Friday's Ferrari

This car took part in a round of the Shell Ferrari Maserati Historic Challenge series of races at the SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2004.

It's the 1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta of Swiss driver Thomas Studer, a car more often referred to as the TdF due to its successful performances in the Tour de France sports car races in the 1950s. It's one of the 1 louvre models, 37 of which were built between 1957 and 1959 and is chassis #0909GT. It has the 2,953cc V12 engine used by the vast majority of the Ferrari 250 models, and it's seen here in the pit lane during a practice session.

Friday's Ferrari

This is a car I've featured several times before, and it's seen here again at the SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2004.

It's Alexander Boswell's 1952 Ferrari 625, originally a 2 litre Formula 2 Ferrari 500, but fitted with a 2½ litre engine in 1954 and converted to a 625 to compete in the new 2½ litre Formula 1. By 2004 it had acquired a 3 litre sportscar engine, and this barchetta.cc record shows the history of #0482. There are three other Ferraris in this photograph, as well as the 1953 Maserati A6GCS of Carlo Vögele (no. 37): the yellow car in front of the 625 is Carlos Monteverde's 1958 Ferrari Testa Rossa (#0738TR), next to that is the 1958 Ferrari 250GT LWB Berlinetta TdF of Thomas Studer (#0909GT), and in front of that is Erich Traber's 1954 Ferrari 250 Europa GT Coupe (#0357GT).

Friday's Ferrari

Three Ferraris here today, at the SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2004.

Competing in a round of the Shell Ferrari Maserati Historic Challenge series are three Ferrari GT cars. All three have 3 litre 12-cylinder engines, and leading is the 1959 Ferrari 250GT LWB Berlinetta TdF of Plinio Haas, chassis number 1401GT. Behind that is the 1954 Ferrari 250 Europa GT Coupe of Erich Traber - being driven, according to the programme of the event, by Christian Traber - and is chassis number 0357GT. Bringing up the rear is the 1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta TdF of Thomas Studer, which is chassis number 0909GT.

Friday's Ferrari

Here's a car that I photographed in the pit garage at the Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Donington Park in June 2003.

It's not shown in the programme of the event, but it's a 1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta TdF and appears to be the one owned at that time by Carlo Vögele, serial number 0909GT. The history of that car doesn't show it as having taken part in this meeting, but Carlo Vögele drove his Maserati A6GCS in the Shell Historic Ferrari Maserati Challenge race at this meeting, so it was possibly driven here by Thomas Studer who drove the car in a meeting at Donington Park later that year. I showed a photograph of this car on 25 May 2012 competing in the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in 1999.

Friday's Ferrari

The Tour de France for automobiles began in 1899 and evolved into a contest featuring rallying on public roads, circuit races and hill climbs. It was won in 1956 by Alfonso de Portago in a Ferrari 250 Berlinetta designed and built by Pinin Farina. As a result the car became unofficially known as the 250 Tour de France, or TdF and 84 examples were built, mostly by Carrozzeria Scaglietti, and Ferrari went on to win the event 9 times in all. As far as I can ascertain seven were won by the TdF and the last two by the 250GTO.

Here are photographs of four Ferrari 250 GT TdF models, in each case taken at Coys International Historic Festival meetings at Silverstone.

A 1959 TdF, serial number 1333GT, at the Coys meeting in July 1994

This is a 1958 car, serial number 0881GT, at the Coys meeting in July 1997.

A 1956 car, serial number 0585GT, again at the 1997 Coys meeting.

This is a 1958 TdF, serial number 0909GT, seen at the 1999 Coys meeting.