What's the real story behind the Ferrari barchetta Enzo gave to Hank the Deuce?

i saw this car last Sunday at the Petersen. So far here's what I gathered for a historical piece but I am worried I missed the real story so after you peruse it, I'll ask questions hoping you more knowledgeable among you know the WHY this gift was made...
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Yes, you read that right. The head of a company known for making middle class cars in the Fifties (except for Lincolns) was gifted a Ferrari by none other than Enzo Ferrari himself.
The 1952 Ferrari 212 Barchetta was the last Ferrari Barchetta (Italian for “little boat”) ever built and the last non-racing Ferrari bodied by Touring. It was delivered new with a race-oriented, three-carburetor 225 engine and left-hand drive. It is 0253EU. It was unusual for Ferraris at the time for having white upholstery and whitewall tires and, get ready for this, 3 sets!.
It's hard to imagine a friendship between two men with such different goals for making automobiles as Henry Ford II and Enzo Ferrari .

The Petersen Museum claims the two appeared to have a burgeoning friendship until Ferrari abruptly pulled out of a deal to sell his company to Ford in the '60s (as portrayed in Ford v. Ferrari, the movie).

Enzo liked racing and found having to produce road cars a chore. He was thinking about merging with Ford. Then he could be free to run the race teams. But due to some problems with what the cars would be called (Ford-Ferraris for the street cars and Ferrari-Fords for the race cars?) and a clause in the contract that said Enzo would have to get approval from Ford for expenditures above a certain amount, Ferrari walked, later merging with Fiat.

Instead of the 212's normal V12, this car was fitted with the larger 2.7-liter unit from a Ferrari 225. The car has been almost unaltered since then. It still wears its original paint, and its tires date back to 1954 (one reason you wouldn't want to test it at top speed...).

Ford kept the car only for a few years - but it fulfilled a mission Ferrari probably frowned at, influencing the creation of Ford Motor Company's own two-seater , the 1955 Thunderbird.

The website barchettaa.com has a list of owners posted and it is interesting to see how this car ended up in the stable of many renowned collectors.

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HISTORY OF OWNERS FROM BARCHETTACC>COM

Result Event Driver # Reference
52 - William Ford, Dearborn, MI, USA PH42 p5
5. - John Egan, USA
56 - Richard F. Merritt, Bethesda, MD, USA
.. - Bill Parfett, Golden, CO, USA
.. - Tom Barrett, Scottsdale, AZ, USA
.. - Beanie Morgan, Indianapolis, USA
.. - Peter Cottrell, 69 Forest Dale Rd, Minneapolis Rd MN, 612-824-7944 - $165,000 TCF p41
FA8 p137
OMS p72
.. - Dr. Frederick Simeone, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
97 - Henri Chambon, F
98/sep Concours d'Elegance, Bagatelle Henri Chambon C108 p15
99/sep/14-18 Tour Historique Automobile Henri Chambon / Catherine Raboisson
00/feb/11-20 - displayed at Retromobile, Paris, F
03/feb - offered by Christian Philippsen
0. - The Petersen Museum, L.A., CA, USA
06/aug/20 Pebble Beach Concours, class M-1 Robert Petersen FW No. 63 p64
09/aug/14 The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, Carmel Valley Petersen Museum
11/aug/19 Concorso Italiano, Laguna Seca Golf Ranch Petersen Museum C185 p52
12/aug/19 2nd IC Pebble Beach Concours, class L-2 Petersen Museum
14/may/21 Concorso Ferrari, (Ferrari Club of America) Southwest Region
14/oct/12 Ferrari in the USA 60th Anniversary, Rodeo Drive
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Questions: Was Enzo already thinking of selling the road car side of his company on '52?
Was this really a roundabout way of hoping Ferrari could order some parts to be made by Ford--such as engine blocks, transmission casings, etc?
Did Ford ever make any parts for Ferrari?
Why does the website barchettacc.com quote in the above list the first owner as William Ford (brother of Henry Ford II) instead of Henry Ford II?
Did the Ford family pressure Hank to sell it because driving a Ferrari around Grosse Pointe gave off a better than-you image to those driving American cars?
I read where it was parked in the styling studio when the two seater Thunderbird (introduced as '55 model) was being mocked up. If so, it seems none of its design features made it over to the T-bird?
Speaking of T-birds I once saw a picture of a Farina-built '55 T-bird. Was the first prototype built in Italy? Was that a Ford plan --to build the car in Italy with an American V8 (as happened with the Pantera two decades later).
Any opinions appreciated...




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