Christmas is over, maybe you've left a wish or two unfulfilled? And an original Ferrari 250 GTO is too expensive? Then perhaps the 1:18 scale model from CMC in red would be just the thing?
The legend
In March 1961, Ferrari got nervous. The reason for this was the newly presented Jaguar E-Type at the Geneva Motor Show. They saw it as a serious competitor and feared losing their supremacy in motor racing. Enzo Ferrari acted immediately and commissioned Giotto Bizzarrini as project manager to develop a new GT car. Bizzarrini used the tried-and-tested 250 GT SWB as an experimental vehicle. It was clear that the chassis should be kept as unchanged as possible with the same wheelbase of 2400 mm. The focus was on the rear axle, body aerodynamics and the vehicle's center of gravity, which were improved step by step.
Homologation was now complete with the new type designation 250 GTO, with the "O" standing for the Italian word Omologate. Due to the famous palace revolution against Enzo Ferrari, some of the responsible GTO developers, including Bizzarrini, had to leave the factory. His successor was Mauro Foghieri, who completed the development of the vehicle together with coachbuilder Sergio Scaglietti. The new GTO was presented to the world press in Maranello in February 1962 with a phenomenally beautiful body.
Its first race outing was in 1962 at the 12 Hours of Sebring USA, where the driver duo Phil Hill and Olivier Gendebien immediately scored a victory in the GT class and finished second overall among the entire field. From then on, things only went upwards, and in 1962, 1963 and 1964 Ferrari was able to secure the one-make world championship with the GTO. A total of 39 GTO cars were built, 3 of them with a four-liter engine.
The model
Once again CMC has delivered a model of absolute superlatives. Four exterior paint finishes are available: silver, yellow, blue and red. The chassis is hand-assembled and consists of 1841 parts, 1215 of which are metal parts alone.
A highlight is the front section with removable covers for the three air intakes. Many parts are movable and the level of detail is impressive.
Of course, this also has its price: At modelcar.de, the GTO costs EUR 419.00, but compared to the approximately 30 million euros that are due for the original, this is more than humane ...
