Courtesy of The Telegraph...
Courtesy of The Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/goodwood-revival/8744816/Goodwood-Revival-2011-Nick-Masons-20million-Ferrari-250-GTO.html#.TnCcenXygws.mailto
Wonderful! There is more to life than money in the bank, and what other wheels would he spend it on? He's already got his dream car
i.m.o. the gearbox had to be revised... otherwise he would have closed the gap in his interior.... looks like the complete gearbox is missing. Also... a automatic gearbox has also a leaver.... where is it ?
guys, c'mon, it's nick mason. do you really honestly think he'd remove the original gearbox on a 250 GTO and then replace it for a slushbox? i mean, look at the state of those seats. he keeps the car as unchanged as possible. it makes no sense for him to drop an auto in there.
+250. It's just having maintenance. I assume a 250GTO from way back in 1962 is not like a modern Toyota Corolla and needs a fair bit of tender love and care, before it is raced again . Also I did not realise Nick's GTO was the one that came 2nd overall at Le Mans (and also 3rd overall the year before). Pete
Back in 2006 I had a great conversation with the manager of the collection of another GTO owner (as we were standing next to the GTO). His comment was that the 50s and 60s V12 Ferraris in the collection (of which there were MANY) needed constant attention. Something was always failing or in need of tinkering on them...made more problematic by two factors: 1)most of the cars in the collection were/are high-state of tune racers and 2)they will sit for periods of time during the year. It's funny, also, because I figured the GTO was worth about 10 mil...and the collection manager felt the money had gone down to 6 or so. Again, this was back in 2006.
But this is what I find amazing. The GTO was nothing until Giotto Bizzarrini built it. He did what he knew would work move the engine back and lower, worked on aerodynamics and brake issues, the final result was a huge improvement. Bizzarrini left Ferrari and later built what he considered the final version of the GTO, the Iso A3C. Ferrari GTO 25 Mil Iso A3C 1 million. What a deal! Same man better machine. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Disagree 100%. Bizzarini did nothing but worked in a team tuning a 10 year old product - an almost perfect one - into its final version. The effort - pretty basic stuff - would hardly be recognized had they not copied the looks of the E-type. ISO was a cool looking clumsy car, which used a piece of crap for an engine and as soon as GT40 debuted, they realized there was no point in carrying on. Of course they disagreed but Renzo was right about it, Giotto wrong. Very wrong. So there is no point in comparing an ISO with a GTO. It's like comparing a rotten apple with a perfect orange. And boy, what an orange!!!
Easily explained: Iso A3C - does not have a wonderful Ferrari v12 and all the pedigree that goes with that badge. Iso A3C - please list it's race history, including World Sportscar championships and results in Le Mans, etc. 250GTO - Won just about everything, helped build the image of Ferrari we have today and was Ferrari's last great front engined roadable race car. Bizzarrini also built the 250 Breadvan, which technically is a further improvement on the GTO, but it would not out auction a GTO. Also not every Ferrari is awesome, and thus every car Bizzarrini had his hand in is awesome. Both the Iso A3C and the 250GTO are great examples, but it is possible that theory doesn't transfer to reality ... regarding "Same man better machine". Pete
Bizzarrini was asked by Ferrari to build the GTO project in secrecy away from the main factory, so this proves that HE was the main engineer of the GTO. The Bread van was build is a short 6 weeks using a older chassis and many of the aerodynamic features are still used today! fact, he was well ahead of the Cobra Daytona's Kamm tail that eventually beat Ferrari! The Bizzarrini bread van IS the most recognizable Ferrari ever made. Kare you need to do your homework, Bizzarrini IS the GTO and the A3C although underfunded was a potent machine finishing first in class and 9 th overall at LeMans. Bizzarrini was a genius and ferrari was lucky to have him.
