The world seems to have ground to a halt this year, with the Covid-19 pandemic forcing many major annual events to be cancelled. However, in an attempt at striking a balance between social distancing and returning to a normal life, the Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court Palace in Great London will go ahead as planned on 4-6 September. As the first major international concours since March, the event will showcase some of the rarest and most iconic Ferraris alongside other coach-built rarities, Formula 1 challengers, and hypercars.
The exceptional lineup is led by Chassis 3387GT – the second-ever Ferrari 250 GTO produced and the only example to feature an early pot-riveted rear spoiler. Leaving the factory in 1962, it was the class winner and overall runner up at the 12 Hours of Sebring, and raced in the Le Mans 24 hours, Nassau, and Daytona. The car has now been restored by Joe Macari and Ferrari Classiche to its perfect original condition.
Fast forward to 1965 and the Ferrari 275 P2 was unleashed and added to the P Series prototype racing car lineage. Although it didn’t beat Ford at Le Mans, it triumphed at the Targa Florio and the 1000km Nurburgring for the factory team. This particular example also raced for the Ecurie Francorchamps team and was later converted to 365 P2 configuration before being sent to Ferrari Classiche for a full restoration.
Up next is a 1965 Ferrari 250 LM that once scored a second-place finish at Le Mans. While the FIA refused to homologate this model as a grand-touring car, this was soon resolved with the introduction of Group 4 in 1966. Chassis 6313 was the second-to-last Ferrari 250LM built and was sold new to the Ecurie Francorchamps racing team.
After the 250 series came the 275 GTB, which included ten Competizione Clienti examples. These were hand-built with an aluminium body, external fuel-filler cap and a larger fuel tank, with each build featuring subtle variations. Chassis 07407 here features a 290-300hp engine with a high-lift camshaft and six twin-choke Weber 40DCN/3 carburettors.
Last but not least is the Ferrari 250 GT Ellena with its high-roof bodywork. How the Ellena variant of the 250 GT came about is an interesting story: Pininfarina originally introduced a second series of the Ferrari 250 GT, but due to construction demands and production plant limitations, the build was handed over to independent coachbuilder Mario Boano. He completed 80 examples before passing it on to his son-in-law Ezio Ellena at Carrozzeria Ellena, who built 50 further examples in total.
