Tag Archives: 550

Ferraris On The Green – Niello Concours At Serrano

Continuing our look at some of the cars at Niello Concours at Serrano which I started on Wednesday and will conclude next Wednesday here are some of the Ferrari’s present as seen by Karl Krause.

Ferrari 328 GTS, Niello Concours at Serrano

There are many older Ferrari’s in the USA than this Ferrari 328 GTS, but I found this interesting article about a Ferrari 328 GTS owner in Poland, where his car is amongst the oldest Ferrari’s in the country.

Ferrari 550, Niello Concours at Serrano

Despite the fact I’ve never held any leaning towards the game of golf or golfers to whom the Ferrari 550 above is aimed at with it’s boot trunk big enough to take a golf bag I have always been a fan of the Ferrari 550 because the engine is in the correct end of the car.

Ferrari 360, Niello Concours at Serrano

While looking for unusual info on the Ferrari 360 like the one above I found this fascinating topical tip on how to increase the range of of the key alarm fob from two feet to 40 feet for free on facebook of all places.

Ferrari 360, Niello Concours at Serrano

MG used to run ads with the strap line “your mother would not like it”, same applies to a matt black Ferrari 360 in my humble opinion, I guess that is a good reason to re-examine my aversion to the combination.

Ferrari 458 Italia, Niello Concours at Serrano

Finally the Ferrari 458 Italia is without question the best looking Ferrari I’ve seen for a long time, wonder if I’ll ever get bored drooling over them.

My thanks to Karl Krause for sharing today’s photographs.

Thanks for joining me for this “Ferrari’s On The Green” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at the first of a series of racing paint jobs on a street vehicle. Don’t forget to come back now !

Celebrity Car – Ferrari 550 Maranello GTS

Road Legal Ferrari’s A Brief History – Niello Serrano Concours

1 Reply

For Ferrari Friday GALPOT continues yesterdays perusal of vehicles on display at the Niello Serrano Concours thanks to Geoffrey Hortons photographs.

First up a Ferrari 250 GT/E 2+2, one these models was Enzo Ferrari’s daily driver, early GALPOT readers may remember such a vehicle appearing in a previous blog, albeit modified into a replica 250 GT SWB Competizione.

More exclusive, one of just 200 models built between 1965 and 1968, is this Ferrari 275 GTS powered by a 3.3 litre / 201 cui V12.

The V6 Ferrari Dino had been in production for two years and two distinct series from 1969 to 1971 before the first Series III Dino’s were manufactured for the US market, this is one of 1,431 Series III Dinos produced between 1971 and 1974.

Manufactured between 1971 and 1972 the Ferrari 365 GTC/4 is a 2+2. One of the 500 examples produced appeared in the 1977 film Herbie Goes To Monte Carlo alongside several other Ferraris including a slightly more powerful 365 GTB/4 Daytona with which the GTC/4 shares a common chassis.

Representing Maranello’s prancing black horse for the 1980’s at Niello Serrano was this Ferrari 328 GTS of which some 7400 were manufactured between 1985 and 1989.

Ferrari returned to manufacturing motor cars with the engine in front of the driver in 1996 with the beefy 550. With a boot / trunk large enough to carry a set of golf clubs the Ferrari 550 was turned into a handy racer at Le Mans by the likes of Prodrive.

Twentieth model in Ferraris catalogue of street legal exotics is the Ferrari 360 a model produced from 1999 – 2005 which you may remember from an earlier blog was made available with an optional Tubi Style exhaust to provide extra horsepower and amplify the sound.

With a 200 mph top speed the Ferrari F430 that replaced the 360 in 2004 arguably had no need of gimmicks like optional Tubi Style exhausts. It looks good, sounds good and goes fast, pretty much everything one could want from a Ferrari except of course it’s replacement the F458 Italia.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing the delights of the California Concours season with us at GALPOT, I look forward to seeing what motoring delights he will find next year.

Thanks for joining me for Ferrari Friday, I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at an innovative Lotus with a body designed by Peter Kirwan-Taylor. Don’t forget to come back now !

Ferrari by David Bailey – Ferrari 550 Maranello GTS

4 Replies

Some of you who read my Rowdy blogs may remember a blog about the 2002 celebrity Prodrive Ferrari 550 Marranello GTS (03).

That chassis took part in at least 42 Races in the GT/GTS class for at least four different teams from 2002 to 2006 and had a host of celebrity drivers including,

Colin McRae World Rally Champion, British Touring Car Champions Rickard Rydell & Alain Menu, British, Luc Alphand former World Cup Skiing Champion and Dakar winner, David Brabham Japanese GT Champion and Le Mans winner 2009, Jan Magnussen Danish Touring Car Champion, Danica Patrick queen of IRL, Darren Manning IRL driver, Christophe Bouchut 1993 Le Mans Winner, and one of my former racing instructors Tim Sugden former British and Asia Pacific GT Champion.

Prodrive prepared a batch of 20 550 Maranello GTS’s for racing in Europe and the States where they were regular winners in the GT/GTS class in 2001.

In 2003 today’s #88 550 Maranello GTS Chassis ZFFZR49B000108462, the 6th of the 20 Prodrive built, was driven by Thomas Enge, Jamie Davies and Peter Kox,

with around 750hp coming from it’s V12 engine,

beat the Corvettes by 10 laps at the Le Mans 24 hour race winning the GTS class coming home 10th overall.

This vehicle entered exclusively by the Prodrive team is known to have run in at least 9 races in 2003 in all bar one carrying the #88, this chassis carried the #08 in it’s last known final at Petite Le Mans.

