Ferrari 250 P5, 0862, 33/3 and Other Numbers

By the mid 1960s, Ferrari’s racing program encountered some turbulence. Following the infamous “palace revolt” of 1961 (where several key personnel permanently walked out of the factory, undoubtedly throwing Enzo’s mojo way off), things soon recovered by Ferrari's overachieving to win Le Mans from 1960 to 1965. Ferrari’s NART 250LM won in 1965 (driven by Jochen Rindt and Masten Gregory) but a red car was never to win at Le Mans again: The 330 P3s for Le Mans 1966 did not equate to winning positions, certainly influenced by the departure of then-top driver John Surtees in a team management dispute just prior to the race.

The subsequent 1-2-3 formation victory finish by Ford’s GT40s at the 1966 Le Mans cast a long shadow over Maranello, with the crowning achievement of Enzo’s defeat embodied in the Ford victory, unsettling him to deeply personal levels. Not merely symbolic, the GT40 was a vendetta realized --clearly signifying who had really “won” in the soured deal between Enzo and Ford (the latter of which was to buy Ferrari’s factory production).

Immediately following the 1966 losses, Enzo set out to win for 1967 in the Formula 1 Championship (Ferrari 312) and Sports Prototype Cup (330 P3s with tipo 603 gearboxes, jettisoning the unreliable ZF units of the prior year). Ferrari’s P3s and P4s won the World Championship for 1967, with the 312s not winning the ’67 F1 championship due to fatalities and injuries.

Although ultimately choosing not to participate in the Prototype Cup for 1968 due to regulation changes, the P4s were modified to race later in the ’67 season in the North American Can-Am series and then in 1968 to race in Australia; 1969 in South Africa. However, this gap year in Ferrari’s prototype program created an opportunity to work on other things, including a 6.0 litre Can-Am barchetta and a show car for publicity purposes. The show car is the item of interest here:

Enter the 250 P5 Berlinetta Pininfarina Speciale, debuting at the Geneva Motor Show for March 13, 1968. Under the direction of Leonardo Fioravanti, Pininfarina created an eight-headlamp berlinetta body initially mated to chassis 0862 (whose original function was to house a newly developed, but not yet running, 180º 2.0 litre V12 engine, intended initially for use in an aircraft, but ultimately used in Ferrari “Tipo 600,” a Sports-Prototype barchetta that became the 212E).

During the course of the year on the show circuit, things changed and Ferrari needed to develop a usable race car. P5’s chassis 0862 was commandeered and rebodied and raced as the Ferrari 212E Dino in the 1969 European Hillclimb Championship (driven to unbeaten victory by Peter Schetty). Seeking somewhere else to go, P5’s body was then placed upon an Alfa Romeo 33/3 chassis whereupon it received a facelift and Alfa badging.

The more conservative styling of the Alfa version likewise made the P5 less of a show concept and more of a usable road-going car. Yet the physical P5 was gone forever, restyled, rebadged, lost in the mists of time. However its legacy can be found to be prominently alive today: As it was borne in a “gap year,” so was the P5 an element that bridged a gap between distinct Ferrari identities, a coming of age within the Enzo era cars.

To illustrate, many of the P5’s styling cues resurfaced years later on iconic Ferrari models, such as demonstrated in the side-straking/air-directing motif --the main identifier of the 1980s/90s Testarossa, 512 TR, 512 M. This also appears on the Mondial and 348. Aerodynamic cues and body surfacing found on the P5 can be seen to echo in the F50, featuring nose vents at the base of the windshield. The general aerodynamic shape, a glass window over the engine, wheel arches, and airflow management over, through, and away from the body foretold the future as Ferraris modernized, becoming more and more wind tunnel reliant.

250 GTO-esque Rebody by Drogo on GTE Chassis

                                           (above photo: Ferrari 250 GTE #2493GT, body by Drogo, in-period)

The challenge: What gives this Ferrari away as not being a re-bodied GTO?

This discussion began because someone (erroneously) thought this car was an in-period re-body of a wrecked GTO. The question is the following: What can be seen in this photograph that evidences the fact that the car could not have been a re-bodied GTO even if you knew nothing of its history?

Some information about the car: This is neither a replica nor an "almost GTO" iteration by the factory. It is a re-body by Drogo. Therefore, using the above photo only (body by Drogo as applied to 250 GTE #2493GT) --what visual clue proves it could not have been a replacement body on a GTO chassis? 

While formulating your guess, remember that the body is a complete re-do and does not define the car's chassis and serial number in any way, yet the answer is in plain sight. Can you determine why this is not a GTO from its outer appearance? I will tell you that you CAN determine why this car is not a 250 GTO. 

Note: Those who already know and have been told by Stephen Mitchell, on another forum, please do not give it away. Let others have their chance to decipher the mystery. 

