Ferrari 250 GTO

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Ferrari 250 GTO Manufacturer Ferrari Production 1962–1964 (36 produced) Successor Ferrari 288 GTO Class Sports car Body style(s) Berlinetta Layout FR layout Engine(s) 3.0 L V12 300 PS (296 hp/221 kW) Transmission(s) 5-speed manual Wheelbase 2,400 mm (94.5 in) Curb weight 1,100 kilograms (2,425 lb) Related 330 LMB 250 LM

The Ferrari 250 GTO was a sports car and auto racing car made by Ferrari in the early 1960s.

The numerical part of its name denotes the displacement in cubic centimeters of each cylinder of the engine, whilst GTO stands for "Gran Turismo Omologato", Italian for "Grand Touring Homologated."

In 2004, Sports Car International named the 250 GTO number eight on the list of Top Sports Cars of the 1960s, and number one as the top sports car of all time. Similarly, Motor Trend Classic named the 250 GTO as number one in their list of the "Greatest Ferraris of all time".

Contents 1 Development 2 Racing success 3 Production 4 Collectability and appreciating value 5 References 6 External Links

[edit] Development

The 250 GTO was designed to compete in GT racing. It was based on the 250 GT SWB.^[who?] Chief engineer Giotto Bizzarrini installed the 3.0 L V12 engine from the 250 Testa Rossa into the chassis from the 250 GT SWB and worked with designer Sergio Scaglietti to develop the body. After Bizzarrini and most other Ferrari engineers were fired in a dispute with Enzo Ferrari, development was handed over to new engineer Mauro Forghieri who worked with Scaglietti to continue development of the body, including wind tunnel and track testing. Unlike most Ferraris, it was not designed by a specific individual or design house.

The rest of the car was typical of early-Sixties Ferrari technology: a hand-welded tube frame, A-arm front suspension, a live-axle rear end, disc brakes, and Borrani wire wheels. The five-speed gearbox was new to Ferrari GT racing cars; the metal gate that defined the shift pattern would in turn become a tradition that is still maintained in current models. The interior was extremely basic, to the point where a speedometer was not installed in the instrument panel. Many of its switches came from the Fiat 500, and it was said that as the car was rushed into production, the original cloth seats were made from workers' overalls.^[1]

[edit] Racing success

At the time, the FIA rules for sports car racing required at least one hundred examples of a car to be built in order for it to be homologated in the GT class . However, Ferrari built only 36 250 GTOs (33 of the "normal" cars, three with four-litre 330 engine sometimes called the "330 GTO" - recognizable by the large hump on the hood - and three "Type 64" cars, with revised bodywork) but the car was still allowed to race in the GT class. The reason why the GTO was allowed to race is unclear.

The car debuted at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1962, driven by the team of American Phil Hill (the standing World Driving Champion) and Belgian Olivier Gendebien. Although originally annoyed that they were driving a GT-class car instead of one of the full-race Testa Rossas competing in the prototype class, the experienced pair impressed themselves (and everyone else) by finishing 2nd overall behind the Testa Rossa of Bonnier and Scarfiotti.

The 250 GTO won the World Manufacturer's Championship in 1962, 1963, and 1964.

[edit] Production

Ferrari, and his dealer in North America Luigi Chinetti, were selective about the customers to whom they would sell the thirty-six GTOs produced. The cost of a GTO when new was $18,000 to buyers that met Ferrari's or Chinetti's approval.

The 250 GTO was one of the last front-engined cars to be competitive at the top level of sports car racing. In the age before vintage racing, the 250 GTO faced the same fate as any other racing car of its time: as it passed into obsolescence, some were kept as regional race machines, while others were used as normal passenger cars. It is believed that all 36 GTOs still exist.^{[citation needed]} Many are still raced today in such events as the Monterey Historic Races at Laguna Seca.

[edit] Collectability and appreciating value

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In the late Seventies and early Eighties, the focus of the "performance" of the 250 GTO and other rare Ferraris turned out to be their rapidly-accelerating market value. As the auto industry struggled through new regulations and questionable marketing decisions, the unfettered performance machines of the recent past became more desirable. The point of view regarding these cars began to change from old but lovable racing cars to a sort of drivable fine art, much like the coachbuilt luxury cars of the pre-World War II era. This raised the interest of wealthy collectors in these cars.

This investment mentality became excessive in the late Eighties. As the wealth of certain members of the baby-boomer generation exploded and the stock market became a questionable investment, the market value of classic cars, especially Ferraris, went geometric - and as the much-touted great example of all the best traits of the breed, the asking price of the 250 GTOs soared highest. One of them, seized by the FBI from a convicted drug dealer, was sold in a sealed auction in 1988 for approximately $2 million, which was considered outrageous at the time - and within three years would come to be seen as a good investment. The last 250 GTO believed to be auctioned off was through World Classic Auctions, in Las Vegas in 1991. The total came up to $5.5 million.^[2] A legend states that a 250 GTO exchanged hands to a Japanese collector for approximately $15 million.

The money element, and the car's raw desirability and scarcity, have resulted in a number of faux 250 GTOs being crafted on the base of more common Ferrari chassis; there are many more cars that look like 250 GTOs on roads today than were ever rolled out of the Scaglietti coachworks. The Alpha One 250 GTO replica used the chassis and body of a first generation Datsun Z-car and can be seen in the John Candy movie Delirious. In the opening scenes of the film Vanilla Sky, the main character drives a black 250 GTO, though this was later revealed to have been a different car altered to look like an original 250. On a more sinister level, misrepresentations of the original cars, with unscrupulous types attempting to sell them for full price, have been reported. One such example (although he did not sell his) was Charles Brocket, who had his passed off as a genuine example when it was a replica and this only came to light when he was convicted of insurance fraud in 1996. The number of replicas on the roads would spark a legendary saying (the number quoted can vary from source to source)...

“	Of the 36 which have been built, all 3000+ of them are still running.[1]	„

The collector-car bubble burst in a very messy way not much later, but the price for legitimate high-demand Ferrari models has steadily climbed in the middle of the first decade after the millennium.

[edit] References

Preceded by Mercedes-Benz 300SLR

Fastest street-legal production car 279.06 km/h

Succeeded by Ferrari Daytona GTB/4

[edit] External Links

A gathering of GTOs for the 45th Anniversary celebration

v • d • e « previous — Ferrari road car timeline, 1960s–present
Type		1960s										1970s										1980s										1990s										2000s
		0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
FR/FMR	GT	250				275				365 GTB/4 Daytona																												550						575M
		America				330		365																																								599
	2+2	250GT				330GT			365GT				GTC/4		GT4			400			400i						412							456						456 M						612
	V8																																																		California
RMR	V6/V8								Dino 206		Dino 246 GT						308GTB				308i		308 QV				328				348										360
														246 GTS					308 GTS		208															F355										F430
	2+2														Dino GT4							Mondial 8		Mondial QV			3.2 Mondial				Mondial t
	flat-12														365BB			512 BB					512i BB			Testarossa							512TR			F512M
Halo model				250 GTO			250 LM																			288 GTO			F40								F50								Enzo			FXX
																																						F50 GT