Ferrari 250 LM

Das ungeliebte Kind

Ferrari, man sollte es bei allem Ruhm der Marke nicht vergessen, hat sich oft zu Erfolgen geschummelt. Die Italiener hatten – wie Porsche – immer ein enges Verhältnis zu den Funktionären, sogar Einfluss auf die Ausgestaltung der Reglemente; oft nahmen es die Kommissäre auch beim Zählen nicht so ganz genau, verliessen sich auf die Versprechen der jeweiligen Hersteller, dass die restlichen Exemplare dann schon noch gebaut würden. Doch das klappte auch nicht immer, wenn 100 Stück gefordert waren, man aber nur 32 hatte, dann wurde das Wegsehen allerdings auch schwierig.

Doch der Ferrari 250 LM hatte es eh schwer, er war ein ungeliebtes Kind. Enzo Ferrari hatte sich lange gesträubt gegen mittig eingebaute Motoren («bei einer Kutsche ziehen die Pferde auch vorne», soll er gesagt haben»). Dabei war es Anfang der 60er Jahre absehbar, dass der Mittelmotor auch bei den Sportwagen das Mass aller Ding werden würden, Carlo Chiti und Giotto Bizzarrini hatten es «il drago» immer wieder versucht zur erklären. Noch einigermassen halbherzig durfte ein Ferrari Dino 246 SP (Chassisnummer 0796) der erste Mittelmotor-Versuchsträger werden. Daraus wurden dann der 250P und seine Prototypen-Nachfolger entwickelt. Chiti und Bizzarrini gingen ihrer Wege, Pininfarina setzte dem 250 P ein Dach auf – und fertig war der 250 LM. Wobei diese Bezeichnung ja gar nicht stimmte, es wurde der 3,3-Liter-V12 eingebaut, das Fahrzeug hätte folglich 275 LM heissen sollen. Ob Enzo Ferrari wirklich gehofft hatte, dass die Funktionäre seinen schlechten Hubraum-Taschenspieler-Trick nicht bemerken würden, ist unbekannt.

Ausserdem: die Strassenversion, also der Stradale (oben), mit dem man noch zu retten versuchte, was nicht mehr zu retten war, hob gar nie ab. Mit seiner gewaltigen Heckscheibe machte er zwar Eindruck, doch der Bestellungseingang hielt sich in sehr engen Grenzen (man spricht von 16 Zusagen). Weil sich das beim besten Willen nicht rechnete, verzichteten Ferrari/Pininfarina komplett auf die Produktion, es blieb bei einem Prototypen (Chassisnummer #6025) und einem nachträglich umgebauten Exemplar (Chassisnummer #5995). Der 250 LM hatte aber als bei Scaglietti eingekleideter Rennwagen trotzdem Erfolg. Obwohl er nie vom Werk eingesetzt, sondern nur an Privatteams verkauft wurde und in der Prototypen-Klasse starten musste, konnten Rindt/Gregory 1965 die 24 Stunden von Le Mans gewinnen.

Es entsteht hier wieder einmal eine Sammlung. Etwas anders als sonst, denn die meisten dieser Ferrari 250 LM haben eine wilde Geschichte. Auf die wir teilweise gerne etwas vertiefter eingehen. Oder auch nicht.

Da braucht es natürlich auch eine Sammlung:

Chassis-Nummer: 5893

Mehr zu diesem Fahrzeug gibt es: hier.

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Chassis-Nummer: 5899

Auktion: RM Sotheby’s, Arizona 2015, verkauft für 9’625’000 Dollar, dazu haben wir eine feine Story: hier.

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Chassis-Nummer: 5901

Anfang Februar 2023 kam der Ferrari 250 LM mit der Chassis-Nummer #5901 bei Artcurial in Paris unter den Hammer, Chassis-Nummer #5901. Dieses Fahrzeug hat für einen Rennwagen eine ziemlich aussergewöhnliche Geschichte. Ende 1964 wurde der Ferrari an den amerikanischen Importeur Luigi Chinetti in New York ausgeliefert und an Raymond John Augusterfer, aus Philadelphia verkauft. Bloss gefahren wurde er nicht. Erst im Februar 1966 stand er bei den 24 Stunden von Daytona als Ersatzfahrzeug in der Box. Aber dort kam er nicht zum Einsatz. Chinetti kaufte #5901 zurück, verkaufte ihn weiter, er kam über die Jahre zu verschiedenen Besitzern, bloss ein Rennen hat er nie bestritten. Das ist sicher auch der Grund, weshalb dieser aussergewöhnliche Ferrari (wahrscheinlich) auch heute noch über den originalen Motor und das originale Getriebe verfügt. Einen Schätzpreis wollte Artcurial vor der Auktion nicht angeben. Es wurde etwas gemunkelt von: mindestens 25 Millionen Euro. Das höchste Gebot lag dann aber bei «nur» 20 Millionen, der Ferrari 250 LM wurde nicht zugeschlagen. Anfang Juli 2023 gab es noch eine gesonderte Auktion bei Artcurial, endlich fand sich ein Käufer, mit 15’771’200 Euro blieb #5901 aber wohl unter den Erwartungen.