Enjoy ;)

The Gateway

Vintage Ferraris. They comprise the realm of the heritage of one of the most acclaimed carmakers in all history. There is something unequivocal about the aura of a handmade car, and that it is Ferrari only enhances this condition. The smell of the mechanical components can be experienced both within and without the car, the oil and gas and rubber blending into a single complex intoxication. Yet there is a staggering simplicity in the moments of pure enjoyment standing before the car. And more still from behind the wheel.

Enter the Ferrari 250 GTO: Inside, the simplicity abounds. The stark interior awaits the pilot, all business but embellished sparingly with moments of luxury: The Nardi wheel, the gauge cluster, are fixtures shining and lush. Blue seats, spartan inner doors and floor pans greet the visitor. And it is clear: Work is done in here but it is an elite type of work, a driving ambition elevated to an artform. 

The period atmosphere permeates the cabin despite myriad refurbishments and restorations. The car is from another epoch, yet its storied past emerges quite alive among the antique parts and structural elements. It is old enough to be a generation removed from younger enthusiasts, but modern enough in its timeless form and level of performance. Perhaps the most important and salient icon adorning the interior of the GTO is the object mounted atop the transmission tunnel –the gated shifter assembly.

Even within the handmade era, no other shift gate design is shared with the GTO. It is as unique to the car as each GTO is to each other. The chrome face of the gate beckons reverence as well as proper use. All six positions on the mechanism extend from the transmission beneath it, standing in a repose that pierces the silence with echoes of the V12 being taken through its paces, in races long run and celebrated. Thousands of shifts, thousands of gears, thousands of vignettes lost to time are released and flow through the gate.

And then ensconced in the driver’s position, firmly planted in the seat, with a turn and push of the key –the start of the engine heralds the next movement in the symphony. Hearing the "snick" with the lever going into first, a movement in the hips and leg gently brings the revs up from the 1000rpm idle. Hands on wood and polished aluminum, feet on pedals feeling the chassis –with this the car moves, and another chapter in history points the way to the road. 

Ignorance is Bliss -Judging a Book by its Cover

....En route back to the valley from Westwood and my phone rings: It is Stephen and he begins suddenly talking about a book he has written. He's excited and I attempt to process what he is saying. I realize that this must be the book he read an excerpt from a few months ago at an open mic event in Santa Monica. He mentions Jack Nicholson and the general story outline. As I am driving, and not supposed to be talking on the phone, I begin thinking this must be some film he has seen -and I somehow missed the part where he transitions from talking about his book to some film he saw. So I ask: "Is this some movie you saw?"

"No, it's the book, the book."

"Oh... you mean you envision Jack Nicholson in your story?"

"Yes... he would play the Senator..." as he continues to describe the book, which sounds more like a movie to me.

He describes the story and I get that it involves an alcoholic US Senator engaged in various modes of skullduggery and sex. And that he needs a book cover "ASAP" because he wants to release it "tomorrow." The rapidity and immediacy of the assignment must have forced the idea into me. The attached image of the cover is nearly exactly what came into my mind as I drove through the Sepulveda Pass.

As there wasn't time to hand-illustrate it, I opted to create a photo-illustration. Being more the creative director, assembling the design from disparate elements found online, I heavily altered each component beyond their original appearances and purposes. The design process in this case was like building a go-kart in the garage in a few hours and test running it that evening, to race it the next day. As the bits and pieces synthesized into the front cover, we dialed in the final elements of the composition over the course of the evening, discussing tweaks to it.

I did the cover that afternoon and night and he sent it on to Amazon.com the next day. Behold "Ignorance is Bliss" by Stephen Mitchell -a cinematic novel.

Stephen's blog link for Ignorance is Bliss: 
http://emcpb.blogspot.com/2012/05/ignorance-is-bliss-part-1.html

Greystone Mansion Councours d'Elegance -May 6, 2012

Armed with a press pass today, I joined Stephen Mitchell and Jeanette Dumouchel for a day of sightseeing, of multimillion-dollar cars at the famed Greystone Mansion Concours d'Elegance. For those unfamiliar with the concours and mansion, Susan Rosen, President, Friends of Greystone, sums it up well in the introductory letter in the concours programme:

"...Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Greystone's value to architectural and California history is unique as it is impressive. Considered to be one of California's most luxurious residences south of Hearst Castle, Greystone Masnion is one of the few great homes from the Gilded Age of American architecture that has survived relatively intact. The pastoral parklands are open to the public most of the year, sparking the imagination, curiosity and intrigue of the visitor spending time at this glorious estate..."

No riff-raff was to be found today among the overwhelming turnout of classic cars at Greystone's concours. Offering perpetual opportunity for miles of close scrutiny and appreciation, the event did not disappoint. Contrarily, it overachieved to stratospheric levels, eclipsing, in volume and spectacle, any 'cars & coffee' or cruise type of event.

