Sunday, December 25, 2011

Classic Car: Ferrari 250 GTO

1962 250 GTO from the Ralph Lauren collection
Ferrari found success with the 250 series, both on the roads and on the track. The Ferrari 250 GTO had a successful career on the track and became a Ferrari Icon. It was the first time Ferrari used the "GTO" name on a car. GTO stands from "Gran Turismo Omologato" or "Grand Touring Homologated." GTOs were cars that were slightly modified productions cars adapted for racing. The 250 GT finished second in its debut at the 1962 12 Hours of Sebring behind the Ferrari 250 TR. The 250 GTO helped Ferrari capture the FIA International Championship for GT Manufactures in the Over 2000cc Classin 1962, 1963, and 1964. The 250 GTO was one of the last front-engine cars to remain competitive at the top levels of sports car racing. Even though race sanctioning bodies required 100 street versions of a competitive car to be made, Ferrari only made 39 250 GTOs between 1962 and 1964. Ferrari tricked the racing regulation body by numbering the individual GTOs out of sequence.

The 250 GTO is a beautiful Ferrari. It has an aggressive 1960's styling. The 250 GTO has a body design for better aerodynamics. A rounded fastback design and a lowered, curved hood line helped the car move through the air more efficiently. The car also had improved weight distribution for better handling. It is a sight to behold.

The Ferrari 250 GTO is powered by a 3.0L V12, paired with a five-speed manual transmission, that produces 302 hp and 217 lb-ft of torque. It goes from 0 to 60 mph in 6.1 seconds and reaches a top speed of 173.4 mph. This is extremely fast by 1960s standards. 

The 250 GTO has been featured in Top Gear Series 16, Episode 2, when Jeremy Clarkson was reviewing the Ferrari 599 GTO. It has also been featured in Goodwood: Race Cars Legends, Mischief Assault, Archer, Man, Moment, Machine, The Legendary Sports Cars, Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, Ferrari, and The Rockford Files. The 250 GTO is playable in Grand Theft Auto: London 1969, Project Gotham Racing 2, OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast, Choro Q HG 1 & 2, Test Drive Unlimited, TORCS, OutRun 2 SP, Project Gotham Racing 4, Mille Miglia: Great 1000 Miles Rally, Mille Miglia 2: Great 1000 Miles Rally, Ferrari Challenge, Runabout, Forza Motorsport Series, and Wheels & Fire.

The Ferrari 250 GTO has a lot of history behind it. It is one of the most desired cars of all times. It is rare, fast, and historical. People have been paying over $20 millions just to get one. This is not a car for the road. It is too rare and valuable to risk being damaged in accidents or being struck by random objects. This is an amazing machine, but its value makes it only good as a trailer queen. These are museum cars and Concours d'Elegance cars. Motor Trends Classic named the Ferrari GTO the Greatest Ferrari of All Time. The Ferrari 250 GTO was the first Ferrari V12 supercar and led the way for the Ferrari F40, Enzo, 288 GTO and 599 GTO. The 250 GTO is one of the all time greats and should be in any serious car collection if he or she has the money. This car is rare and extremely expensive.

CarJunkie
Picture taken from Ferrari 250 GTO Wikipedia page. It is too cool of a car to be captured by my camera.
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Posted by CarJunkie at 5:14 PM
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3 comments:

  1. UnknownOctober 25, 2013 at 4:40 PM

    I love the Greatest Ferrari

    ReplyDelete
  2. JinawiFebruary 10, 2018 at 4:10 PM

    Ferrari Dino 246 GT located its method into a range of other Italian language performance autos after it is application in the 246, especially the Lancia Stratos rally car.


    There were minimal differences in lean for several markets, the obvious being several marker signals on US market Dinos. Group 4-style flare leg wheelarches had been optional, while were seating from the 365 GTB/4 Daytona, the match often purchased in conjunction with vast, sand-cast Campagnolo alloy tires.

    ReplyDelete
  3. JinawiFebruary 10, 2018 at 4:15 PM

    Ferrari 250 GTE was Ferrari’s first 4 seat version and the thought was powerful enough to evolve to a series of Ferrari 2+2s that used similar engineering while the athletics cars. Because these were made pertaining to grand traveling, the GTE was sold as a magnificent car.


    To allow two further seats, Ferrari had to push the engine and auxileries 12 inches wide forward and extend the bodywork a simlar amount compared to the past 250. The wheelbase continued to be the same, however the additional mass added 169 lbs towards the car.

    ReplyDelete

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