The Ferrari 250 cc Grand Touring Sport Coupe for Competition
The precursor to the Berlinetta, which means “Sport Coupe,” was the Ferrari 250 GTO. Indeed the GTO was built on the strength of Ferrari’s record producing V12 GT racers. GTO equates to “Gran Turismo Omologato,” Italian for “Grand Touring Homologated,” while homologated means “Official Agreement”. The 250 is the cubic centimeter displacement of each cylinder in the engine.
The 250 is all Race
From 1953-64 Ferrari built the SWB model which truly put Ferrari on the center stage. It was their most acknowledged line. It was the first Ferrari to have four wheel disc brakes. It had a model which was the first four seater for this sports car. It had a V12 weighing half as much of competitors, cranking out up to 280bhp at 7000 rpm. It’s 4 gear race engine rocketed its victories at so many races the list is endless so here’s just a few:
The first four places in its class at the 1960 Le Mans 24 hour race, leaving Chevy and Aston Martin far in its dust. With three consecutive Tour de France wins, taking the first three places at the 1960 Tour de France, 5500 km race. Later that season the SWB won outright, at Goodwood when Sterling Moss lapped the entire field in it, making it the second consecutive win. Then in England, Monza in Italy, Spa, Nurburgring, and Monthlery.
The car weighs only 2,314 pounds which equates to a very high power to weight ratio. Its top speed reached 152 and it hit 60 from a dead stop in 6.2 seconds. All of these figures were superb in 1960.
Mark A Cella Votes it One of the Greatest Ferraris Ever
It is said that owners of this car had the luxury and thrill of being able to drive it to the race track, unload their luggage and be ready to race with minimal or no modifications. Just place their numbers on the sides and race. Although the competition models did have an extra 30-40 horsepower and other modifications like shorter wheel base, and aluminum vs. steal, not much could help most other manufacturers.
Motor Trend gave the 250 SWB the ranking of 5th out of ten of the Greatest Ferraris of all time. Sports Car International rated it 7th Top Sports Car of the 1960′s. Mark A Cella rates it his first place 1960′s era Muscle Car, followed by the 1967 Corvette Sting Ray and 1968 Chevy Camaro.
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