I Don't Have a Favorite, But...
By Edwin K. Niles

Every once in a while, someone will ask me to describe my favorite Ferrari.  Honestly, I don’t think I can.  However, in the list of top 10 would have to be the 250GT Berlinetta built from 1960 through 1963.  This model is commonly called the “SWB” or short wheelbase.

This designation is commonly used to differentiate it from the 250GT Berlinetta of 1954 through 1959. The earlier model had the dreaded “inside plug” V12 engine, huge drum brakes, and a wheelbase of 102 inches.

These early Berlinettas were quite successful at sports car racing venues.  In fact, the common name of “Tour de France” came from the fact that one of these cars won that event outright, at the hands of Olivier Gendebien. (0677GT)

When the short wheelbase Ferrari came up,
it made an enormous change in Ferrari’s
prospects for sports car racing victories.  The new car, on a chassis of 94 inches was extremely attractive visually, but (far more important) incorporated several new features, the most important of which were an improved engine with spark plugs located on the outside of the heads, and (for the first time) disc brakes. 

If you have ever driven an early Ferrari with drum brakes, I won’t have to explain what an improvement the disc brakes were.  The old drum brakes, even when properly adjusted and properly bedded in, brought the car to a rather stately halt. With the new disc brakes, Ferrari had caught up with some of the other manufacturers, and drivers could now dive toward a corner, using the brakes at the last possible instant, knowing that the brakes were capable of locking the wheels at any speed.

The SWB, as it came to be known, was built in several different configurations.  The early cars could be distinguished by certain characteristics in the body styling from the later versions.  Along the way, some cars were built with steel bodies, while others were built in thin aluminum.  Most of the steel bodied car had plush seats, although thin “shell” competition seats could be found on some of the steel bodied cars as well as those skinned in alloy.

In 1961, near the end of the run, one of the biggest changes was seen.  A few cars were built with the designation “61 Comp”, but which are now commonly called “SEFAC Hotrods”.

It’s not my purpose to tell you all there is to know about 250GT Berlinettas.  The subject has been covered in several books, and the above is just a little background for those of you not familiar with the model.

Now I’ll be the first to admit that modern cars are greatly superior to the kind of Ferrari about which I will be writing.  How could they not be?  After all, the 250GT Berlinetta “SWB” hit the market forty-five years ago!  By today’s standards, they don’t handle that well, they aren’t that powerful, and they are hot and noisy.  Oh, did I mention there was no radio or air conditioning?

Nevertheless, in the context of their era, the short wheelbase Ferraris were absolutely sensational.

In ensuing months, I’ll tell you about some of my adventures with this particular model, still one of my favorites.

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