The Concours of Elegance, presented by A. Lange & Söhne, gathered a collection of the rarest and most astonishing Ferraris ever built, crowned by racing legends like the 250 GTO, 250 LM and 275 P2/ 365 P2. These Ferraris make up just a small selection of the line-up of coachbuilt rarities, race-winning Formula One cars and bespoke modern day hypercars joining the Concours of Elegance 2020.
The event’s Selection Committee and car curators have gathered a collection of vehicles that are world-class. Combined with the auction of the year – Gooding & Company’s Passion of a Lifetime Sale – and a host of unique special features, the Concours of Elegance is secured as the UK’s finest classic automotive event.
Taking place from 4th-6th September in the beautiful Fountain Gardens of Hampton Court Palace, the standard of vehicles on display is so high that there is no judging panel as every car that has been selected is deemed a winner. Instead, the owners of the cars themselves are asked to vote for their favourite car, and with this year’s entrants, there will be many worthy contenders. These are the iconic Ferraris set to be displayed:
Ferrari 250 GTO
The factory test car and the second Ferrari 250 GTO ever produced of the Iconic Series, this prototype is unique as the only GTO with the early pot riveted rear spoiler. After leaving the factory, Chassis 3387GT was shipped to Luigi Chinetti and was soon raced at 12 Hours of Sebring where it finished 1st in class and 2nd overall in the hands of NART drivers Phil Hill and Olivier Gendebien. 3387GT has a fantastic period competition history, having raced on both sides of the Atlantic, including Le Mans 24 hours, Nassau and Daytona. This Ferrari GTO is presented in perfect condition, having been totally restored by Joe Macari and Ferrari Classiche to as exactly as it left the factory in 1962.
Ferrari 275 P2/ 365 P2
The Ferrari P Series was a lineage of Italian sports prototype racing cars produced by Ferrari during the 1960s and early 1970s. The 275 P2 was released in 1965, destined to battle Ford at the Le Mans 24 Hours. It wasn’t victorious there, but this example did win the Targa Florio and 1000km Nurburgring in ’65, racing for the Ferrari factory team. Later in its life it was raced by the Ecurie Francorchamps team and converted to 365 P2 configuration, which is how it is presented here following a full Ferrari Classiche restoration.
Ferrari 250 LM
The Ferrari 250 LM was the berlinetta version of the 250P prototype, sharing the same chassis and running gear with minor modifications. Unfortunately, the FIA refused to homologate it as a grand-touring car, which damaged its sales potential and meant it was forced to race as a prototype. Nevertheless, it still enjoyed motor sport success driven by many of the greatest names of its time, and in 1966, with the introduction of Group 4, it gained official acceptance. Also, central to the history of the 250LM are the famous and loyal privateers, who were responsible for its biggest successes. This second-to-last Ferrari 250LM built (chassis 6313) was sold new to the Ecurie Francorchamps racing team on April 22, 1965. Its best result came at the Le Mans 24 Hours, where Pierre Dumay and Gustave Gosselin piloted it to second place.
Ferrari 275 GTB Competizione Clienti
The 275 GTB replaced the 250-series cars, which meant that something was needed to supersede the 250 GTO in racing. For that reason, Ferrari produced the Competizione Clienti variant of the 275 GTB. These used a lightweight aluminium body, external fuel-filler cap and a larger 140-litre fuel tank. Each of the ten cars was handbuilt, and each one varies in detail. This car, chassis 07407, is one of that first series of ten Competizione Clienti cars built in 1965 by the factory competition department. These featured specially prepared engines with high-lift camshafts and six twin-choke Weber 40DCN/3 carburettors producing an impressive 290-300bhp.
Ferrari 250 GT Ellena
Following on from the first Ferrari 250 GT series cars in 1954, Pininfarina introduced the second series, a 250-based prototype, at the 1956 Geneva Motor Show. This was known as the 250 GT Boano, after Mario Boano to whom Pininfarina turned for assistance in order to meet demand for construction. Pininfarina had recently become Ferrari’s coachbuilder of choice, but his new production plant outside Turin was still under construction. With the old one working to capacity, he handed the build of the 250 GT to Mario Boano, who was previously with Farina and was now working independently. After building 80 examples, Boana handed over production to his son-in-law Ezio Ellena, at Carrozzeria Ellena. Ezio built only 50 Ellenas, although the first eight were identical to the Boano models – this car is the 17th Ellena, featuring elegant, high-roof bodywork.
The Main Concours display is just one part of the overall Concours of Elegance event, which also includes special features like a McLaren F1 GTR display celebrating McLaren’s victory at Le Mans 24 Hours in 1995. The Future Classics class will be returning, showcasing a line-up of the latest bespoke or limited edition hypercars and hundreds of rare and exotic cars will enter the Palace each day for the Car Club Displays. Sponsored by Classic & Sports Cars, these displays are made up of entrants from some of the nation’s top car clubs, including those of Jaguar, Bentley, Aston Martin and more.
With audience welfare in mind, the organisers have created a new operational plan including revised hospitality and restricted audience capacity, with the introduction of separate morning and afternoon tickets. Guest numbers will also be strictly limited to comply with social distancing guidance.
Report by concoursofelegance.co.uk
