No car company has truly been able to capture the world's imagination like Ferrari. The fabled ‘Prancing Horse’ was set up by the legendary Enzo Ferrari, initially to go racing, but then he quickly realized he could build a multitude of road cars to fund the team's racing exploits. Since their foundation in 1939, Ferrari has produced some exceptional cars. These have ranged from the Ferrari F40 to the Ferrari California Type F149 all the way up to modern machines such as the SF90 Stradale.
One particular Ferrari however seems to captivate fans of the company like no other. The Ferrari 250 Grand Turismo Omologato, better known as the Ferrari 250 GTO, has become perhaps the most iconic Ferrari of all time. On top of that, its also become potentially the rarest car in the world and often fetches some staggering amounts when one of them comes up for auction. This is the story of the most desirable Ferrari in the world, and one of the most iconic grand tourers of all time. There really won’t be another car quite like the Ferrari 250 Grand Turismo Omologato.
The Origins Of The 250
The 250 GTO, like many cars of the era, was born out of a need to race. Specifically, Ferrari had its sights set upon the Group 3 GT Racing class. It would be up against rivals such as the Shelby Cobra, Aston Martin DP214, and the Jaguar E-Type. The 250 GTO was an evolution of the 250 GT SWB, also born to see the threat of the E-Type and the Cobra. Aiming to extend the life of the 250, Mr. Ferrari commissioned Sergio Scaglietti to design a new shape of 250, with the nose lowered and the car lengthened, the tail stretched and the underside closed in with a new, full-length belly pan. It was ultimately this car that led to the creation of the Shelby Daytona, Carroll Shelby knowing he had to respond to the Ferrari challenge.
Power would be provided by a true, thoroughbred V12 engine. This would be the race-proven Tipo 168/62 Comp 3.0-liter V12 engine, the same engine used in the Le Mans-winning Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa. Prototypes for the 250 GTO were constructed out of earlier 250 GT SWBs, the second of the prototypes being able to lap Monza faster than the GT SWB in the hands of Sterling Moss, even if there were a few high-speed stability issues. Production of the cars began in late 1961.
Racing Prowess
The 250 GTO definitely had some advantages over its competition. It was incredibly light, weighing little more than 1,000 kilos and the small size of its V12 engine allowed it to sit nice and low in the car, and towards the center as well. This allowed for fantastic weight distribution. Plus, its gearbox was a five-speed when a lot of the competition only had four-speed ‘boxes. Perhaps most importantly, it was an extremely reliable car as well.
This proved crucial in the fight against the likes of the Jaguar E-Type, which was not quite up to the job at the time.
The 250 GTO was thus set for a fantastic racing career. For three successive years from 1962 to 1964, the 250 GTO won the Over 2000cc class of the FIA’s International Championship for GT Manufacturers, and on its racing debut at the 1962 12 Hours of Sebring, Formula 1 World Champion Phil Hill and Olivier Gendebien raced the car to a second-place finish on its debut, behind the more proven Testa Rossa that won the race.
The Cars Rarity
To appreciate just how rare this car is, you only need to look at how many of them were built. Just 36 Ferrari 250 GTOs were built between 1962 and 1964, and of course, as time goes on that number, sadly and naturally, gets lower and lower. Not surprisingly, the 250 GTO has sold for simply astronomical prices at auction. In 2018, one Ferrari 250 GTO sold for an absolutely staggering $70,000,000 in a private sale in the United States, purchased by the founder of WeatherTech. The 250 GTO is now arguably the most valuable collector's car in the world.
The 250 GTO’s Legacy
The 250 GTO has certainly left quite a legacy, which in some ways is pretty surprising. The car was a no-frills racer, not drastically different from many other racing cars of the time and not a radical revolution upon its own predecessors. And yet, it has come to represent the very best of Ferrari at the time, and its staggering beauty and collectively have helped to make it one of the biggest icons of the 1960s. Not just from the automotive industry of the era, but in the decade as a whole. It has been named by Motor Trend as one of the greatest Ferraris of all time. And quite frankly, it's impossible to argue against that.
Sources: Wired, Telegraph, Ferrari, Exclusive Car Registry