significant coachbuilt V-12 Ferraris and represents one of the finest commissions ever executed by Ghia— is a rare example of the phenomenon by which an automobile transcends its significance as a mechanical object and becomes symbolic of the person most closely affiliated with it.

Above all, this special Ferrari best represents a moment of inspiration: a chance encounter between an ambitious, young Mexican journalist and a world-famous Italian racing driver.

On 23 November 1951, a blue-and-white sports car progressed down a winding, rock-strewn ribbon of road deep within the mountainous interior of Northern Mexico, its unbaffled engine screaming a banshee-like wail.

Awaiting the banshee’s imminent arrival was Rodolfo Junco de la Vega, Jr., 29-year-old Directing Editor for the regional newspaper El Sol .

Junco De la Vega was on assignment to cover the second...