1962 FERRARI 250 GTO

In the 1960s, Ferrari named its racing car 250 GTO for the Grand Touring racing category (Gran Turismo Omologato). One of the greatest of all Ferraris, the GTO was in fact completely fraudulent, with only thirty-seven chassis built by the factory, each with considerable variation in body shape and detail. Nevertheless, it was a magnificent machine.

Falsification continues to this day, with numerous ‘GTOs’ having been constructed using more mundane 250 GT components. Whether true or false, driven hard or kept in a museum, GTOs are absolutely magnificent, with unequalled proportions for the volumes of the bodywork and an elegant austerity in the shaping of such details as the hot-air outlets on the front wings and the transparent fairings over the headlights. There is no décor, no extraneous trim, yet even the interiors are shaped with that typical Italian concern for beauty. Not for these Ferrari masterpieces the technical fighter-plane instrumentation often seen on racing cars from other countries. Italian coachbuilders just naturally mount the gauges in gently curved sections of the fascia, always seeking elegance.

These extracts are taken from Auto Legends: Classics of Style and Design by Michel Zumbrunn, text by Robert Cumberford which was published in October by Merrell