NOT ONLY WATCHES. Ferrari 250 GTO obtain the acknowledge of “work of art”

The 20th June 2019 will remain a historic date for motors and all lovers of the prancing Horse. The division of the Court of Bologna dealing with intellectual property cases, on the basis of a complaint filed by Ferrari, handed down an important ruling in which it recognized the copyright protection of one of the most iconic car models, the Ferrari 250 GTO.

Image courtesy of Ferrari SPA

Presented for the first time on 24th February 1962 as road and racing car, the official appearance on the track took place during the 12 Hours of Sebring of the same year where it placed first in the GT class and second overall behind the other Ferrari 250 TR.
For the will of Enzo Ferrari, the new car was born on the basis of the 250 GT Short Wheel Base and a 12V 3.0-liter engine. The intention was to develop a car in line with the rules of the 1962 Group 3 and at the same time to create a car capable to beat the Jaguar “E” Type. The project that led to the construction of the first two prototypes, one of which was tested by Stirling Moss during the 1961 Italian Grand Prix, was the chief engineer Giotto Bizzarrini.

However, following the palace revolution of the autumn of 1961, in which several managers and technicians including Bizzarrini were fired, Sergio Scaglietti and the newly arrived Mauro Forghieri continued the development. In the course of the work the car underwent various and constant changes such the addition of the iconic spoiler on the tail, the first for a GT.
Over the course of three years (1962, 63 and 64) and more than 500 appearances on track, the Ferrari 250 GTO palmares was very respectable. Thanks to an important series of class and absolute victories, the 250 GTO dominated its own championship, struggling only in 1964 when have to face off  the AC Cobra 400CV. In that year, to keep the car competitive, the bodywork was updated and some models were subsequently upgraded becoming known as the 250 GTO series 2 or simply 250 GTO/64.

Image courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

In the world of collecting the Ferrari 250 GTO is one of the most loved and appreciated cars and this is demonstrated by the various awards and the stunning results in the auctions. In previous years the Ferrari 250 GTO had soared record results, broken once again in August 2018 when the auction house RM Sotheby’s sold one at USD 48,405,000 (approximately EUR 41,780,000) setting the highest price ever reached at auction for a car. The previous record belonged to another Ferrari 250 GTO sold by Bonhams in 2014 for USD 38,115,000.
The Ferrari sold by Sotheby’s last year was a 250 GTO first series with chassis number 3413 and upgraded in the 1964. In 1962 the car was used by the driver Phil Hill (Formula 1 World Champion with Ferrari in 1961) during the Targa Florio while in the following years the car achieved other historical results, all documented in the exhaustive description of the auction house.

After the judgment promulgated by the Bologna court, it’s fair to ask whether we will ever see the same choice for a watch. In this case the audience of aspiring models would certainly not miss…