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Turn 10's Car of the Week [No.2] - Retro is Sexy!

All images courtesy of ultimatecarpage.com, barchetta.cc and ferrarichat.com.

Turn 10's Car of the Week: Ferrari 250 GTO

By: P. Rodriguez

Welcome to the early 60’s and the era of the Ferrari 250 GTO, a car that could take your kid to school in the morning and win in its class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans all in the same day. I mean seriously, think about that for a second. Leave home, drop little Nancy at kindergarten, head to the grid with a very real chance of winning the race. No joke, the 250 GTO is unarguably the finest machine to ever lay rubber to the road (and no, that isn’t up for debate).

This automotive juggernaut debuted in 1962 and was Ferrari’s entrant in the GT Class of the World Manufacturer Championship. FIA regulations required 100 cars to be constructed to qualify for homologation (the O in GTO is Omolagata, Italian for Homologated), however we all know that racing wouldn’t be racing without Ferrari so the FIA let them slide with just 36 examples built.

All images courtesy of ultimatecarpage.com, barchetta.cc and ferrarichat.com.

So what exactly makes this car so damn cool? Well, let’s start with the most obvious feature, the styling. Has anything with four wheels ever looked more beautiful? Series I Scaglietti or Series II Pininfarina, it doesn’t matter, they are both gorgeous. The 250 GTO is what Sophia Loren would have looked like back in heyday if she was crafted from aluminum. Not only is the styling stunning and timeless, it was developed in wind tunnels specifically for racing -- the car produces practically no drag. In practical terms, the 250 GTO does 0-60 in 5 seconds and over 170mph on the Mulsanne Straight at Le Mans!

All images courtesy of ultimatecarpage.com, barchetta.cc and ferrarichat.com.

Of course at the heart of every Ferrari is an incredible engine, and the 250 GTO is no exception. The Colombo designed V12 displaces 3-liters, breathes through 6 Weber carburetors, and cranks out 300hp all day long. Emanating from the exhaust is a 7500rpm symphony so beautiful it would make a classicist jealous. By now you might be thinking to yourself, “Great, the car is beautiful and it’s fast but how did it perform on Sunday?” Simply put, the 250 GTO laid down an ass-kicking of epic proportions on the competition. So much so that I've often wondered if the opposing drivers wore bibs to catch the drool after being lapped by a GTO on the track.

All images courtesy of ultimatecarpage.com, barchetta.cc and ferrarichat.com.

When it was all said and done, the 250 GTO had two class wins at Le Mans and three consecutive World Manufacturer Championships between 1962 and 1964. Ironically, these were the last GT championships for Scuderia Ferrari until our good friends at Risi Competizione started cleaning house with the 430GT.

The Ferrari 250 GTO. Best. Car. Ever. What, you don’t agree? OK. Find me another car, of which 36 exist, that recently traded hands for 14,000,000€, and we’ll talk. Oh, and that’s $20,234,196 in Yankee money if you’re counting…

All images courtesy of ultimatecarpage.com, barchetta.cc and ferrarichat.com.

