Tag Archives: Ferrari

Do Not Lean On This Car – Ferrari 275 GTB/C #9079

In 1965 and 1966 Ferrari built a number of competition versions of the highly praised 275 GTB road car all using motors of the same type as found in the Ferrari 250 LM sports racer.

The last run of twelve competition 275’s known at the 275 GTB/C was built in 1966 and featuring aluminium bodies made of such a thin gauge it was reinforced with glass fiber, if you lean on this car you will almost certainly put a permanent dent in the body work.

Due to what appears to be a clerical error by someone at Ferrari the 275 GTB/C was mandated to run with only three carburetors, because someone at Maranello forgot to tell the FIA that a six carburetor option of the standard 275 GTB was available. This happened before the introduction of the 275 GTB/4 which featured six carburetors as standard.

Ferrari 275 GTB/C, Goodwood Revival

Even with this oversight a 275 GTB/C entered by Maranello Concessionaires and driven by Piers Courage and Roy Pike won its class at Le Mans in 1966 covering 310 laps and coming home 8th overall behind the three all conquering Ford GT40 Mk II’s and a fleet of four Porsche 906’s.

Today’s featured car chassis #9079 was the penultimate of the 12 GTB/C’s built in 1966 and it made it’s public debut at Le Mans in 1967 where it was entered for Swiss drivers Dieter Spoerry and Rico Steinemann by Scuderia Filipinetti. Dieter and Rico came in 11th and first in class covering 317 laps, 71 less than the overall winning Ford Mark IV.

Scuderia Filipinetti entered #9079 for Jaques Rey and Claude Haldi to drive at Le Mans in 1968 but the car retired after completing 78 laps as the consequence of an accident.

Ferrari 275 GTB/C, Goodwood Revival

The following year Jacques shared the car twice with Edgar Berney they came home 14th overall in the Spa 1000kms, 1st class. At Le Mans, where #9079 became the only 275GTB/C to start the race three times, the engine needed an oil top up after 39 laps which was against the regulations and so the car was disqualified.

By the end of 1969 #9079 went to the USA where it remained up until the 1980’s. In 1985 the fragile body, but not the tyres, melted in a workshop fire while in Los Angeles. By 1988 the car had been restored in Italy and sold on to Japan. Current owner Ross Warburton has owned this chassis since 2000.

Thanks for joining me on today’s “Do Not Lean On This Car” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for a look at an brutally noisy Aston Martin. Don’t forget to come back now !

Fiberglass Body – Ferrari 250 LM #8165

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This November sees the 50th anniversary of the unveiling of the Ferrari 250 LM which to date was the last Ferrari to cross the finishing line first at Le Mans in 1965.

Today’s featured car chassis #8165, the last 250 LM to be built, was sold new to Scuderia Filipentti and entered by them in the 1966 1000kms race at the Nurburgring for Willy Mairesse and Herbert Mueller who finished 9th.

Ferrari 250LM, Goodwood Revival

The car was then sold to David Piper and in June 1966 David fitted fiber glass body panels front and rear and painted #8165 BP Green. Subsequently David is known to have driven the car to victories at Brands Hatch, Oulton Park and the 1000kms Paris at Monthlery in 1966 sharing the car with Mike Parkes in the latter.

In 1967 David won at Silverstone and entered the #8165 for Hugh Dibley and Roy Pierpoint for the 1000kms at Brands Hatch where they finished 10th overall and first in class. At Monthlery Richard Attwood and Brian Redman came 6th overall and first in class.

Ferrari 250LM, Goodwood Revival

In 1968 Pedro Rodriguez joined Roy Pierpoint in #8165 for the 1000 kms at Brands Hatch where they finished 5th but only 3rd in class. #8165’s last ‘in period’ appearance was in the 1968 Le Mans 24 hours where Piper and Attwood qualified 28th and came through to a seventh place finish.

David Piper is seen driving #8165 in these photo’s in practice for the Whitsun Trophy at the Goodwood Revival a couple of years ago. David finished the race in 27th place.

My thanks to Athanase and Miurasv for clarifying the early ownership of this car over at FerrariChat.com.

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

Le Mans to Hollywood – Ferrari 250 GT SWB Competizione Drogo #2445GT

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Today’s Ferrari started life as a 250 GT SWB (Short Wheel Base) Competizione chassis #2445GT in 1961, it was supplied to Garages Francorchamps in Belgium.

