Tag Archives: Ferrari

Get Smart – Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet Series 2 #2943GT

It’s been a couple of years since I looked at a Pininfarina bodied Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet Series 2 in any detail, since then I have found out one such car was used by Maxwell Smart in the pilot episode of the Get Smart television comedy.

Ferrari 250 GT PF S2 Cabriolet, VSCC, Prescott

Chassis #2943GT was built in October 1961 the 148th of 204, painted red with a black interior. After spending it’s first couple of years in Italy #2943 was acquired by Prince Joackim Zu Furstenberg who kept it at Schloss Donaueschingen in Southern Germany until 1972.

Ferrari 250 GT PF S2 Cabriolet, VSCC, Prescott

The current Norwegian owner bought the car from Germany’s preeminent Ferrari dealer Auto Becker in 1972 and exported it to Norway where it remained, until it was offered for sale at the upcoming Bonhams auction at the Goodwood Revival next week.

Ferrari 250 GT PF S2 Cabriolet, VSCC, Prescott

The car, seen here at last month’s Prescott’s VSCC meeting, is said to have approximately 38,500 miles on the clock, an average of just 745 miles a year over it’s entire life and is estimated to fetch up to £500,000.

Ferrari 250 GT PF S2 Cabriolet, VSCC, Prescott

The downside is that the 3 litre / 183 cui Colombo Tipo 125 V12 motor has not been started for 4 or 5 years and is said to have a problem with the fuel pump, so some expense will be incurred to recommission the car.

Thanks for joining me on this “Get Smart” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psychoontyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

The Great Ferraris – The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering

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A couple of weeks ago Geoffrey Horton took part in The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering Concours d’Elegance, here are a few pictures of The Great Ferraris Geoffrey has kindly shared with us.

Ferrari 166 Inter, The Great Ferraris, The Quail

Among the oldest of the Ferraris present was chassis #043S a 1950 Ferrari 166 Inter Touring Coupé of which 37 were built between 1948 and 1951.

Ferrari 212 Inter, Pininfarina Convertible, The Great Ferraris, The Quail

The Ferrari 212 Inter Pininfarina Convertible above is one of two built for Ferrari to show in the 1952 Auto Salons, chassis #0235EU, above, is left hand drive while the other is right hand drive. Among it’s owners this car counts Tony Parravano and the film director Roberto Rossellini who entered the car in the 1953 Nurburgring sports car race where it finished ninth driven by journalist Maurice Gatsonides and Ricardo Vignolo.

Ferrari 250 Europa Vignale Coupé, The Great Ferraris, The Quail

Up for auction was the 1953 Ferrari 250 Europa Vignale chassis #0313EU which appeared at the 1954 New York Auto Show. The car fetched US$ 2.8 million / £1.8, possibly a bargain for what many consider one of the most attractive Ferrari’s ever built.

Ferrari 250 Testa Rosa, The Great Ferraris, The Quail

Dick Morgensen bought this Ferrari 250 TR chassis #0756 TR in late 1958 and raced it to victory lane on at least eight occasions between 1959 and 1960. The car has been owned by it’s present owner Chris Cox from North Carolina since 2008.

Ferrari Enzo, The Great Ferraris, The Quail

Jumping forward to the start of the millenium above is one of 401 Ferrari Enzos built between 2002 and 2004.

Ferrari P 4/5, The Great Ferraris, The Quail

Costing a cool US$ 4 million to build is the one off Ferrari P4/5 by Pinninfarina which was built around the last Ferrari Enzo to be produced for James Glickenhaus. Upon taking delivery of the restyled car the owner said “I feel they gave me more than I expected”.

Ferrari F12berlinetta, The Great Ferraris, The Quail

The Ferrari F12berlinetta replaced the Ferrari 599 series last year, it’s 6.2 litre / 382 cui V12 produces 730 hp the same as a 1970 Can Am car !

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing his photo’s of of which will be seen next Wednesday.

Thanks for joining me on this “The Great Ferraris edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow for a look at possibly the greatest Can Am car of all time. Don’t forget to come back now !

Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion – Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca

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A couple of weeks ago Geoffrey Horton visited the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and kindly sent me today’s photographs to share.

Hall Scott The Four, Rolex Monterey Reunion, Laguna Seca

The Hall Scott Four was built in San Francisco for the 1917 Vanderbuilt Cup it used an Reo Model M frame and was powered by a 110 hp Hall Scott aircraft 9.9 litre 605 cc motor that produces the same torque as a modern day Chrysler V10 Viper motor. This car was reconstructed for Dick Deluna by Tom Batchelor in Reno Nevada and Denis Webb in Anaheim California amongst many others.

