With the intention of introducing prototype technology to GT racing, just 32 Ferrari 250 LM were ever produced.
In This Article...
250 Ferrari
From 1952 to 1964, Ferrari produced a line of sports cars and grand tourers known as the 250. The 250 series, the company’s most popular early line, features a number of variations made for the road or sports car racing. Gioacchino Colombo created the 3.0 L (2,953 cc) Colombo V12 engine that powers the 250 series of automobiles. The 275 and 330 series automobiles took their place.
Background
Ferrari introduced the 250 LM in October 1963 as the all-conquering but divisive 250 GTO’s replacement.
The LM was advertised as a straightforward progression of the front-engined GTO when it was developed to compete in racing in the Group 3 class for over two-liter Grand Touring cars in an effort to get around a requirement to produce 100 units.
Group 3 regulations permitted homologated cars to run racing versions with fresh bodywork and a reinforced chassis. The GTO had broken the rules because of its brand-new, lightweight frame, but was nonetheless allowed to compete, much to the chagrin of Ferrari’s competitors.
With the mid-engined LM, Ferrari attempted an even more daring ruse, but their application was categorically turned down.
This meant that the LM had to compete in the Prototype class, and Ferrari would need to create a suitable GTO replacement if they wanted to stay at the forefront of GT racing.
The LM would no longer be required to employ the GTO’s three-liter engine, which is a bonus. As a result, 3.3-liter 275 engines were substituted for the 250 LM engines in all 32 vehicles.
Sadly, the potential market for prototypes was always going to be smaller than for widely available GT cars. Additionally, LM customers would be up against project teams with nearly limitless resources.
Because of this, Ferrari found it difficult to sell the LM, despite the fact that it was maybe the quickest customer racing car on the market and was competitive internationally.
A road-going 250 LM Stradale was proposed for a production run of 10 to 25 units in an effort to increase sales. The initial instance, chassis 6025 LM, was on show in March 1965 at the Geneva Motor Show.
All Ferraris are unique, but the 250 LM occupies a lofty position in the pantheon of legendary Prancing Horses.
It is not just spine-tinglingly gorgeous and powered by a 320bhp V-12 engine, but it is also the final Ferrari to have won the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Despite being a purebred racing vehicle, some of the 32 Scaglietti-designed vehicles produced ended up on the road. Due to their extreme rarity and thoroughbred track pedigree, prices for these vehicles have skyrocketed. A 1964 LM was sold by Sotheby’s for a jaw-dropping $17.6 million in August 2015.
The LM, which was intended to replace the 250 GTO and compete in the GT class but was instead used to great effect by Jochen Rindt and Masten Gregory in the sports-prototype class after Ferrari was unable to produce the needed 100 units of the vehicle.
Scaglietti was able to wrap the flowing, sensual body around the chassis thanks to a mid-engined design, and Marcel Massini, a renowned Ferrari historian and author of a book about the LM, calls it “one of the most magnificent mid-engined sports cars ever built.”
The car is striking from every angle with its low, threatening stance (it is only 44 inches tall) and bulging rear arches that flow down to a kammback tail.
The Ferrari 250 LM doing what it does best – racing on the track at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in 2014 with Gunnar Jeannette at the wheel – is probably the next best thing since none of us will likely ever get to witness one of these super-rare beauties on the road.
Le Mans 24 Hours History With LM
Ferrari won the 24 Hours of Le Mans nine times between 1949 and 1965, with the 250 LM being the final champion.
In the 1964 Le Mans race, two 250 LM vehicles signed up, but only one made it to the starting line. Only the prototype class was open to the 250 LM, and there it competed against the Ferrari 275P and 330P. Ferrari won with the 250 LM, giving them a total of 10 victories.
Five 250 LMs were entered by privateers in the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans: #21 North American Racing Team, #23 Maranello Concessionaires, #25 Ecurie Francorchamps, #26 Pierre Dumay, and #27 Scuderia Filipinetti. Scuderia Ferrari’s 275 P2 and 330 P2 Spyder prototypes, both of which started the race, all withdrew before it was over. Competitors in the Ford GT40 experienced the same scenario; as a result, the North American Racing Team profited from the circumstance and won the race.
The winners were Masten Gregory and Jochen Rindt, but one of the most controversial clashes in Le Mans history overshadowed their victory.
The Ferrari 250 LM continued to win races in the years that followed, driving for both well-known and less well-known drivers. Masten Gregory brought the same car back to Le Mans in 1968 but was unable to complete the race. In that race, David Piper and Richard Attwood’s #21 vehicle came in seventh overall.
In 1969, Teodoro Zeccoli and Sam Posey finished seventh overall in NART’s car, the 250 LM’s final outing at Le Mans. The 1970 Daytona 24 Hour, which was the final race for the 250 LM, saw Gregg Young and Luigi Chinetti Jr. finish sixth overall.
vehicle of today
The Ferrari 250 LM is still one of the most valuable and unusual vehicles the storied motorsport brand has ever produced. Today’s tifosi produce copies of the car because just 32 were produced in 1964 and were shipped out of the factory. They go into such great care that the chassis has the original factory numbers painted on it to add to the confusion.
The Fry family purchased the nicest specimen of this car for $17,600,000! The car has participated in numerous races, but despite this, it has never been seriously injured in an accident, making it the best example of this Ferrari to exist to this day. It also has a Ferrari Heritage Certificate, meaning that it still has all of its factory parts and has never undergone any significant modifications.