Ferrari 250 GT Drogo, Goodwood Revival

Jacques van den Haute drove the car competitively at least three times between May and June 1961 with two 3rds in hillclimbs being his best results.

Ferrari 250 GT Drogo, Goodwood Revival

From July 1961 to May 1962 Robert Crevits drove the car competitively in at least 14 events mostly hillclimbs and is known to have won eight of them.

Ferrari 250 GT Drogo, Goodwood Revival

Gustave Gosselin shared the car with Robert in the 1962 1000km Paris, Montlhery where they finished 11th and drove the car alone to a second place finish in an event run at Zandvoort in the Netherlands.

Ferrari 250 GT Drogo, Goodwood Revival

Georges Berger and Robert Darville shared the driving of 2445GT in its last in period race the 1962 Le Mans 24 hours where the car was heavily damaged at the sharp right hand corner Arnage and retired.

Ferrari 250 GT Drogo, Goodwood Revival

The #2445GT was subsequently repaired by Piero Drogo who fitted the body that is seen on the car in these photo’s, the car was renumbered 1965GT for ‘customs reasons’ during the early 1960’s and for a while in 1964 it was one of several Ferrari’s owned by Nebraskan garage owners son James Coburn.

In the late ’70’s #2445GT returned to Europe and is currently owned by Dutchman Hans Hugenholtz who entered the #14 in the 2011 Goodwood Revival meeting for David Hart and Maserati GT racer Micheal Bartels. Last year Hugenholtz shared the driving at Goodwood with one of former New York taxi driver and Indy champion Danny Sullivan.

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

Ultimate Cars Ultimate Race – Porsche 917K #053

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If there is one race I’d love to be able to turn the clock back for in order to attend it would be the 1971 Le Mans 24 hours which for my money was the ultimate road race with the ultimate cars.

Porsche 917K, Goodwood Festival Of Speed

Lined up on the grid were seven Porsche 917’s with a variety of body configurations against 9 Ferrari 512s in both closed M spec, earlier open S Spec and two unique 512’s one from the Penske team which had a large rear wing and the F spec car of Scuderia Filipinetti that had a narrow cockpit built around a Porsche 917 windscreen.

Porsche 917K, Goodwood Festival Of Speed

The race was an uneven contest between the Porsches as the Ferraris suffered from inferior reliability and top speeds were down on the Porsche’s 230 mph plus capabilities. However it was the fastest to be run at the circuit until 2010.

Porsche 917K, Goodwood Festival Of Speed

The winning car chassis #056 seen here at Goodwood Festival of Speed featured a special lightweight magnesium chassis built only for the works supported Porsche Salzburg team much to the annoyance of Porsche’s other works supported team run by John Wyer who’s employees had developed the Porsche body work in short (K Kurz) and long (LH Lang heck) tail forms and shared them freely with all the other teams running 917’s.

Porsche 917K, Goodwood Festival Of Speed

Gils van Lennep and Helmut Marko shared the winning 600 hp 4.9 litre 299 cui aircooled flat 12 powered #22 car which traveled 3,107.7 miles in 24 hours covering 397 laps at an average speed of 138.6 mph the equivalent to five consecutive Coke 600’s !

They beat the next car driven by Richard Attwood, Herbert Muller and Brian Redman in a Gulf Porsche 917 by two laps, 16 miles, and the third finisher the Ferrari of Sam Posey and Tony Adamowicz by 31 laps.

After the race chassis #053 was immediately retired and so has a 100% winning record.

Thanks for joining me on this “Ultimate Cars Ultimate Race” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a 1925 3 litre / 183 cui Bentley. Don’t forget to come back now !

It’s Not A Pick Up Truck – Ferrari 150° Italia

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Having snatched World Drivers Championship defeat from the jaws of Victory at the Abu Dahbi Grand Prix in 2010, where Fernando Alonso went into the last race of the season with a 15 point lead over third placed Sebastian Vettel but left 4 points in arrears to the German in the final Championship standings, Ferrari regrouped for 2011 building a new vehicle with the design credited to Aldo Costa and Nicholas Tombazis which was known at its launch as the F150 in celebration of Italy’s 150th unification anniversary.