CRÈME DE LA CRÈME High-end luxury and sporting brands often have a tradition of creating a limited-edition halo product, something so special that it almost makes their core products seem commonplace by comparison.

For Ferrari this tradition often involved naming the product after its intended market, beginning with the 212 Export of the early 1950s, which was intended for American privateer use and specified with a hotter mechanical set-up than the concurrent Inter cars bound for European homes.

But Maranello’s supercar tradition was truly established with the 340 America, which offered well-heeled customers the opportunity to own a model made in smaller numbers, equipped with the ferocious Lampredi racing engine, and cosmetically trimmed to rival the finest luxury touring cars.

This in turn led to the 342 and 375 America models, which segued into several series of large-bore Superamerica models.

Amidst this evolution of the Lampredi-based flagship models, in 1957 Ferrari more qui...