McCabe, Bugatti, Type 59, Rolex Monterey Reunion, Laguna Seca

Charles McAbe is seen warming up his 1934 Bugatti Type 59 with it’s distinctive wire and alloy wheels.

Chevrolet Corvette C1, Rolex Monterey Reunion, Laguna Seca

Looking particularly purposeful in black above is Bob Patterson’s 1957 second generation Chevrolet Corvette C1, a very successful sports car and racer in it’s day that sold with the strap line “FI = 1 H.P. per CU. IN. x 283″.

Knoop, Echidna, Rolex Monterey Reunion, Laguna Seca

John Staver, Ed Grierson and Bill Larson based their Echidna race cars on highly modified Corvette frames and mechanical running gear. The cars clothed in bodywork by by Bill Devlin won 8 races outright from 35 races and took 17 class victories. The Bob Hardison’s 1959 example seen here is driven by IMSA Endurance racer Rick Knoop.

Kurtis KK500-H, Rolex Monterey Reunion, Laguna Seca

Frank Kurtis built just one new car for the 1958 Indy 500 the Kurtis KK500-H seen above which featured novel, for the period at Indy, independent rear suspension. It’s best finish was 7th with Duane Carter at the wheel in 1959, running with a more conventional tub rear axle installed by new owner Smokey Yunnick.

Arcerio, Lister, Rolex Monterey Reunion, Laguna Seca

Al Arcerio is seen at the wheel of his 1958 Knobbly Lister above.

Scarab, Mk 1, Rolex Monterey Reunion, Laguna Seca

After seeing first hand the apparent chaos that ruled in the factories of several top European racing car manufacturers Lance Reventlow returned to the United States determined that he could do far better. The first product of his determination was the 1958 Scarab Mk 1 with which Lance won 9 races in 1958. Only two Mk 1’s were built, I believe the example above, owned by Rob Walton, is the first of the two.

Ferrari 250 GT SWB, Rolex Monterey Reunion, Laguna Seca

The Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Competizione chassis #2701 GT was crashed on it’s debut at the Le Mans test weekend after setting the 6th fastest time, fastest in class, in 1961. It was rebuilt and bought for a paltry DM 6,000 in February 1967 by Egon Hofer who won his class with it in a couple of hillclimbs before tackling the Taga Florio with Anatoly Arutunoff where carrying the #74 it failed to finish. Ned Spieker has owned the car since 2004.

American Motors AMX, Rolex Monterey Reunion, Laguna Seca

Dwight Matheson’s 1969 AMC AMX is seen above in the Bruce Morehead Racing colours as raced by Bruce in 1970 in the Sebring 12 hour race where the car failed to finish. Bruce is known to have scored at least one class victory in an SCCA regional race run at Sebastian towards the end of 1970.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing today’s photos, please spare a thought for him last I heard the the Rim Fire was causing Geoffrey and his neighbours some concern.

Thanks for joining me on this “Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

PS Thoughts and opinions on the weekends Belgian Grand Prix can be found here at Motorsports Unplugged.

Non Stop Runner – Ferrari 250 Europa GT Pininfarina #0373GT

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Last week I looked at a 1953 Ferrari 250 Europa Coupé. This week features one of just 28 slightly later Ferrari 250 Europa GT chassis #0373GT built in November 1954.

Ferrari 250GT Europa, Silverstone Classic

#0373GT was delivered to Jacques Swaters dealership Garage Francorchamps and sold to Belgian Jacques Washer in 1955. Washer entered the car in at least two events for his cousin Olivier Gendebien in 1956.

Ferrari 250GT Europa, Silverstone Classic

Oliver finished second in class on the Cote de la Roche Hillclimb in the Ardennes, before taking part in the 1956 Liege Rome Liege rally across Europe. Oliver and his co driver Pierre Stasse finished the non stop 2000 mile event 3rd overall.

Ferrari 250GT Europa, Silverstone Classic

In the 1990’s the car was fitted with a Ferrari 250 GT/E motor and differential, along with a gearbox from a Ferrari 412. The motor was tuned to give 300hp and more recently the car has been fitted with ‘modern’ brakes.

Ferrari 250GT Europa, Silverstone Classic

#0373GT has taken part in numerous classic events including the 1999 re run of the Rome Liege Rome Rally. The same year #0373GT won it’s class on the La Carrera Panamericana repeating the feat in 2000, on the second occasion fitted with period correct Halibrand alloy wheels.

The car is seen in these photo’s at the recent Silverstone Classic.

Thanks for joining me on this “Non Stop Runner” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me when I be looking at a Can Am March. Don’t forget to come back now.