Okay I did some research about Nick's GTO. I have the "Into the red" book of his and Mark Hales and in this book neither mentions the 2nd overall at Le Mans, just the 3rd. Weird. Anyway from http://www.racingsportscars.com/chassis/results/3757LM%20%5B250GTO%5D.html we have: 1962: 24.6.1962 24 h Le Mans 22 Ferrari 250 GTO #3757LM "Eldé" / "Beurlys" Equipe Nationale Belge 3rd 23.9.1962 Tour de France 150 Ferrari 250 GTO #3757LM Darville / Langlois von Ophem Ecurie Francorchamps 3rd 7.10.1962 Coupes du Salon 9 Ferrari 250 GTO #3757LM "Remordu" Ecurie Francorchamps 3rd 21.10.1962 1000 km Paris 3 Ferrari 250 GTO #3757LM "Beurlys" / "Eldé" / "Remordu" Equipe Nationale Belge? DQ (Note in 1962 this GTO only had 2 slots behind the front wheel ... but Nick's car now has 3 ... ) 1963: 12.5.1963 500 km Spa 36 Ferrari 250 GTO #4293GT or 3757LM Willy Mairesse E.N.B. or Ecurie Francorchamps 1st. Nick Mason claims this win in his book. 7.7.1963 Coupes Benelux [GT] Ferrari 250 GTO #3757LM "Remordu" 2nd 25.8.1963 GP Zolder Ferrari 250 GTO #3757LM "Remordu" 3rd 1964: 17.5.1964 500 km Spa 29 Ferrari 250 GTO #3757LM Peter Clarke Peter Clarke DNF 31.5.1964 1000 km Nürburgring 78 Ferrari 250 GTO #3757LM Clarke / Margulies Peter Clarke 28th 4.7.1964 Martini Trophy Silverstone 27 Ferrari 250 GTO #3757LM Peter Clarke P. J. C. Clarke ?th 19.7.1964 Scott-Brown Memorial Snetterton 61 Ferrari 250 GTO #3757LM Peter Clarke P. Clarke 6th 3.8.1964 Guards Trophy Brands Hatch 37 Ferrari 250 GTO #3757LM Peter Clarke DNA 30.8.1964 Zandvoort Trophy 51 Ferrari 250 GTO #3757LM Peter Clarke Peter Clarke 3rd 1964 Silverstone [GT] Ferrari 250 GTO #3757LM Peter Clarke 3rd 1964 Oulton Park [GT] Ferrari 250 GTO #3757LM Peter Clarke DNF 1964 Castle Combe Ferrari 250 GTO #3757LM Peter Clarke 2nd 1964 BARC Oulton Park Ferrari 250 GTO #3757LM Peter Clarke 2nd 1964 Croft Ferrari 250 GTO #3757LM Peter Clarke 4th 1964 BARC Goodwood Ferrari 250 GTO #3757LM Peter Clarke DNS 1964 BRSCC Snetterton [GT] Ferrari 250 GTO #3757LM Peter Clarke 1st 1965: 28.2.1965 2000 km Daytona 23 Ferrari 250 GTO #3757LM Hurt / Clarke / Hayes Peter Clarke 7th 27.3.1965 12 h Sebring 35 Ferrari 250 GTO #3757LM Scott / Clarke Peter Clarke DNF 16.5.1965 500 km Spa 34 Ferrari 250 GTO #3757LM Peter Clarke Peter Clarke DNA 23.5.1965 1000 km Nürburgring 62 Ferrari 250 GTO #3757LM Fielding / Clarke Peter Clarke DNF 4.7.1965 12 h Reims 36 Ferrari 250 GTO #3757LM Clarke / Fielding Peter Clarke DNF 17.7.1965 Leinster Trophy Ferrari 250 GTO #3757LM Peter Clarke DNF 24.7.1965 Martini Trophy Silverstone 30 Ferrari 250 GTO #3757LM Peter Clarke P. Clarke DNF 15.8.1965 Coppa Citta di Enna 28 Ferrari 250 GTO #3757LM Mike De Udy 7th 15.8.1965 Daily Mirror Croft 93 Ferrari 250 GTO Peter Clarke P. Clarke 6th 30.8.1965 Redex Trophy Brands Hatch 113 Ferrari 250 GTO Peter Clarke P. Clarke DNA 1965 BARC Crystal Palace Ferrari 250 GTO #3757LM Peter Clarke DNF Best 250 GTO Le Mans result is 1963 with 4293GT: 2nd overall, 2nd in class, Car number: 24, Car: Ferrari 250 GTO (#4293GT, according to http://www.racingsportscars.com/chassis/photo/4293GT%20%5b250GTO%5d.html and confirmed by http://www.autographmodel.com/Deutsch/D-M1-12/Autograph/4293-24/D_GTO-4293.htm) Team: Equipe Nationale Belge, Drivers: "Jean Beurlys" (Jean Blaton), Gerhard Langlois van Ophem, DNS "Eldé" (Leon Dernier), 323 laps 4346.320 km's Thus Mark Hales is wrong in this video, and this explains why Nick Mason does not mention this in their book. Pete ps: I have to give credit to the team: Equipe Nationale Belge, they had the best results consistently for 250 GTO's at Le Mans. Can somebody please tell me why they refer to Nick's GTO chassis number as 3757LM, and not 3757GT?