Despite the existence of so many fakes, it is quite unlikely that anyone could replicate the Ferrari car’s soul. Even if the likelihood that you will ever see this car in person is quite remote, it should nonetheless be on every petrolhead man’s bucket list.
What remains of the Ferrari 250 LM?
Although it’s popularly believed that all 36 of the 250 GTOs are still in existence today, it was just the third 250 GTO to ever roll off the Maranello assembly line.
What number of Ferrari 250s exist?
To be homologated for Group 3 Grand Touring Car racing in 1962, a car had to be produced in at least one hundred examples, according to FIA standards. Ferrari only produced 36 250 GTOs (33 of the 1962-design Series I cars and three 1964-design Series II cars, with revised bodywork). The three more “330 GTO” vehicles with the four-liter 330 engine—identified by the noticeable hump on the bonnet—are occasionally added to the total production number, bringing it to 39. It became a common misconception that Enzo Ferrari moved the same automobiles between different places to give the appearance that all 100 cars were there when FIA inspectors arrived to verify that 100 examples had been produced. Actually, no deception was necessary because the older 250 GT Berlinetta SWB model’s homologation paid the cost of the construction of the 250 GTO. These homologation papers were issued in 1960, but between 1961 and 1964, extensions were often requested and approved, enabling Ferrari to make additions not covered by the initial specification, such as alterations to the engine, transmission, and suspension. Additionally, because more than 100 bodies had been constructed in accordance with the previous 250 GT SWB specification, FIA rules permitted the design of a new body, which resulted in the creation of the new 250 GTO body style. Similar procedures were employed to homologate the Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato and the Jaguar E-Type Lightweight, so this form of homologation was not exclusive to Ferrari.
Who is the Ferrari 250’s owner?
Ralph Lauren, Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason, Peter Sachs, the grandson of Goldman Sachs founder Samuel Sachs, and Microsoft executive Jon Shirley are some of the current 250 GTO owners.
Has every Ferrari 250 GTO been located?
Every time a Ferrari 250 GTO is put up for sale, a big event occurs. It is not only one of the most sought-after sports vehicles in history, but it is also one of the most uncommon. Only 36 were made, all between 1962 and 1964, yet, astonishingly, collectors can identify every single one of them. Ralph Lauren and computer tycoon Craig McCaw each possess one. In August 2014, a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO broke the auction record when it sold for $38.1 million. Another 1962 GTO, the third one ever constructed, will be put up for auction at RM Sotheby’s on August 24. With a presale estimate of $45 million, this Ferrari is likely to smash the auction record in addition to having an illustrious racing history.
The 250 GTO, the last edition of Ferrari’s 250 model, was designed for racing but also served as a road vehicle. GTO stands for Gran Turismo Omologato, meaning Grand Touring Homologated. The body, which was effectively a 250 Testa Rossa, was powered by a 300 horsepower, 3-liter V12 engine. Each owner of such a beauty received the personal endorsement of Enzo Ferrari, who set the price for such a beauty at $18,000 (about $150,000 today).
1962 250 GTO was a steal at $5,400 when it was sold privately, decades before it was deemed a classic.
The Greatest Barn Find: Chassis 3987 spent 15 years decaying in a field before it was repaired and brought back to life. In 1986, [+] was sold for $1 million.
A 1962 250 GTO that had rusted in a field for 15 years before being repaired was purchased by collector Frank Gallogly for a then-record $1 million a year after Ralph Lauren paid $650,000 for chassis 3987 and Ferrari fever was in full swing. He sold it for $4.2 million two years later.
Cellphone pioneer Craig McCaw purchased a 1962 250 GTO that had formerly belonged to racing icon Stirling Moss in a $35 million private deal.
Record Holder, Part 1: Will the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO’s auction sale price be surpassed in… August [+]?
A 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO earned a record price at Bonhams’ annual Quail Lodge auction when it sold to Carlos Monteverde, the son of billionaire Brazilian philanthropist Lily Safra, for $38.1 million.
Record Holder, Part 2: The CEO of WeatherTech reportedly paid $70 million for this 1963 Ferrari.
David MacNeil, the founder and CEO of WeatherTech, purchased a 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO privately for an estimated $70 million (the equivalent of about a million car mats).
The New Prize: Will this 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO surpass all previous auction records for a vehicle?
After a successful racing career, Gianni Bulgari purchased the 1962 250 GTO chassis 3413 in 1963. The Ferrari was bought by billionaire Sir Anthony Bamford six years (and a few owners) later, and after a few more owners, Greg Whitten, a former Microsoft chief software architect, bought it in 2000 for $7 million. The car is currently being offered for sale at RM Sotheby’s, where it is anticipated to break auction records. Whitten justifies his choice to sell by saying, “I’ve had the GTO for a long time.” “I want to buy additional cars as well.”
What is the value of a Ferrari 250 SWB?
You have every right to be dubious. The RML 250 Short Wheelbase, which you can see here, is an odd hybrid of the Ferrari 550 Maranello and the gorgeous 1959 250 GT Berlinetta Short Wheelbase, or 250 SWB as it is more popularly known. It costs $1.6 million and was constructed by the Northamptonshire, England-based business RML. RML will only produce 30 instances, and there’s a fair probability that you’ll think that this is a pastiche intended to rip off the rich and foolish for millions of dollars. Or at least those that have the idiotic impulse to always distinguish from their wealthy friends, regardless of the expense or idea. The RML 250 SWB, which is based on a Ferrari, is undoubtedly unique, but why is it ever made?