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Wednesday, September 1, 2010

The 1959-60 Ferrari 250 SWB Berlinetta

By Mark A Cella

The Ferrari 250 cc Grand Touring Sport Coupe for Competition

Before the Berlinetta or Sport Coupe, is the Ferrari 250 GTO. What made the GTOs strong were the record braking V12 GT racing engines. GTO, or Gran Turismo Omologato, translated from Italian, meaning Grand Touring Homologated, and homologated is Official Agreement. 250 is the measurement of cubic centimeters inside each cylinder.

Official Agreement is the Car is for Pure Racing

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:

1960 Le Mans 24 hr race, it took 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th, while Chevy and Aston Martin were far behind. It won three repeat 5500 km Tour de Frances, while taking 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the 1960 event. That season driver Sterling Moss lapped the entire field at Goodwood to take the second consecutive win. SWB won all over in England, Monza Italy, Spa, Nurbrgring, and Monthlery.

The Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Competizione weighed in at only 2,314 lbs., giving it a very high power to weight ratio. Top speed was approximately 152 mph, and 0-60 was done it 6.2 sec. Great numbers for this era.

One of the Greatest Ferraris of all Time

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.

Out of the ten Greatest Ferraris of all time, Motor Trend ranked this one 5th. Sports Car International placed it at 7 Top Sports Cars of the 60's. Mark A Cella gave it first place of his 1960's Muscle Car Picks, second is the 67 Corvette Sting Ray and third being the cherished 1968 Chevy Camaro.

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