Chassis Number: 0598CM
Enzo Ferrari was determined to secure the FIA World Sportscar championship in 1955, with the final leg being the Carrera Panamericana. A grueling five-day rally, it traversed the Mexican wilderness en route to the border near El Paso, TX.
For the 1955 Carrera, Ferrari designed an all-new chassis, the type 519/C. It utilized a low-riding tubular spaceframe of unusual width and featured a shorter wheelbase, with the hopes of neutralizing the Panamericana’s uneven roads. Instead of integrating the 375 Plus’s 4,954-cubic-centimeter racing engine, however, Lampredi chose to revise his brand-new long-block V12 designed for the Superamerica road car. At 4,961 cubic centimeters, this was the largest engine yet built by Maranello, and in racing form the type 126/C motor featured Formula One-style twin-plug ignition per cylinder, a quadruple distributor and coil-ignition system in 0598 (magnetos in 0596), and three huge twin-choke Weber 46 DCF carburetors to develop nearly 400 horsepower.
Only two 410 Sports were built to these specifications with the intention of factory-based racing. They were appropriately designated chassis numbers 0596 and 0598 with CM suffices, standing for “Carrera Messicana.” After development had begun on the 410 Sport in 1955, however, both the Carrera Panamericana and 1,000-km Nürburgring FIA races were canceled in the wake of the Le Mans tragedy. As a result, Maranello repositioned the 410 Sports to participate in the 1956 World Sportscar Championship racing season, making their debut at the season-commencing 1,000 km of Buenos Aires in January 1956.
The pair of 24-spark cars, chassis numbers 0596CM and 0598CM, were respectively driven by the teams of Peter Collins and Luigi Musso, and Juan Manual Fangio and Eugenio Castellotti. Fangio furiously chased down Stirling Moss in the leading Maserati 300S. After charging back to the lead lap with Moss in his sights, the differential gave way from the punishment enacted by the feverish pace and raw power of the type 126/C engine on the 89th lap (28 laps after the transaxle had failed on 0596CM). Both cars were sent back to the factory for a refit before delivery later in 1956 to privateer clients.