PS Some thoughts on what to watch out for at the Belgian GP at Motorsports Unplugged.

Burgandy & Cream – Ferrari 250 Europa Coupé Pininfarina #0305EU

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After a meeting between Batista Farina, in 1961 to become Batista Pininfarina, and Enzo Ferrari at a restaurant in Tortona, a small town halfway between Turin and Modena, Batista drove home an told his son Sergio “From now on you’ll be looking after Ferrari, from A to Z. Design, engineering, technology, construction—the lot!”. Sergia says he was over the moon with happiness and one of the fruits of that conversation is today’s featured Ferrari 250 Europa Coupé chassis #0305EU delivered in late September 1953.

Ferrari 250 PF Europa Coupé, Goodwood Festival Of Speed

According to the blurb about this car seen at Goodwood, #0305EU was originally commissioned by a friend of Batista Farina called Latino Magnolfi, given the PF job number 12531 chassis #0305EU features unique to the 250 Europa Coupé model 3/4 windows a shorter windscreen and larger grill than the other 250 Europa’s. Magnolfi used to enter the car in Concours d’Elegance events before he sold the car.

Ferrari 250 PF Europa Coupé, Goodwood Festival Of Speed

The exact history of the #0305EU after the sale is not known to me but it ended up in the USA and after the repair of the 3 litre / 183 cui V12 motor became uneconomic the motor and gearbox was swapped for a Chevrolet V8 and and associated transmission.

Ferrari 250 PF Europa Coupé, Goodwood Festival Of Speed

In 2006 current owner Jan de Reu acquired the car which has been fully restored to its white wall tyre two tone Burgundy and Cream splendor, with a correct Colombo designed Ferrari V12 motor, by Ferrari Classiche.

Ferrari 250 PF Europa Coupé, Goodwood Festival Of Speed

As some of my regular readers may remember the Ferrari 250 Europa is closely related to the Ferrari 375 America, the later of which is powered by a larger 4.5 litre 274 cui Aurelio Lambredi designed long block V12.

Thanks for joining me on this “Burgandy & Cream” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I be looking at Dan Gurney’s Can Am McLeagle. Don’t forget to come back now !

It’s Friday – Palo Alto Concours d’Elegance

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Marking the return of Ferrari Friday GALPOT returns to Palo Alto Concours d’Elegance thanks to more photographs from Geoffrey Horton.

Ferrari 250 GT Pininfarina Cabriolet Series 2, Palo Alto Concours d'Elegance

The 212 Ferrari 250 GT Pininfarina Cabriolet Series 2‘s built are most easily identified from the 36 Series 1 models by the vent window in the door and the absence of side vents in the front wing/fender.

Ferrari 250 GT Lusso, Palo Alto Concours d'Elegance

The 375 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso’s built between 1963 and 1964 all featured steel bodywork designed by Pininfarina and built by Scaglietti, with a top speed of 150 mph they were amongst the fastest production cars of their day.

Ferrari 275 GTB, Palo Alto Concours d'Elegance

I’m not totally sure if the Ferrari 275 above is a two cam GTB version built from 1964 to 1966 or the 165mph 4 cam GTB/4 version built from 1966 to 1968, the wire wheels suggest the former because the GTB/4 was the first Ferrari not to be offered with wire wheels, which may have been fitted retrospectively.

Ferrari 330 GTC, Palo Alto Concours d'Elegance

Sharing the same chassis, motor and independent suspension as the Ferrari 275 GTB is the Ferrari 330 GTC, a refined 2+2 which was said to be the first Ferrari in which one might “enjoy the radio”.

Ferrari 365 GTB/4, Palo Alto Concours d'Elegance

Replacing the 275 series cars in 1968 was the Ferrari 365 GTB/4 better known as the Daytona model.

Ferrari Dino 246 GT, Palo Alto Concours d'Elegance

Ferrari first installed a V6 motor, inspired by his son Dino in 1957 and the following year one of many variations appeared in a two seat sports racing car, however it was not until 1969 that a V6 was fitted to a Ferrari 246 GT Dino like the one above. The Dino was the first of the mid engined Ferrari’s to be built for the road, despite misgivings that Enzo had about his customers being able to cope with the handling of such a configuration.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing his photo’s more of which will appear next Thursday with a review of the Hillborough Concours d’Elegance.

Thanks for joining me on this “It’s Friday edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Wrong Footed By Safety Car – Ferrari F10

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For 2010 Ferrari produced it’s 56th World Championship challenger the Ferrari F10, seen here earlier this month at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, that was driven by incumbent number two Felipe Massa and Kimi Räikkönen’s replacement Fernando Alonso in the de facto number one Ferrari seat.