Mark Anthony Cella On The 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Competizione
Mark Anthony Cella and the Ferrari 250 cc Grand Touring Sport Coupe for Competition
The precursor to the Berlinetta, which means “Sport Coupe,” was the Ferrari 250 GTO. Indeed the GTO was built on the strength of Ferrari’s record producing V12 GT racers. GTO equates to “Gran Turismo Omologato,” Italian for “Grand Touring Homologated,” while homologated means “Official Agreement”. The 250 is the cubic centimeter displacement of each cylinder in the engine.
Mark Anthony Cella Officially Agrees This Car is all About Racing
The SWB was built from 1953 to 1964 and really put Ferrari in the limelight. It became Ferrari’s most successful car line of that time. It was their first all wheel disc brake vehicle. One model was their first four seater. Its V12 engine weighed about half as much as the competition’s. The higher tuned ones hammered up to 280bhp at 7,000 rpm. They had a four speed manual tranny, all of which exploded the car to more victories then I can list, here’s just a few:
1960 Le Mans 24 hr race, it took 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th, while Chevy and Aston Martin were far behind. It won three repeat 5500 km Tour de Frances, while taking 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the 1960 event. That season driver Sterling Moss lapped the entire field at Goodwood to take the second consecutive win. SWB won all over in England, Monza Italy, Spa, Nurbrgring, and Monthlery.
The Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Competizione weighed in at only 2,314 lbs., giving it a very high power to weight ratio. Top speed was approximately 152 mph, and 0-60 was done it 6.2 sec. Great numbers for this era.
Mark Anthony Cella Votes it One of the Greatest Ferraris Ever
It is said that owners of this car had the luxury and thrill of being able to drive it to the race track, unload their luggage and be ready to race with minimal or no modifications. Just place their numbers on the sides and race. Although the competition models did have an extra 30-40 horsepower and other modifications like shorter wheel base, and aluminum vs. steal, not much could help most other manufacturers.
Out of the ten Greatest Ferraris of all time, Motor Trend ranked this one 5th. Sports Car International placed it at 7 Top Sports Cars of the 60’s. Mark A Cella gave it first place of his 1960’s Muscle Car Picks, second is the 67 Corvette Sting Ray and third being the cherished 1968 Chevy Camaro.
Learn more about Mark Anthony Cella Ferraris, and read more about Mark Anthony Cella’s work.
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