Copious socializing with the owners and event goers, amid the stunning array of variety and craftsmanship invested in the cars, enlivened the gala's proceedings. The level of restoration and/or preservation of most of the cars was astounding, if not mind-bending. Here, even the lowest level of restoration/presentation offered the upper-limit of experience of cars-as-art. This was no mere car show inasmuch as it was a temporary museum available for the privileged few able to attend. For future note, if you are in any way into cars, the concours is a must-attend affair, a required pilgrimage.

For any future goers to a concours, you will burn out before you are able to see everything with full attention --but in this case will be a rewarding thing. Like going to the Louvre, for the coucours-goer, there will be too much to thoroughly see in one afternoon. And virtually every car will be shockingly maintained and gorgeous. Today's event helped me to revisit and wonder if designers and car-builders of yore were actually more enlightened and creatively alive, as I stood in awe of the sheer amount of incredible car design.

Although only a slice of the total immersion, early 20th century Rolls Royces appeared as showroom new in a surreal juxtaposition among period architecture of the Greystone Mansion's inner sanctum courtyard. In some moments it appeared as if time had instantly reversed 80 years to a vintage Los Angeles that nearly nobody alive today has ever seen. Many attendees dressed the part, donning period-esque garb and bodily adornments. The admixture of beautiful machinery with beautiful people made for a beautiful day.

One of the most interesting pieces was that of a 1948 Ferrari 166 Spyder, the oldest Ferrari I have seen up close and in the metal. It was not fully restored, appearing in a patina that could have been from its original state (see below).

And there was a red Ferrari 275 GTB having been kept and restored to an incredible and almost unbelievable level (see below).

Although news abounds daily about the Great Recession, is it over/ is it really still here --whatever guise that is to assume, it appeared nowhere today, nor did it seem to matter one iota. No expenses seemed to be spared in any way, shape, of form, in creating the individual masterpieces of the concours. One could scrutinize and appreciate a single car for several minutes, disallowing for more numerous future viewings of other cars only a few feet away. I found that every extra five minutes spent viewing one car would disallow for the viewing of 3 more for what time was left in the event.

As such, sunscreen and a parasol were highly valuable tools as the sun today was brutally shining unabated by clouds. The heat roiling off the pavements and stonework of the grounds became a nicely tolerable warmth --that over time became more like an oven. Every extra few minutes meant, too, a fatigue factor became unequivocal after every few viewings. One can always see more, but would one be able to, after too much sun?

Regardless, the Greystone Mansion Councours d'Elegance, for May 6, 2012, including the catering, was excellent.

Tom Meade Update: May 2012 -Part 7

 Inner Sanctum

“The way I make things is such that I create the idea and then develop engineering drawings created on a CAD/CAM system for rapid prototyping. This obviously saves time and money and minimizes the amount of physical copies that are made with errors. Mistakes are excruciatingly expensive, often being 4 or 5 figure dollar mistakes.

“Some people will ask me ‘why don’t you make more cars per year,’ and they don’t seem to understand how ‘mission impossible’ it is to even build a car in the first place, without a factory. In this kind of project you’re not accessing pre-created parts. One-offs are prototypes. That is what a prototype is.

“To try to keep costs down I do as much as I can myself, by hand. A body designer, a chassis engineer, all require different materials for every part of the car. But doing as much as possible myself also maintains a level of purity. Mass-produced cars are bastardized and lack harmony. But a beautiful design must have symphonic purity. All parts and areas must merge with one another. My cars must exude the sensibility of a super-tuned Stradivarius violin. Look at the old Ferraris, the old Bugattis –they were masterpieces of art and engineering. There were no modern factories in those days; there were just workshops, a lost practice today. As the saying goes ‘too many cooks spoil the broth.”

Art of the Engine

Exterior body contouring and brightwork, surfacing and intake openings, wheels and tires --are only parts of the full ensemble. Everything must work properly, mechanically, experientially, artistically. Enzo Ferrari understood this principle thoroughly, in stark counterpoint to how a car is typically considered: "I don't sell cars; I sell engines. The cars I throw in for free since something has to hold the engines in."

While forging a brand in the late 1940s, in developing the iconic Colombo Tipo 125 V12, Enzo brought into his own sphere of mythology and renown the influence of his predecessors: Packard, Auto Union, and Alfa Romeo --all with V12s at a time before Scuderia Ferrari constructed its own signature motor cars. Although not new in concept before being borne into the red cars, it was to become the most widely regarded engine identity when referring to a certain automaker: Hence, Ferrari = V12.

Continuing as iterations in the fabulously successful 250 series cars, lasting through Ferrari's 1960s heyday, up to the 412 series of the 1980s, the Colombo V12 depicted here (above) is being inspected for service under the hood a 250 GTO --a 2953cc Tipo 168. Like a string of pearls, the row of six 2bbl Weber carburetors dresses the 300 horsepower heart of the car --the functional jewelry and motive power behind the Art of the Engine.