Ferrari Fantasies Fueled at Lime Rock Park Historic Festival Sunday in the Park


 

Lakeville, Conn., 9 August, 2017

Red—and silver—will resound at Lime Rock Park Historic Festival 35 with tifosi celebrating Ferrari’s 70th anniversary at the Sunday in the Park Concours d’Elegance and Gathering of the Marques on September 3, 2017. Maranello’s most rare, sleek and prancing horsepowered-fast will grace the Lakeville, Conn., show.  

A 1961 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Competizione Speciale will headline the “Tifosi Fantasy” featured class display. The one-off alloy-bodied Pininfarina “aerodynamico” coupe, s/n 2429GT, resting on a 250 short wheelbase chassis in the rare Comp61 specification, was special ordered from Ferrari by Maitre Paul Villard, a close friend of Enzo Ferrari and the Paris attorney who represented the early 1960’s French Ferrari agent Franco-Brittanic Automobiles. A luxurious high-speed tourer, 2429 and its current owner have enjoyed rally action throughout the United States and Europe. With styling based on the Ferrari Pininfarina 1960 Turin Show car, the custom-appointed modeling and body configuration were restored to original for display and awards at the Cavallino Classic Concorso d’Eleganza, Classic Sports Sunday at Mar-a-Lago and the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. 


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Bred in secrecy to fulfill homologation regulations for the FIA’s Group 3 GT Cars category, the Ferrari GTO epitomizes the height of the marques’ performance and styling. Only 39 of the “Gran Turismo Omologato” were produced from 1962 to 1964; Enzo Ferrari manipulated chassis numbers and juggled car locations to create the illusion of the requisite 100. Taking center stage will be 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO s/n 3647GT, one of 17 built as a right-hand drive car, which has mastered such circuits as Mallory Park, Brands Hatch, Goodwood, Targa Florio and Nürburgring steered by John Surtees, Mark Parkes, Tommy Hitchcock and Zourab Tchkotoua, among others. Lime Rock Park, Mont-Tremblant, Laguna Seca and Monterey have witnessed its current race outings with showings at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance and The Quail. 

Furthering the powerpack will be 1963 Ferrari 250P/330P s/n 0810 still bragging victory at its first outing at the 1963 12 Hours of Sebring at the hands of John Surtees and Ludovico Scarfiotti, a Le Mans 24 Hours third-place win with Mike Parkes and Umberto Maglioli at the wheel and a first in the Canadian Grand Prix with drivers Pedro Rodriguez, the same year. Nürburgring, Bridgehampton, Vanderbilt Cup and 24 Hours of Daytona have also witnessed its speed. The original 250 was converted to 330 in 1964. Lime Rock Park, Laguna Seca, Goodwood and Road America are its current racing denizens with Amelia Island and Ferrari Club of America concours showings. Another 1963 Ferrari 250P made history as the first mid-engined car to win the fabled Le Mans endurance race that year guided by Lorenzo Bandini and Ludovico Scarfiotti. Ferrari chief engineer Mauro Forghieri had slightly lengthened its predecessor 246 SP’s tubular frame to fit a Testa Rossa-derived 300-horsepower 3.0-liter V-12, and situated the engine, five-speed gearbox, and final drive behind the two-place cockpit. Ferrari was charged for victory. 

The first Vignale-bodied Ferrari stars in the class as 1950 Ferrari 166MM Berlinetta s/n 0062M. Introduced at the 1948 Turin Salon, the Ferrari 166 saw production of 32 MMs with all donning Touring bodies save one with a Ghia body and this example. Early racing ventures for the 12-cylinder Colombo engine-powered car included clinching third at the 1953 Rouen Grand Prix with driver Yanne Floch and an outing at the Rallye Sable-Solesmes. It has been modestly used since its 1960 import to the United States with more recent track time with the Lime Rock Park Drivers Club and remains unrestored with 8,000km on the odometer. 

Lime Rock Park’s Favorite Son Sam Posey will be reunited with the 1970 Ferrari 512M that he and Tony Adamowicz drove to third place overall in the 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans. S/N 1020 was part of Luigi Chinetti’s North American Racing Team (NART) and also competed at Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen and Bonneville and taken to the Amelia Island and New York City Concours d’Elegance show fields. 

This year’s August 31- September 4 Lime Rock Park Historic Festival 35 presented by the Prestige Family of Fine Cars celebration will rev up with the traditional Vintage Race and Sports Car Parade on August 31. Drivers from North America, England and Europe and as far away as Australia will test their historic racecars over three days of spirited competition on September 1, 2 and 4. The September 3 Sunday in the Park Concours d’Elegance will showcase approximately 200 rare and unique cars from the Brass Era to modern as well as motorcycles, and the Gathering of the Marques will line the track with 1,000 cars grouped by make, country of origin or enthusiast club. 

Nominated by the International Historic Motoring Awards as Motorsports Event of the Year 2016, Historic Festival Chairman Murray Smith lauds the program’s “uniqueness in featuring splendid racing for important and historic cars and a world-class Concours d’Elegance at the same site on the same weekend.”