Friday's Ferrari

This is a photograph I took at the Christie's International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1992 which featured a special display of Ferraris in the paddock numbered 1 to 32, and a page in the programme of the event gave details of each of the cars.

This is a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Competizione, chassis #2735GT, and is the Rob Walker entered car with which Stirling Moss won the 1961 Tourist Trophy race at Goodwood. The car was rebodied by Piero Drogo after competing in the 1962 Tourist Trophy race, but was restored in stages from the 1970s, the complete restoration being finished in 2009. The car on the left is a 1950 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta that the factory brought up to 195, and later to 212 specifications. Owned by Dudley Mason-Styrron it is chassis #0040M. On the right is a Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta Scaglietti TdF at the time owned by Peter Hannen and is chassis #1353GT.

Friday's Ferrari

This car competed in a round of the Shell Ferrari Maserati Historic Challenge series of races at the Vintage Sports Car Club's SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2004 and is seen here leaving the pit lane during a practice session.

It's Swiss driver Conrad Ulrich's 1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta, better known as the Tour de France, or TdF. Four different versions of the TdF were built between 1955 and 1959 and are identified by the number of louvres in the sail panel behind the side windows. Fourteen examples of the earliest model were produced, and these cars didn't have any louvres. The second version had fourteen louvres and nine of these were built, then seventeen cars were built with three louvres and lastly thirty-seven with one louvre. Conrad Ulrich's car, which is chassis #1141GT, is one of the one louvre models. All the cars have the Giaocchino Colombo designed 2,953cc V12 engine, and have Scaglietti designed bodies except for five of the Series One model where the bodies were designed by Zagato.

On 25 January 2019 I showed a photograph of the car stationary in the pit lane at this meeting.

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 car is pictured in the pit lane during a practice session at the SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2004 where it took part in a round of the Shell Ferrari Maserati Historic Challenge series of races.

It's the 1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB TdF of Swiss driver Conrad Ulrich and is chassis #1141GT. Officially known as the Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta it began to be known as the LWB - or Long Wheel Base model - after the introduction of a new series with a wheel base 20cm shorter which was referred to as the Short Wheel Base, or SWB. It received the TdF title after its win in the 1956 Tour de France endurance race which allowed it to use that name, as the official Ferrari website says:

'Any manufacturer whose car won the event, was permitted by the organisers to use the event name as part of the model title. Hence, after winning the 1956 running of the event, Ferrari could use the nomenclature. Although never used officially, it has become the general term used to identify this series of berlinettas.'

The car has the Colombo designed 2,953cc V12 engine used by the majority of the 250 series of cars, and is one of the 37 single louvre series of TdF models that were produced between 1957 and 1959.

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 1959 Ferrari 250GT LWB Berlinetta TdF of Plinio Haas, which has the 2,952cc Gioacchino Columbo designed V12 engine common to most of the 250 series cars. Four series of the TdF, a total of 77 cars, were produced between 1956 and 1959 which were defined by the number of louvres in the sail panel between the side and the rear windows. The first series had no louvres, the second 14 louvres, next 3 louvres and finally a single louvre. Plinio Haas's car is chassis #1401GT, one of the last series with only one louvre.

I've shown photographs of this car at this meeting twice previously, on 17 July 2015 and 21 October 2017.

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).

Ferrari 250 GT TdF

This car competed in the Coys of Kensington Ferrari GT Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1997.

It's the 1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta TdF of Edmond Pery, and is the 1 louvre model. It's chassis #0931GT, although the barchetta.cc website shows it to have been wearing number 48 at this meeting - but number 48 at Silverstone was the Ferrari 250 GTO of Anthony Wang. I've shown photographs of the 250 GT TdF several times previously, which you can see if you type 'TdF' into the search box at the top right of the screen.

Friday's Ferrari

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

The blue car is Stephen Dudley's 1950 Ferrari 166/195, which I've featured before, on 6 September 2013, at Silverstone. The car was originally a 166, but was converted to 195 specifications in 1951 and is chassis #071S. The car behind it is the 1951 Maserati A6GCM of Julia de Baldanza (#2033) and in front is the 1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB TdF of Conrad Ulrich (#1141GT). The photograph was taken at Redgate corner.

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

This car was in the Ferrari Owners Club area at the Christie's International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1992.

It's Fred Lindkvist's 1957 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta TdF, chassis number 0781GT. There are 4 versions of the TdF, defined by the number of louvres in the sail panel behind the door windows: no louvres, 14 louvres, 3 louvres and 1 louvre. This car is one of the 3 louvre models.

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

This car took part in one of the Historic Ferrari-Maserati Challenge races at the VSCC's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Donington Park in June 2003.

It's a 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta TdF belonging to Plinio Haas. The car is serial number 1401GT and on 17 July 2015 I showed a photograph of it taking part in the SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in 2004.

Friday's Ferrari

This is a car that appears regularly at historic car meetings in the hands of the owner David Cottingham and is here seen at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in 1993.

It's a 1957 Ferrari 500 TRC, with a 2 litre 4-cylinder engine, that was conceived as a customer car and never raced by the works. The serial number is 0682MDTR. Behind it is the 1958 Ferrari 250 GT Tour de France, serial number 0911GT, then owned by Reza Rashidian.

Friday's Ferrari

Today's car competed in the Shell Ferrari Maserati Historic Challenge race at the SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2004.

It's the Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta TdF of Swiss driver Plinio Haas, seen here in the pit lane during a practice session. There were 4 different versions of the Tour de France car, each identified by the number of louvres in the sail panel on each side of the car between the side and rear windows. There were cars with no louvre, a single louvre. three louvres and fourteen louvres. This particular car is one of the single louvre models, of which 36 examples were built, and has the serial number 1401GT.

Friday's Ferrari

I showed photographs of the Ferrari 250GT TdF on 25 May 2012 and here's another photograph of one taken at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1993.

It doesn't appear to have taken part in any of the races at that meeting, but the registration number here appears to be TDF 266 which belongs to the car with serial number 0911GT and the owner was Reza Rashidian.

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.