When the effervescent Jackie Irwin, who has petrol running through her veins, told us on my recent visit to the Prodrive factory we were allowed to sit in some of the vehicles parked in the display area like a 12 year old I headed straight for the 550 Maranello,

the experience of sitting in this fabulous car was an odd mixture of agony and ecstasy, the seat was made for someone with hips the size of a 12 year old, yet at the same time the purposefulness of every last detail inside the vehicle sent my mind straight to Le Mans, by some strange fate I also found my self posing for this photograph taken by David Bailey , I am sure Twiggy would have felt far more comfortable in the seat, but then I doubt she would ever find herself posing for David Bailey of the Bristol Pegasus Motor Club.

My thanks to David Bailey, everyone at the Bristol Pegasus MC and Prodrive who made my visit such an interesting day out.

Hope you have enjoyed today’s David Bailey edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’ and that you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Leading From The Front – Ferrari 550 Maranello

3 Replies

In 1996 the Ferrari 550 Maranello saw the return of a model with a motor in the front to the top of the Ferrari range for the first time, since the much loved Ferrari Daytona 365 GTB4, in 20 years.

This top end vehicle was powered by a 485 hp twin cam 48 valve V12.

Featuring a tubular steel chassis the 550 Maranello was clothed with an aluminium body.

Capable of reaching 60 mph from rest in just 4.2 seconds the F550 could cover 402 meters in 12.5 seconds and had a top speed of 199 mph.

The 550 Maranello was also used in sports car racing by several private entrants including Prodrive who built 10 vehicles for themselves and BMS Scuderia Italia. Victories included a Class win at Le Mans for Prodrive in 2003 and the FIA GT Championship for BMS Scuderia Italia in 2004.

Hope you have enjoyed today’s front engine Ferrari Friday edition of ‘Gettin a lil’ psycho on tyres’ and that you’ll join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now🙂

West Coast Spyder – Porsche 550

5 Replies

My thanks go out again to Ed Arnaudin & Son for today’s photograph, Ed purchased this photo by Carlyle Blackwell of Jack McAfee in his John Edgar owned 550 most likely being driven to victory at Pebble Beach, a track I know very little about, on 22nd April 1956.

Photo Carlyle Blackwell, Publised Courtesy Blackwell Archive, for sales enquiry’s please e-mail infoATpsychoontyres.co.uk and your contact details will be forwarded to the Blackwell Archive.

Jack McAfee was an extremely successful West Coast driver who started out in hot rod racing by tuning a neighbour friends mother’s model T, unbeknown to the fellow’s poor mother.

Jack is best known for driving cars owned by John Edgar highlighted by a couple of international appearances including the Nurburgring 1000 kms. Driving the 550 seen here Jack became National class F champion in 1956.

At 29 Jack became the youngest ever Porsche Dealer and was responsible for the often copied McAfee aftermarket wheels for Porsche and VW cars long before Porsche cars were fitted with the iconic Fuchs alloy wheels.

Just 90 Porsche 550 purpose built racing cars, inspired by the 356 specials built and raced by Walter Gloecker, were produced from 1953 – 1956.

Allegedly one of these low slung cars was driven under a pair of railway crossing gates by Hans Hermann during the 1954 Mille Miglia. A light weight 550 A variant was driven to Porsche’s first major out right sports car victory by drivers Umberto Maglioli and Huschke von Hanstein in 1956 Targa Florio.

However all of the 550’s racing successes are dwarfed by it’s position in 20th century movie culture, outside a restraunt on the 23rd of September 1955 Alec Guiness, the original Obi-Wan Kenobi, was shown the #130 Porsche 550 known as ‘Little B*st*rd’ owned by an emerging acting talent and part time race driver.

Sir Alec thought the vehicle looked sinister and advised the owner ‘If you get in that car, you will be found dead in it by this time next week.’ Sadly, a prediction that came true on 30th September 1955 when the legend of James Byron Dean was born.

My thanks to Arnaudin & Son for the wonderful photograph and to racingsportscars.com for the race information.

Hope you have enjoyed today’s edition of getting a little psycho on tyres and that you’ll join me again tomorrow for a look at a Porsche in need of a little TLC. Don’t forget to come back now !

28 07 12 PS My thanks to Pamela Blackwell who has kindly retrospectively given me permission to post the photo’s her father took.

East Coast Spyders – Porsche 550 Spyder

2 Replies

Thanks to Ed Arnaudin for 3 more superb photographs from Thompson CT on July 20th 1958.

From race 7 we have three Porsche 550 Spyders.

Newton Davis, 550 Chassis 550-04 Finished 1st. Newton is known to have raced both Porsche and later Lotus cars from at least 1957 to at least 1965. He appears to have raced this one from 1958 – 1960.

Bernhard Vihl’s career is much less well known he appears to have entered races in 1955 and 1962 but not much is documented about him in between except we know that he finished 10th on this day in July behind the #123 Lister Bristol, #52 Jaguar C-type and #76 Aston Martin DB 3S mentioned in previous posts.

Warren James is known to have raced a Porsche 356 from ’54 to ’56 and then showed up with this 550 in 1958, this photograph extends Warrens known career by at least one race.

The fact that Newton Davis beat much more powerful V8 Maserati, Jaguar – Cadilllac Special a C-Type and an Aston Martin show’s he must have been an exceptional talent for handling the far nimbler 550 round the tight Thompson CT circuit, I’ll cover some of the technical details tomorrow with a photograph of a 550 on the West Coast.

Thanks to Arnaudin & Son for the photographs and to Terry O’Neil for the results information.

Don’t forget to come back now !

Gettin' A Li'l Psycho On Tyres

Art Tidesco blogs on all things motoring