Spotted today in Southern California. Not my photos. Posted by @alphaluxe on Instagram. Anyone know the S/N? Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Thanks for the great spot! We have several more weeks of cold, salt, gravel and potholes before we can take our Ferraris out on the scenic coastal roads here in PA.
Sorry...don’t mean to sidetrack the thread... But where are these coastal roads in PA...? The coast of the mighty Susquehanna?
No, this is a fiberglass body built in 1987-1988. Owner Joseph Nitti had it done, but I don't know by whom. Last I heard, it had 330 2+2 engine 6533.
https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/help-trying-to-find-250gte-testarossa-rebody-built-by-my-father.552699/
PeterP - If you are questioning a GTE with a 330 2+2 engine, some explanation may be in order. Mr. Nitti made the replica from GTE 4257 GT, including the chassis and engine. Not sure how much else was used, but the two models have a lot in common. In December of 2004 the car was offered for sale without an engine and I do not know where the original one went. By the end of 2005 the replica TR was for sale with engine 6533. So it still has the chassis and who knows what else from 4257 GT, the engine from 6533 and a fiberglass body from who knows where...
Hi Tom, not questioning the components at all and I know you know your stuff. I just decided to not comment rather than make some kind of smart ass statement like "why didn't they also take out a 365GT while they were at it?". I should not have commented at all really. I realize the 330 GT engine was probably bought standalone, rather than ripped out of a functioning car, but it still pains me to see major components of 2 real cars go into the making of one replica. That sentiment, however genuine, probably doesn't give me the right to fan the flames as I did.
Yeah, but it happened a lot... When this was done, the GTEs and 330 2+2s were at such a low price that one could not justify restoring them, so a fun hot rod seemed like a good idea. If those folks had any idea of where prices would go, we would have a lot more of them today! And no offence taken, by the way, just making sure the details are correct.
Yes, it was built by GTO Engineering. No, it is not fiberglass. Owned by the same Washington, D.C. attorney who showed a Greg Jones-built 250 GTO replica #1273 GT at the 2017 FCA National Meet at Daytona. Here’s his 250 TR replica driving today in West Los Angeles (intersection of Olympic and Beverly Glen):
So...if the car sighted in California is using chassis number 4257 what is the car that was withdrawn from the Bonhams London Auction in December 2017: https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/24125/lot/230/ This car was still in the UK as of last month (and probably still is), still carrying the blue and white stripe seen in the Bonhams images. In August 1989 Foreign Cars Italia in North Carolina offered chassis 4257 for sale and was described as a 250 TR replica by DK Engineering... The car using chassis 4257 appeared at the 1992 Ferrari Club of America meeting in 1992 in Grand Rapids, Michigan where it was described as a 250 TR Pontoon fendered replica with fibreglass bodywork... So...do both cars carry elements of 4257 or is someone (the builders) being creative with the chassis numbers? Paul
Unlike the one very recently spotted in Los Angeles, the fiberglass Bonhams car has external door hinges. Plus the small Scaglietti badges forward of each passenger door are positioned differently on the two cars.
I agree they are two different cars...but are they both using the same chassis number? Could this be the reason, as Grant pointed out above, the car was withdrawn from the Bonhams auction? Paul
Another TR Replica: https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/posts/143883066/ https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/posts/143883252/
Let me do some research on the GTO built car in California. It could be the photos I have of it were mis-identified. Good job of tracking it down, Terra!
The car in Southern California is #2963 GT. It's the THIRD (3rd) Pontoon TR built by GTO Engineering. And it's fitted with an Aluminum body as previously mentioned.
Looks like #4257 has now been stripped the TR bodywork is up for sale. This was the car withdrawn from bohnams. Anybody know what the story is behind why it seems to have been stripped? And what happened to the chassis etc? http://topclassiccarsforsale.com/ferrari/697512-1957-ferrari-250-testa-rossa-body-made-for-le-mans-classic.html