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Chassis-Nummer: 5909

Steht zum Verkauf bei Girardo & Co. (Februar 2024), angeboten mit folgendem Text: «The Ferrari 250 LM we’re honoured to have recently rehomed is chassis number 5909. Originally finished in Rosso Cina over a traditional blue fabric interior, the car was delivered new in May of 1964 to Luigi Chinetti’s North American Racing Team (N.A.R.T.) in New York. Chassis number 5909 made its competitive debut in the 1964 ADAC Nürburgring 1,000KMs in May – a dress rehearsal for the forthcoming 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans. One of three cars fielded by N.A.R.T. at Le Mans, this 250 LM was earmarked for the British former Formula 1 driver David Piper and Jochen Rindt, the bullish young Austrian who’d tragically become the world’s first posthumous Formula 1 World Champion in 1970. At just 22 years old, Rindt was among the youngest drivers in the entire 55-strong field. And his deft no-holds-barred driving style quickly paid dividends in qualifying. Having never driven on the Circuit de la Sarthe before, Rindt turned a lap of 3min53.9sec – by far the quickest of the 250 LMs entered and good for eighth on the grid behind only the Works Ferrari and Ford teams. Alas, a trivial oil-filter failure put paid to chassis 5909’s Le Mans mere minutes into the race. Rindt would return to Le Mans in 1965, once again with the N.A.R.T. outfit and once again in a Ferrari 250 LM. That time, together with Masten Gregory, he would stand atop the podium. Next up for this Ferrari was the International 12 Hours of Reims in France, round 10 of the FIA World Sportscar Championship. This time around, chassis number 5909 was piloted by Lorenzo Bandini, who’d famously won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for Ferrari the previous year, and John Surtees, who was midway through his legendary championship-winning Formula 1 campaign with Ferrari. When the (local) champagne had dried and chassis 5909 had returned to N.A.R.T. in New York, Chinetti sold the car to the American cartoonist and longstanding sports-racing driver Bob Grossman. Grossman repainted the 250 LM in silver – finished with a blue, white and red stripe – and entered it in a raft of events on the other side of the Atlantic under the Scuderia Bear banner. These included the Bridgehampton Double 500KM races, which formed part of the 1964 FIA World Sportscar Championship, and the 1964 Bahamas Speed Week in Nassau. Third overall in the former was a stellar result for an American privateer, while the two class victories in the fiercely competitive Caribbean races were nothing short of remarkable. Nineteen sixty-five followed largely the same American trajectory for chassis number 5909, though it was primarily raced by Richard Holquist. The Ferrari once again contested the Bridgehampton Double 500KM races and the Bahamas Speed Week – the latter garnering one further class victory (the Governor’s Trophy) for its period competition record. Grossman sold this 250 LM in 1965 to one William M. Scheafer. And over the course of the next decades, it passed through the hands of a number of further stateside owners including Bob Cooper of the San Francisco-based Cooper Lumber Company, Sonny Bono of the world-famous pop duo Sonny & Cher and the revered Ferrari collector and author Edwin K. Niles. Chassis number 5909 remained in the United States until 1978, when it was acquired by the Swiss industrialist and serial Ferrari collector Albert Obrist – a man who Ferrari itself describes as a ‘walking talking pillar’ of its fabled history. The Japanese architect and collector of ultra-rare Italian concept and sports cars Shiroh Kosaka became the next owner of this Ferrari in the 1980s. The Coppa d’Oro delle Dolomiti in Italy and the inaugural Annual Vintage Ferrari Meeting in Japan were two events at which Kosaka exhibited the car. Chassis number 5909 joined the collection of its current American owner in 2004, sharing a garage with such historically significant competition Ferraris as a 312 PB, 512 S, F333 SP and an ex-Barrichello F1-2000 Formula 1 car».

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Chassis-Nummer: 6045

Auktion: RM Sotheby’s, Monterey 2014, verkauft für 11’550’000 Dollar, gehörte einst William F. Harrah.

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Chassis-Nummer: 6053
Motorennummer: 6167 (siehe Text)

