The
Ferrari 250 GTO is a
GT car which was produced by
Ferrari from 1962 to 1964 for homologation into the
FIA's
Group 3 Grand Touring Car category.
The numerical part of its name denotes the
displacement in
cubic centimeters of each cylinder of the
engine, whilst GTO stands for "Gran Turismo Omologata",
Italian for "Grand Touring
Homologated."
When new, the GTO commanded an $18,000 purchase price in the United States, and buyers had to be personally approved by
Enzo Ferrari and his dealer for North America,
Luigi Chinetti.
36 cars were made in the years '62/'63. In 1964 'Series II' was introduced, which had a slightly different look. Three such cars were made, and four older 'Series I' were given a 'Series II' body. It brought the total of GTOs produced to 39.
In 2004,
Sports Car International placed the 250 GTO eighth on a list of
Top Sports Cars of the 1960s, and nominated it the top sports car of all time.<!--contradiction in terms--> Similarly,
Motor Trend Classic placed the 250 GTO first on a list of the "Greatest Ferraris of all time".
Design and development
The 250 GTO was designed to compete in
GT racing. It was based on the
250 GT SWB. Chief engineer
Giotto Bizzarrini installed the 3.0
L V12 engine from the
250 Testa Rossa into the chassis from the 250 GT SWB and worked with designer
Sergio Scaglietti to...
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