77 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinettas were built from 1956 to 1959 in four series. To make things interesting Carrozzeria Scaglietti built the model with; no louvres in the C panel, 1 louvre in the C panel, 3 louvres in the C panel or 14 louvres in the C panel across the four series.
To keep things simple the 250 GT Berlinetta is also known as the Long Wheelbase Berlinetta (LWB) and Tour de France (TdF), an event for motor vehicles won by 250 GT LWB’s from 1956 to 1959.
Today’s featured 1958 1 louvre model, seen at Silverstone Classic, appears to be chassis #1035GT with which Cuban sugar baron Alfonso Gomez-Mena and a co driver known only as Meyer competed on the 1958 Tour de France.
The pair did not finish the event but Alfonso is known to have competed in at least 6 further events with the car.
In March 1959 Alfonso shared #1035GT with fellow Cuban Juan Montalvo in the Sebring 12 Hours where they finished 20th overall and 2nd in class. The pair shared the same chassis the following month in the 1000km race at Daytona were classified 12th though their engine expired before the finish.
Alfonso then took the car to Cuba where he finished second in the 1959 4 hour Almar race, 2nd in the 1960 Havanna GT race and finally 11th in the 1960 Cuban Grand Prix.
Racingsportscars.com also shows results for a 1959 race in Venezuela called the Ojeda City Grand Prix, no precise date is given for the event but Alfonso is credited as the winner beating the only other known contestants Venezuelan’s Lino Fayen and Ettore Chimeri who were also both driving Ferrari 250 GTs though the order in which the latter finished is also unknown.
Thanks for joining me on this “Ojeda City Winner” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a Ginetta. Don’t forget to come back now !