SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST Like a fine wine or a mellowed whiskey, some car models only improve with age.

Such is the case with the Ferrari Superamerica, which developed through two iterations before a third series was introduced at the 1958 Paris Salon.

Substantially different than the first two variants, the Series III Superamerica was built on a revised 2,600-millimeter wheelbase chassis with a widened track, designated as the type 514A.

Into this athletic frame, Maranello’s engineers dropped a further development of Aurelio Lampredi’s Le Mans-winning tall-block 4.9-liter V-12, now classified as the type 126A/58.

This retuned engine was equipped with outside spark plugs (predating the more famous outside-plug 250 GT engine by some six months), huge racing-specification Weber 46 DCF/3 carburetors, and polished billet connecting rods (a feature only found elsewhere on the 250 Testa Rossa and 250 GTO racecars).

Now developing 400 horsepower, 40 horsepower more than the outgoing Seri...