Published Thursday, February 07, 2008 2:44 PM by chespace

Comments

	mr_joel said: I've always loved the looks and sound of this car. In Forza Motorsport 2, if you have a Buttkicker bass transducer hooked up to the RCA outputs of the Xbox AV pack (versus the subwoofer out port of your receiver) the engine note comes through really well the 250 GTO and lets you feel the RPM's build in a very cool way. Joel February 7, 2008 6:12 PM
	WazzuZ28 said: The 250 GTO is nothing short of pure genius. It has it all: speed, style, sound and a wonderful history. February 7, 2008 6:49 PM
	Racer X said: Chicca-chi-KOW.... (Think Ferris Bueller's Day Off) February 7, 2008 7:47 PM
	musclekarz said: A 3.0L V12? That's pretty insane. Great car and it probably was one of the best cars for it's time. February 7, 2008 9:24 PM
	BULLETSnZOMBIES said: That's my most favorite Ferrari of all time. February 7, 2008 10:07 PM
	NISSAN 240SX said: The finest piece in automotive history... February 7, 2008 11:22 PM
	shawtyoner said: I love this style GTO, why is that T10 put that other style GTO in game?? I would much rather have had this one, DLC please!! February 8, 2008 8:58 AM
	RTdes said: Allthought the '64 car was faster and evolution to the '62 model, I have to agree I'd much rather have the '62 car in the game. It's a milestone of automotive design. On the Essen Motorshow 3 years ago they had all the Halo Ferraris next to each other and also an all original, red 250 GTO of 1962. It made the GTO, F40, F50 and Enzo look like toy cars, designed by a 3 year old. February 8, 2008 9:08 AM
	flood222 said: $20,234,196? Rarity is way over priced! February 8, 2008 10:38 AM
	Sparky4prez said: Easily one of the most beautiful cars ever made. Price tag is a tad over budget though...but if i had the 20 million to buy it, i would jump at the chance, and i'm sure a vast majority of the people here would too. February 8, 2008 1:11 PM
	deathblade said: Now this is one I can get behind, Uni-body, classic, and fast! February 8, 2008 2:09 PM
	V Kirkovich said: The 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO would certainly be a beautiful addition to FM2. I know it's beyond Car o' the Wk's purpose but please--a '62 250GTO via DLC would be a godsend. Nice writeup P. Rodriguez--thanks February 8, 2008 4:59 PM
	mr_joel said: deathblade: not a unibody, the 250 GTO utilized a welded tubular space frame See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrari_250_GTO http://www.qv500.com/ferrari250gtop1.php http://www.khulsey.com/kimble_ferrari_250_gto.jpeg In the last link, you can see the welded tubular structure under the bodywork. You really have not lived until you've heard this engine tear through the air in person. Its angry scream is like nothing I've ever experienced. February 8, 2008 9:24 PM
	Pocket4ce said: One of the best, most beautiful Ferrari ever. But I have my own classic Ferrari dreams list. February 8, 2008 10:08 PM
	Monkey Magic said: My fav Ferrari ever is the 1984 288 GTO and it sure has a bit of 250 GTO blood in the veins. The 250 was also available in Spyder California and GT "Short Chassis" versions. Oh my, I could talk about this all day... February 9, 2008 8:51 AM
	RoxxApexx said: Here's a runner up solution for those who only have $1.4 million US dollars burning a hole in their pocket. Based on the 599 GTB Fiorano - which you provide for the complete makeover. http://blogs.motortrend.com/6218606/car-news/vandenbrink-gto-not-a-replica-but-an-homage/index.html February 9, 2008 10:24 AM
	Duffers999 said: The second most beautiful ferrari I think, a brilliant car nontheless but google 275 GTB/4 and you'll see the best ferrari. February 9, 2008 12:47 PM
	RaFaby said: pretty advanced tune for a 60's one. some nowadays manufacturers should learn from it and some other oldies and stop selling craps. February 9, 2008 1:44 PM
	ih8thisname said: Definitely up there in my fantasy garage. Japan still has a lot to learn from the Italians! February 9, 2008 4:50 PM
	Poncho400 said: Those are bold statements. A little too bold. The amount built and the recent selling cost of a car has nothing to do with how great of a car it is in my opinion. Big whoop, 36 made. There are other cars out there that are one of one. That doesn't make them any better of a car. It may make them cooler, but being rare can make anything cooler and more expensive (just look at paintings). What if 3,000,000 GTO's were produced, and they only went for $50,000? The matter lies in how good of a car it was. Was it reliable? Fast? Did it win every race it touched? And everyone has their own definition of beauty. I personally think the 250 GTO is alright. Nothing too amazing. To someone else, it may be the material vision of heaven itself, flown down on a golden chariot with God riding shotgun! And at 7500rpm screaming like a banshee straight out of hell may make others go into shock. Me, I'd rather have the heart stopping, nuclear explosion shock wave of a large displacement muscle car. February 10, 2008 11:57 PM
	J.J.-Lopez said: In my opinion the 250gto has got to be one of the most beautiful cars ever made, and not only that its fast too! But I really only have one thing to say, two if you count, DLC! PLEASE! February 14, 2008 9:32 PM
	ITPro75 said: I prefer this body style to the later version of the car that's available in Forza. Is it at the top of my list of the world's most desirable cars? I have it in a tie with the long nose D-Type Jaguar and the Alfa Romeo T33 Stradale. February 15, 2008 6:21 PM
	gearmeister5 said: If this car is not included, then one of the best cars ever made to date, wouldn't be in the best racing game ever released. February 20, 2008 9:16 PM
	SegaSpyder said: The thing that you should look at is the black car straight across from the 250 GTO in the 2nd pic, that car there is the one that got the great GTO it's homologation, the 250 GT SWB or Short Wheelbase. This, the 250 GT SWB, is one of my all time fav Ferraris, one that I've gotten a ride in at the Monterey Historics at Laguna Seca and yes that engine is absolutely beautiful to the ear. But the amazing thing is, is that some how old man Ferrari got the Stewards to believe that the GTO was the same as the SWB and having the same power train and running gear, the great and now well known 5- speed Testarossa 3.0 liter V-12, which granted them the all important homologation. If you want to see some amazing designs from Ferrari just do some digging for all the cars that wore the 250 series badging, from the late 50's to early 60's, these are some of the best and most desirable cars/ works of art/ engineering achievements ever accomplished. Oh and Poncho, the reason some of the 250 GTO's reach such high prices is for their racing history, who drove them and what that specific car actually did, like Phil Hill's debuting car at the Sebring 12hr with a 2nd in class for it's first time out. And trust me there is much to be said about muscle cars, but still nothing came out of Detroit that could match its acceleration for several years afters it's production run ended and that was only a bit faster. And still it would leave you behind when you hit your 4 speed gear boxes max speed at 130mph, all you can do then is wave bye bye to the Ferrari. The only American car that came to be the quicker and give them a run for the money was the almighty 427 Cobra in 64, but then that car was an English AC Ace body with a ford power plant so not fully American. And that car to still has a sound that pleases the soul, but in stock form it could only be raced on the smaller road courses due to the whole 130mph top speed. And look at what designed they copied to run at Le Man with the Cobra Daytona, kinda goes to show who was the leader of road racing during those days. February 25, 2008 2:26 AM
	mr_joel said: A little piece of trivia about certain Ferrari car names from the 50's, 60's and 70's is that the number indicates the displacement in cc's of a single cylinder in the engine. So the 250 Testarossa, 250 SWB, 250 GTO, etc. all had 250cc * 12 cylinders for a total of 3.0 liters. Later they went to the 275 GTB, the 330 P/4, 365 Daytona and so on and you can apply this formula to figure out the total displacement. Of course there were numerous exceptions where this formula does not apply and over the years the conventions have changed a fair amount. For example, the '355' in F355 indicates 3.5L displacement, 5 valves per cylinder. The F360 and F430 are 3.6L and 4.3L respectively. The '512' in 512 Testarossa, 512TR, 512BB indicates 5.0L of displacement and 12 cylinders however in the 365 GT4 BB (which also has a flat-12 boxer engine), '365' refers to the individual cylinder displacement. Perhaps the FIA stewards were fooled by the presence of the '250' in the name and assumed the 250 GTO, 250 SWB and 250 TR were all essentially the same car. :) Joel February 25, 2008 3:07 PM