Some more... 3505GT, 3809GT, 4153GT and 5575GT. You can see how different they are... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Weren't some of them open to the side of the instrument nacelle? I seem to recall riding with Jess Pourret and seeing an open bar in front of me.
I dont know the serial (I am sure someone here knows, but I am not well-versed enough yet), but there was one at the Nurburgring this past weekend. I will try to post photos later. PDG
Here are a couple I saw at Limerock in '04 at the Ferrari/Maserati track days. Unsure of chassis number/orginality but they were the fastest cars there not on racing slicks. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Here's the other one, it obviously doesn't have the modern racing amenities (original wood wheel, seats and no fire suppression system). It wasn't being driven as hard as the red one... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
This one is the Famous Swedish Coloured 3445GT... Here it is at Targa Florio 1964... Image Unavailable, Please Login
I beg to differ.... I drove the crap out of that GTO (3445/GT) at the Lime Rock Event. The tires were nearly ten years old at that point and the shocks frozen solid. My friend loaned me the car for free.... I simply did not have the time or money to make quick fixes before the event. Still it was one very sweet ride and now very much missed. Cheers, Bill
Lucky you Bill! It would be a dream for most of us to drive a 250GTO, probably too carefully now because of her value... I heard that the 250 GTO was one of the best balanced handling racer ever...
Too carefully? Not really so. The repair cost is what counts, not the value of the car (except in certain cases where the originality might be reduced). This cost is not much different between say an exact GTO copy/replica for instance (build cost $3-400k?) and the real thing. Actually Nick Mason said more or less the same thing when being interviewed live from the grid about racing his GTO at Goodwood last month.
I have sold and raced several nice GTOs over the years. The last time I raced one was in the 2004 reunion race in Monterey. The last sale I personally was involved in was in 2005. They are impossibly easy to drive even with my meager talents. They are basically a slight step up in all areas of an SWB. One more, gear, no oil surge through the turns (dry sump tank) and the cleaner aerodynamics convert similar bhp to quicker acceleration and higher top speed. Of course a well driven Shelby GT350 or 289 Cobra does just about the same thing using brute bhp. In the end, all things being equal, all three turn very similar times on any given track. They just do it in a different way. As for fear of damaging a GTO or similar valued vehicle on the track, most owners seem not so concerned. Phil Hill said it best when he was queried once about fearing driving such a valuable car. He said something like ...if it worth that much, than its worth fixing it if I crash it! We just got in a nice 250TR and the first thing I did was take it for a blast around the neighborhood. I sure hope my company lets me race it or the next custodian is kind enough to give me a chance to run it for him in an event or two... I would think all things being relative, a 250 TR has to be worth more than most average GTOs but probably not as valuable as the best examples which are so locked up tight in collections that they are not likely ever to come to market again in my lifetime. Cheers, Bill
Of course, I hear rumors the market is crashing really bad. I and am therefore very hopeful to land several GTOs back at the $2.5M to $4M range.... Anyone have one they want to send my way???
hi Can someone pls explain to me what is the incident that involves a GTO and the death of its driver? i have seen reference to this in another thread but simply did not fully understand why that was a major issue with respect to that specific GTO.
Hi 246Tasman. I guess, I would feel paralyzed at first. But then after taking her up some gears and hearing the engine sound, the gear whine the wind noise, and smelling the oil and petrol, I would imagine myself being Phil Hill at Le Mans and drive her the way she's supposed to! I can only imagine a perfect 4 wheel drift in a corner with a 250GTO... Then I can die without any regrets ;-)
3387GT today and at the 12h of Sebring in 1963. Same colour???? Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Yes a 250GTO is a great car, but I think these things can get a bit out of proportion. As far as (track) driving thrills go I have to confess that I enjoy many other cars as much as my experience in a good GTO copy which seemed to handle & go no different from the real GTO I experienced from the passenger seat driven by Willie Green at Silverstone a few years back. Actually I'll stick my neck out here and say the driving experience is better for me in historic rear engined single seaters of the pre downforce era, but we're all different!
3223GT, The 1st GTO. Official Pic (I believe), At Sebring and Daytona in 1964 then at Mas Du Clos for the GTO 25th anniversary in 1987 (Copyright JCC)... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
