1962 Ferrari 250 GTO

The GTO was presented on February ’62 in Maranello at the usual pre-season Press conference. At the express request of Enzo Ferrari, it was born with the sole objective of racing (or rather, winning) in the FIA Gt Group 3 Championship. The full name stands for: 250, like the cubic centimetres of each of the twelve cylinders, GT for Gran Turismo and O for Omologata. The development of the 250 GTO was headed firstly by chief engineer Giotto Bizzarrini, who was then replaced by a young Mario Forghieri. Sergio Scaglietti designed and build the body of the car. The chassis was that of the Ferrari 250 SWB, with its supports duly modified and reinforced with metal crossbars, while the engine was the 3.0 V12 of the 250 TR, which had already won at Le Mans, mounted further back and lower than the original. His racing debut came at the ’62 12h of Sebring, where Hill and Gendebien finished 2nd overall. It then became world champion in its category in ’62, ’63 and ’64, allowing victories to many drivers of the time on almost every circuit in the world. It’s today the most valuable car in the collectors’ world and considered to be the “Monna Lisa” of the car world.