I've always had an interest in european vintage cars. As a child, living in Mexico City in the sixties, I remember hearing that on any given Sunday, early in the morning, one might catch a glimmer of a red sports car zipping up Avenida Reforma, driven by Lopez Mateos, the president of the republic. I never witnessed one of his early morning escapades, but the story stuck with me. As an adult, my interest in vintage cars continues and from time to time I delve into articles about Lopez Mateos' passion for motorsports and his collection of italian sports cars. One writer reports that the president had the federal police regularly close the Periferico (Mexico City's central freeway) for a few hours so he could get a car "up to speed." Another article states that on his birthday, he bought himself a new Ferrari every year. Below, The Museo del Automóvil y el Transporte in Tampico, maintains several of his cars.
In a recent 2020 Tweet, Dolia Estevez, a respected correspondent and analyst based in Washington DC, reiterated a story told by Phillip Agee, author of CIA DAIRY. (Reference to the book appears in another post on this blog).
The Tweet above by Dolia Estevez states that my father had presented the mistress of the Minister of the Interior, Gustavo Diaz Ordaz (below in portrait signed to my father as president), a 1960 Ferrari 250GT Coupe. When president Lopez Mateos found out about it, he requestd the same model for his mistress, and my father obliged and presented her with the blue with gray interior car shown above. Both the president and the Minister of the Interior were on CIA payroll as part of the LITEMPO operation (referenced in another post in this blog) which compensated over a dozen Mexican government officials and private indidividuals for intelligence and collaboration. It appears that the compensation went beyond cash payments.
The car procured for the mistress was sold in 2011 by a reputable classic car dealer, Fantasy Junction in California. The listing states, "This particular car... was delivered new to the President of Mexico at the time, Mr. Adolfo Lopez Mateos. It was trimmed in the current gray leather, and painted in its stunning blue sera. Mr. Adolfo Lopez Mateos kept and cherished this fantastic early 250 Series Ferrari until finally selling it to his fellow countryman and Ferrari enthusiast Mr. Francisco Diez Barroso Castaneda in late 1966."
It appears that the Ferrari was not the only car gifted to Lopez Mateos by the CIA. Author Patrick Henz notes in his article "The President's Cars," that Lopez Mateos also had a white 1961 Ferrai 250 GTE (below), among his collection.
Further research shows that a third Lopez Mateos owned car entered the historic record in the mid-sixties. A 1959 Maserati 5000 GT, of which only 34 were made, included Lopez Mateos as one of the first owners. Other dignitaries and celebrities around the world lined up to source coveted examples, among them Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran. The story told is that the Maserati owned by Lopez Mateos had an accident and had to be returned to the factory in Bologna, Italy for repair. The damage to the car required that it be rebodied and in the process a new version was created. The prototype of the updated car was shown at the 1965 Turin Auto Show and named the Maserati Mexico. They honored Lopez Mateos and his 5000GT that spawned the creation of the new model. The repaired car was then returned to the Lopez Mateos collection in Mexico. The offcial Maserati website (below) details how the Maserati Mexico got it's name. 485 cars were made between 1966 and 1972.
It will never be known how many vehicles were bought and gifted by my father to Lopez Mateos and other Mexican officials. Inevitably more will come to light as they change hands privately or at auction. I only wish I had been fortunate enough to see the president racing up Refor on a Sunday morning after my father tossed him the keys.
Links to articles related to Lopez Mateos cars: