Tag Archives: Count Volpi di Misurata

Aircon & Electric Windows – Ferrari 250 LM #5995

Today’s featured Ferrari 250 LM chassis #5995 was originally supplied in 1964 to Count Volpi di Misurata patron of Scuderia Serenissima.

Ferrari 250 LM, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Roberto Benelli is believed to have driven the car for the Count in 1964 although at the moment I have no idea exactly when or where. In 1965 Cesare Toppetti and Maurizio Grana started the Targa Florio with it but retired after an accident.

Ferrari 250 LM, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Cesare finished first in class on the 1965 Bologna-Raticosa Hillclimb before sharing the driving with Maurizio to finish 2nd in the 1965 Mugello Grand Prix. This chassis last known event was with Cesare again at the wheel on Trieste-Opicina hillclimb in July ’65 although no result is known for this outing.

Ferrari 250 LM, Goodwood Festival of Speed

At the 1965 Geneva and New York Motor Show’s Ferrari displayed 250LM chassis #6025 as a Stradale variant equipped as a road car carpets, full leather trim, electric door windows and a plexiglass rear window.

Ferrari 250 LM, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Two years later in 1967 today’s featured car was sent back to Maranello to be equipped as the original 250 LM Stradale as a road car with cast magnesium wheels and air conditioning added for further comfort in what must other wise be a an extremely hot interior.

Ferrari 250 LM, Goodwood Festival of Speed

During the 1960’s the #5995 ended up in Maryland where an owner paid $8,000.

Ferrari 250 LM, Goodwood Festival of Speed

In early 1981 the car was offered for sale by it’s British owner for £75,000 @ $120,000 but it did not change ownership until 1996 when it went to an owner in France who had the car painted in Silver with the French Tricolor as seen on in these photographs taken at Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Ferrari 250 LM, Goodwood Festival of Speed

By way of comparison in the last 12 months or so two Ferrari 250 LM’s have come up for auction, the unraced in period #6045 went for a hammer price of over $11 million in August and the 1968 Daytona 24 Hours class winning chassis #6107 fetched a model high $14.3 million in New York last November.

Thanks for joining me on this “Aircon & Electric Windows” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a one off Jaguar powered GT road car. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Arise Sir John ? Pt 1 – Ferrari 158 # 006

After the success of winning the 1961 World Drivers and Manufacturers Championships with Phil Hill driving the shark nose V6 powered Ferrari 156 model, the team experienced one of it periodic slumps.

Ferrari 158, Autosport International, NEC, Birmingham

The ensuing 12 months saw Enzo Ferrari fallout with a patential saviour Ford, a couple of customers Ferruccio Lamborghini and Count Giovanni Volpi di Misurata his engineers Carlo Chiti and Giotto Bizzarrini and star driver Phil Hill.

Ferrari 158, Autosport International, NEC, Birmingham

Despite these difficulties Enzo set Mauro ‘Fury’ Forghieri to work on a new V8 powered formula one challenger which was ready at the begining of 1964 for seven time world Motor Cycle Champion John Surtees to drive in his second season with the team.

Ferrari 158, Autosport International, NEC, Birmingham

John’s first season with Ferrari driving the old V6 powered shark nose had seen him finish four races in 4th, 3rd, 2nd and culminating with a win in the 1963 German Grand Prix which saw him finish 4th overall in the World Drivers Championship and Ferrari 4th overall in the constructors championship.

Ferrari 158, Autosport International, NEC, Birmingham

Unlike the 1963 championship wining monocoque chassis Lotus 25, the Ferrari 158 features a semi monocoque chassis which has aluminium sheets riveted to a steel structure.

Ferrari 158, Goodwood Revival

The 8 cylinder 1,489 cc / 90.9 cui type 205/B motor like the contemporaneous Coventry Climax V8 that powered the Lotus and BRM V8 has two banks of cylinders inclined at 90 degrees and produces around 210hp.

Ferrari 158, Autosport International, NEC, Birmingham

The motor mounted behind the driver was attached to a Ferrari 6 speed gear box and the whole car weighed in at 468 kg / 1,032 lb with water and oil.

Ferrari 158, Goodwood Revival

There were 10 races counting toward the 1964 World Championship and John qualified 4th for the first round at Monaco but retired after 15 laps with a broken gearbox in a race won by Graham Hill from team mate Richie Ginther driving for BRM.

Ferrari 158, Autosport International, NEC, Birmingham

John qualified 4th again for the Dutch Grand Prix and this time finished second to Jim Clark’s Lotus. At the Belgian and French Grand Prix John qualified 5th and 3rd respectively but retired from both with engine problems with less than half a dozen laps completed.

Ferrari 158, Autosport International, NEC, Birmingham

At the 1964 British Grand Prix John qualified fifth but managed to go the whole distance to finish third behind Jim Clark and Graham Hill, Clark who had won the Belgian Grand Prix was leading Hill by four points in the championship with Surtees outside the top five 20 points behind Clark.

Ferrari 158, Autosport International, NEC, Birmingham

John qualified, chassis #006 featured in these photographs, on pole for the German Grand Prix and went on to win the race from Graham Hill while Clark began a series of three consecutive retirements thanks to two engine and one half shaft failure.

Ferrari 158, Goodwood Revival

All three emergent championship contenders retired from the Austrian Grand Prix which was won by John’s team mate Lorenzo Bandini.

Ferrari 158, Goodwood Revival

Going into the Italian Grand Prix John was 13 points behind championship leader Graham Hill but a second win from pole, again in chassis #006, closed the gap to just four points as both Graham and Jim Clark failed to finish.

I’ll conclude the story of John’s championship Formula One season next week, but meantime there is a petition to get John Surtees the knighthood he so richly deserves for being the only man to win World Championships on two wheels and four, if you would like to sign FOLLOW THIS LINK.

Thanks for joining me on this “Arise Sir John ? Pt 1” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psychoontyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a Jaguar Special. Don’t forget to come back now !

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