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1962 Ferrari 250GT SWB
Ferrari had tasted great success with the 250GT Tour de France, dominating GT racing in the late 1950s. The SWB took competition to the next level, shortening the wheelbase to 2400mm for better handling. Blending the minds of Carlo Chiti, Giotto Bizzarrini and a youthful Mauro Forghieri, the 250GT SWB became the car to beat on track.
Just 176 examples were built, in a mixture of aluminium and steel bodies, with power ranging from 237bhp to 276bhp from its V12 engine. It was also the first Ferrari road car to feature disc brakes. This is the last RHD steel-bodied car, but despite that it was first delivered to the US. It finally came to the UK in the 1990s. In 2019, DK Engineering fitted a GTO Engineering-supplied race-spec rear axle.
1968 Dino 206GT
Named after Alfredo ‘Dino’ Ferrari, this model was the first car to be produced by the marque in high numbers. It was designed by Pininfarina’s Aldo Brovarone and Leonardo Fioravanti, and it used a 2.0-litre all-aluminium V6 powerplant that revved to a heady 8000rpm. Its lightweight aluminium body used fully independent suspension, as well as disc brakes front and rear, and the car was novel in that it was the first Ferrari to have direct rack-and-pinion steering. This particular example, chassis number 00236, was purchased new in Genoa, Italy, in 1968, and was subsequently imported into Australia in the 1970s. It was later acquired by the current owner in Hong Kong. A mere 152 206 GTs were manufactured over two years.
1963 Chevrolet Corvette C2 Stingray
Chevrolet produced the split-window version of the C2 Stingray Corvette for one year only – it’s believed that 10,594 were built. Today comparatively few remain, and even fewer are on UK soil with a manual ’box.
This car was returned to as near-original factory condition as possible in 1983 by its then owner. During the body-off restoration the panels, engine, windows, trim and cabin were all overhauled to concours levels of attention to detail.
The Corvette first came to the UK in 2018, courtesy of an enthusiast determined to find the best 1963 C2 he could. He enlisted the help of marque guru Andy Cannizzo, aka Mr 63, who found this car in Minnesota.