Ever seen a Ferrari 250 GT SWB naked?
Of all the Ferrari 250 variants produced from the 1950s through the early ’60s, the GTO Series I is the most famous due to its rarity, competition history, and value to collectors. Yet if you intend to race your 250 competitively, there’s no question that the aluminum-bodied GT SWB is the Ferrari to strap yourself into.
Built using a shorter, 94.5-inch wheelbase to improve handling, the 1959–62 250 SWB was the brainchild of the same crew that came up with the GTO in ’62. As it invested deeply in racing, Ferrari built 176 of these cars using both steel and alloy bodies, including road and competition V-12s with up to 280 horsepower.
Chassis number 1995GT, along with its few months’ older sister car, #1993GT, are rare right-hand-drive, 1960 SWBs that were ordered with steel bodies and also the full competition package. In 1960, that meant the race-ready engine with the high lift cams and 40 DCOE Webers, the beefier gearbox, bucket seats, and a 26.4-gallon fuel tank with the external filler cap.
Now, #1995GT landed at British high-end classic specialist DK Engineering for a full restoration, which immediately revealed that while these two SWBs have the 132-pounds-heavier steel bodies, they still came with single-skinned aluminum floors in the name of racing. It’s not often that we get to see a ’60s competition Ferrari stripped to its bare frame, and DK’s James Cottingham does a great job explaining what to look out for:
