A Ferrari GTO with a difference
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All Ferrari GTOs are special, but this particular example is unique.
The Goodwood Revival TT Celebration race on Sunday featured a number of Ferrari's fabled 250GTOs. The GTO64-bodied example (SN4399GT) owned by Sir Anthony Bamford won the race and I'm wondering if in the process it became the first chassis to win both an original Goodwood TT and a revival TT1.
As well as the 250GTOs and the 330LMB SN4381 SA (a Goodwood regular) there was another GTO, 4561SA with the registration 330GTO. The registration gives this away as being one of three or four GTOs fitted with the reported 400bhp four litre Super America engine (making it some 100bhp more powerful than a regular GTO). Even here this particular car is a little different, since unlike other GTOs it was conceived as a road car from the start.
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Originally built for Michael Paul-Cavalier (a member of the Ferrari board at the time) the car features a 50mm longer wheelbase than the standard GTO, supposedly because Paul-Cavalier was a tall man and wanted more legroom. This contributes to a slightly altered stance than the regular GTO, with the car appearing leaner and lower than normal.
It was also fitted with the GTO's five-speed gearbox (the other four litre cars made do with a four-speed) resulting in a car was geared for 300kph (in 1963!). Although Paul-Cavalier was a Frenchman and used to left-hand drive cars, he specified the car be right-hand drive to emulate the pre-war sports cars from Bugatti.
Regrettably Paul-Cavalier died not long after delivery and had little opportunity to enjoy what must have been the meanest road car on the planet at the time. Ownership passed to Colonel Ronnie Hoare, the owner of Maranello Concessionaires who were the UK's Ferrari importer at the time. Through his race team the car had a modest competition history.
Of the GTOs made (whether three or four litres) this one does not have the famous competition history, but it is a very interesting car in its own right and the increased wheelbase to my eyes only improves on one of the most glorious shapes of all time. It is one seriously cool car.
Some information for this blog was obtained from Ferrari 250GTO by Keith Bluemel and Jess Pourret, and if you're at all interested in the Ferrari 250GTO (and the 4.0 litre derivatives) I would politely suggest you go and buy a copy.
1 Its original win was with its original 1962 style body.