Bizzarini did not start from scratch, 250GT passo corto was a very advanced racing car and did not need to be improved that much to become totally unvincible. Bizzarini did a good job here but I don't think he was irreplaceble; his work was pretty straight forward. No engine work needed to be done, just refinement with modified chassis, suspension and aerodynamics. You likely mean breadvan is most recognizable as an individual car - which practically limits the competition to one-offs and cars painted in weird liveries - making a pointless claim. To me breadvan was a failure, it did not win a single race AFAIK. A3C is a great looking car, but there was no point trying to race a front engined car, something Piero Rivolta realized as soon as GT40 came out. The 1st IC you mention was based on luck - Ford's bad luck - with all four GT40s retiring (engine problem, engine problem, cluth, gearbox). Besides they were now racing in P5.0+, with rest of the competition racing in smaller categories. With rules of 1964 the ISO would have finished 5th IC.
Bizzarrini was approached by Ferrari after LeMans where SWB 2689 finished third and experimental 250 GT 2643 by Pininfarina was DNF. Ferrari was very worried about Jaguar so he was instructed to build a new car in total secrecy no one should know not even Chiti. Bizzarrini picked the men he needed for the job. He was given SWB2053. The first thing he did was changed the rear suspension moving the location of coil shocks, then the center of gravity by moving the location of the engine. Finally aerodynamics by changing the shape of the body, lowering the nose. The car was nicknamed "the monster" for it's crude but sleek bodywork. The car was tested at Monsa and consistently lapped several second faster than the standard 250 SWB. Hence the birth of the GTO. It wasn't a group effort it was Ferrari's trust in one man to reengineer his racing GT so it could become competitive again. Bizzarrini's title at Ferrari was head of experimental, Sport and GT Car Development.
This is a big mystery. Bizzarini says he built the prototype out of an old Boano. It's possible; if you modify the chassis geometry to match what you think would work, install a 300hp-engine and build a rough aerodynamic body using a surplus SWB-body pieces and stuff, the end result might very well have been good to see if it would work. During past few years I've started to think the Boano story might be true after all as the car was likely built very quickly and parted out & scrapped afterwards. It was nothing that could - or wanted to - be sold. Number 2053GT seems to have chosen as a candidate because it did have 6x38DNCs installed and the known history include a gap from Sept 1960 til May 62. I would also look out for the possibility that 6-carb engine of 2053GT was used on Bizzarini's mule and then put back to where it came from...
Worth every million! [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGFQAy3NLNM&feature=player_embedded[/ame] Sweet music!
There was an article a few years back where nick Mason remembered taking his kids to school in the 250 GTO. Apparently he went to his car collection to find a car suitable to take them and the only one that would start was the GTO!. Also, from Martin Brundle's tweets: "Perfect day. Bike to Silverstone, drive Ferrari 250GTO on full GP circuit in preparation for Goodwood Revival in Sept, glass of good claret" "It was Nick Mason's GTO. He says he doesn't mind if I bash it but try not to roll it over. Respect. It's worth at least 20 million pounds"
