$13MILLION! 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Competizione by Scaglietti

1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Competizione by Scaglietti
High Bid $13,250,000
RM / Sotheby's Auction
Monterey, CA. 2015
280 bhp, 2,953 cc SOHC Colombo V-12 engine with three Weber 40 DCL6 carburetors, four-speed manual transmission, independent front suspension with parallel A-arms and coil springs, solid rear axle with semi-elliptical leaf springs, and four-wheel Dunlop disc brakes. Wheelbase: 2,400 mm.
•One of about 45 highly desirable alloy-bodied Competizione versions built in 1960
•Incredible period racing history; 7th overall and 5th in class at the 1960 12 Hours of Sebring as a NART entry
•One of the finest restored examples in the world
•Recent concours-level restoration to original specifications by Motion Products Inc., which cost nearly $700,000
•Retains its original aluminum coachwork, chassis, engine, gearbox, and rear differential
•An excellent SWB in every important regard; unquestionably one of the best
Chassis number 1773GT was constructed by the factory in March 1960 as the eighth of about forty-five aluminum-bodied competition 250 SWB Berlinettas for that year, and it boasts a remarkable history that stands proud amongst the many successes for the 250 SWB Berlinetta as a model.
By 1959, Ferrari was a well-respected force in international motorsport. In the GT class, the company was second to none, and its 250 GT long-wheelbase Berlinetta was considered by many to be the finest dual-purpose GT car ever built. Ferrari introduced that car’s replacement at the 1959 Paris Salon, and while it appeared similar to the outgoing “Tour de France” in many ways, it boasted a number of updates, including a new chassis with a wheelbase 20 centimeters shorter than its predecessor, a new Tipo 168 engine producing 280 horsepower in competition specification, and disc brakes, with the latter being a first for Ferrari.
Customers could order their new 250 GT Berlinetta in either right- or left-hand drive, specify an uprated competition engine, and add other custom touches to further personalize their cars. Of course, the most desirable examples were those built for competition, leading Ferrari to more victories in motorsport, and the 250 GT SWB presented here is one such example.
Chassis number 1773GT was built to competition specifications fitted with not only aluminum bodywork but also a factory roll bar. A number of features were absent from the car, including side vent windows, fender vents, rain gutters over the doors, side indicators on the front fenders, an indentation for the trunk on the license plate, a vent over the rearview window, and finally, a glove compartment. The car was completed by the factory on March 16, 1960.
SEBRING, NASSAU, AND BEYOND
Just nine days later, the Ferrari made its way to sunny Florida, where it was preparing to compete at the ninth annual 12 Hours of Sebring. The car was delivered through Luigi Chinetti to legendary racing figure George Arents, who entered it in the race, along with famous gentleman driver Bill Kimberly as co-driver, under the banner of Chinetti’s North American Racing Team. Bill Kimberly was heir to the Kimberly-Clark paper fortune, and quite interestingly, 1773GT was photographed for this catalogue in Wisconsin, in and around the Kimberly-Clark factories. It proved to be a good year for the 250 SWB at Sebring, as Arents and Kimberly finished a highly impressive 7th overall and 5th in class, with another NART-entered 250 SWB, driven by Ed Hugus and Brewing-heir Augie Pabst (chassis number 1785GT), placing 4th and 2nd in class. The 250 SWB (1539GT) of Bill Sturgis and Fritz D’Orey finished 6th overall.
This would be the sole occasion that Arents raced his 250 SWB. The following month, it was sold to another well-known American enthusiast, Robert M. Grossman of Nyack, New Jersey. Grossman’s first race was the SCCA National GT race at Bridgehampton, New York, on May 30 and 31, and he took 1st overall. The car even appeared on the cover of the October 1960 issue of Sports Cars Illustrated magazine before its next series of races at the Bahamas Speed Week.
In his first race at Nassau in the Nassau Tourist Trophy, Grossman and 1773GT finished 2nd overall, behind another 250 SWB, which was driven by none other than Stirling Moss. Grossman returned for the Governor’s Trophy on December 3, finishing 11th overall and 4th in class. The next day, Grossman and his Ferrari placed 11th overall and 1st in class in the open race of the Nassau Trophy.
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Robert Myrick Photography