Auktion: RM Sotheby’s, Monterey 2023, Schätzpreis 18’000’000 bis 20’000’000 Dollar, angeboten mit folgendem Text: «Claiming period competition use at Le Mans, as well as a no-cost-barred restoration completed in 2021 by Ferrari Classiche, this breathtaking 250 LM is a particularly desirable example of Maranello’s legendary racecar. Chassis number 6053 is the 22nd example built, and after being finished in the iconic 250 LM livery of Rosso Cina over seats trimmed in Bleu cloth upholstery, the car was delivered in October 1964 to Colonel Ronnie Hoare’s Maranello Concessionaires, the well-known marque distributor and factory-preferred privateer client in Great Britain. The Ferrari was sold new to British driver George Drummond, and he immediately set about competition on the local BRSCC circuits while occasionally entering larger events worldwide. Early highlights included a class win at Wiscombe Park in April 1965, and four overall wins over the next four months at Brands Hatch, Snetterton (twice), and Silverstone. In February 1966 the Ferrari was entered at the 24 Hours of Daytona as race #24, to be driven by Innes Ireland, Mike Hailwood, and Drummond. Photos taken at this event demonstrate that by this time, side-marker lights had been mounted high on the door sides. Unfortunately the car was forced to retire after 90 laps with a gearbox failure. Over the following two years, 6053 recorded at least eight more starts, and among these appearances, Ferrari factory driver Michael Parkes took the wheel at the Austrian Grand Prix of September 1966, finishing 3rd in class and 8th overall. Chassis number 6053 continued campaigning local British races before being entered in four events in Africa during November and December 1967, including the Kyalami 9 Hours. Among these races, the LM roared to a 5th-overall finish at the Lourenço Marques 3 Hours in Mozambique.
In May 1968 Drummond offered the Ferrari for sale and it was acquired by the London-based Paul Vestey Racing, with whom the car would take its greatest stage. Paul Vestey had been campaigning a different 250 LM, the ex-Maranello Concessionaires-run chassis number 6167. David Piper was driving 6167 on the legendarily difficult Targa Florio when a steering arm came loose, forcing the car to careen over a hillside. Though the chassis and body were beyond repair, the engine and transaxle were easily salvaged by removing both components as one unit, as was common practice with these cars in period. This proved to be quite significant to Vestey, because engine number 6167 had already been approved by the Le Mans scrutineers, as demonstrated by a stamping that remains on the motor today. With the approved engine but no car, Vestey was rapidly in search of a replacement chassis, prompting his purchase of 6053 from George Drummond. After acquiring the berlinetta the owner installed engine number 6167/22LM and transaxle number 17, with his sights firmly locked on the upcoming 24-hour endurance event. Vestey’s car was one of six Ferrari 250 LM examples entered at the 1968 24 Hours of Le Mans, which was unusually postponed to September because of nationwide labor strikes. Refinished in a purplish dark blue with a white stripe, and wearing race #19, the Ferrari was piloted at La Circuit du Sarthe by the owner and American driver Roy Pike, and it qualified for a 32nd-place starting position. Over the first hour on Saturday afternoon 6053 impressively climbed six places to 26th, a position it held through the second hour, when Vestey lost control while attempting to negotiate the Arnage Corner. A spin and shunt ensued that required some minor pit repairs to the car’s rear end. By the time Roy Pike reentered the fray, the LM had dropped to 46th place, though Pike managed to claw back some positioning by advancing to 31st place through the 10th hour. Then, on the 99th lap, fate caught up to 6053. The gearbox failed and the Ferrari was forced to retire early, prematurely ending Vestey’s quest for triumph at La Sarthe. There was no shame in this result, however, considering that of the 54 cars that began the race a mere 15 of them managed to finish the grueling contest.
Following the conclusion of its European racing career, the 250 LM was sold in April 1969 through the well-known British dealer Colin Crabbe to Richard Merritt of Bethesda, Maryland, one of the co-founders of the Ferrari Club of America. Mr. Merritt quickly resold the berlinetta to Terry Myr of Detroit, who before long entrusted the respected Kirk White Motorcars to sell the car to the equally esteemed dealer Harley Cluxton. In 1971 Cluxton sold the car to Robert Sutherland of Denver, Colorado, and he commissioned a complete restoration three years later, presenting the car at the FCA Meeting at Rockton, Illinois, in May 1975. In 1983 the Ferrari was acquired by Anthony Podell of Manhattan Beach, California, and he entrusted Mike McCluskey to perform some restoration measures before enjoying the car in vintage racing at the 1987 Chicago Historic, and the 1988 Monterey Historic Races. Later that year the car was sold to a Swiss enthusiast who retained possession for two years before selling the car to the Mitsubishi Corporation in 1990, beginning a new chapter of life in Japan. Four years later the Ferrari passed to collector Shiroh Kosaka, and he dutifully pampered the 250, sending it in 1999 to be restored by Dino Colognato’s well-known shop in Vigonza, Italy. Mr. Kosaka was a loyal steward of the car for many years, only offering it for sale in 2018 after a remarkable period of 24 years of fastidious care.
In 2018 the 250 LM was purchased by the consignor, one of the country’s most respected collectors of top-shelf vintage Ferrari racecars. The owner soon submitted the car to the Ferrari factory for full restoration and certification by Ferrari Classiche. Completed in 2021, the painstaking refurbishment is documented with an impressive booklet produced by Ferrari that concludes the car is the authentic one driven by Paul Vestey at Le Mans in 1968. As reiterated on the Ferrari Classiche certification, the car continues to retain the engine and transaxle from chassis number 6167, as raced at Le Mans in September 1968.»

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Chassis-Nummer: 6105

Auktion: RM Sotheby’s, Monterey 2015, verkauft für 17’600’000 Dollar, eine ausführlichere Beschreibung gibt es: hier.

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Chassis-Nummer: 6107

Auktion: RM Sotheby’s, New York 2013, verkauft für 14’300’000 Dollar, eine ausführlichere Beschreibung gibt es: hier.

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Chassis-Nummer: 6173

Auktion: RM Sotheby’s, London 2008, verkauft für 2’255’000 Pfund.

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