VEHICLE DESCRIPTION

Thanks to its rare specification and its extensive period competition history in the hands of well-known privateers on both sides of the Atlantic, chassis number 2177 GT is fascinatingexample of Ferrari’s 250 GT Short Wheelbase.

This legendary model was offered in either steel-bodied Lusso spec or as the lighter, more powerful, alloy-bodied Competizione. In reality, however, it was common for buyers to ‘mix and match’ between the two, in order to create a bespoke car that was tailored to their requirements – and that’s exactly what happened with 2177 GT.

2177 GT FCA Annual Greenwich concours 1968

Its chassis was sent to Carrozzeria Scaglietti on 6 September 1960 so that it could receive its hand-crafted steel bodywork, plus lightweight alloy doors and boot lid. The V12 engine – numero interno 612F – was completed on 25 October and dyno-tested two days later. The results are noted in the build sheet and show that it produced an impressive 243bhp at 7500rpm.

The car was also fitted with stiffer springs front and rear, the Competizione ribbed gearbox, a competition exhaust, and brackets to accept a quick-lift jack. From the widespread use of Competizione features, it’s clear that 2177 GT was intended from the outset to go motor racing, and its rear-axle ratio of 8/32 was well suited to hillclimb use.

2177 GT Osprey SWB Book Cover

On 29 October 1960, the SWB was delivered to its first owner – a Mr Zimmerman in Switzerland. The supplying dealership was Italauto SA in Lausanne, which was owned by former racing driver Emmanuel ‘Toulo’ de Graffenried. It’s said that the Swiss hillclimb fraternity preferred the steel body because it was harder-wearing and easier to repair than aluminium.

Zimmerman kept 2177 GT until 1962, when he sold it to Armand Boller. Geneva-based Boller was a banker and gentleman racer, and entered the Short Wheelbase for the famous Ollon-Villars hillclimb on 25 August. The event was a round of that year’s European Mountain Championship, and Boller finished fifth in class.

2177 GT Elkhart Lake early 1980’s

In early 1963, Boller acquired a 250 GTO and raced his latest Ferrari under the banner of Scuderia Filipinetti. Georges Filipinetti was a key figure on the European Ferrari scene at that time, and his competition cars were driven by the likes of Herbert Müller and future Formula 1 star Jo Siffert. Boller was part of that tight-knit group and it’s thought that Siffert might have had at least one outing in 2177 GT in a Swiss event, but so far it has not been possible to prove this theory. He is, however, mentioned in the Ferrari service sheet.

After Boller bought the GTO, his Short Wheelbase was sold to Walter Ringgenberg. A Ferrari enthusiast who had previously owned an alloy-bodied 250 GT Short Wheelbase Competizione (1771 GT) as well as a 250 GT ‘Tour de France’, Ringgenberg was a hotelier and restaurateur from Bern. A personal friend of Ferry Porsche, he had raced a 356 during the 1950s.

By the time he bought 2177 GT, Ringgenberg had mostly given up circuit racing in favour ofhillclimb events, and he entered 2177GT in three events during 1964. In May, he finished third in class at Mitholz-Kandersteg, and went one better at Sierre-Crans-Montana in August. That event was part of the International Championship for GT Manufacturers and attracted a strong entry. Pierre Sudan won the 3-litre class in his GTO, but Ringgenberg was second in class – a superb result in such a high-profile hillclimb.

2177 GT Bob Grossman Mount Equinox Hill Climb 1966

Ringgenberg ended his season with an appearance at Eigental, and in 1966 he sold the Short Wheelbase to a new owner in the US – racing driver, entrepreneur and car dealer Bob Grossman – via the Swiss dealership owned by Paul Blancpain and Jo Siffert.

According to Ferrari historian Marcel Massini, Grossman raced 2177 GT at the Mount Equinox hillclimb in 1966. After spending some time in Grossman’s fleet, the SWB was sold to fellow racing driver Dudley Cunningham the following year, to sit alongside his ex-works Ferrari 340 MM (0322AM).

Cunningham kept 2177 GT until 1975, racing it in SCCA events during the early years of his ownership. He sold it – via an advert that claimed it to be ‘ex-Jo Siffert’ – to the Ferrari historian and author Jim Riff, who was based in Illinois.

2177 at Joe Marchetti’s famous Como Inn Chicago 1977

Riff then set about having 2177 GT restored. The process included an engine rebuild and stripping the Ferrari to bare metal, which showed a remarkable lack of accident damage for a car that had been used in competition. When it was finished, 2177 GT finished second in class at the Ferrari Club of America’s concours in St Louis, having been driven there from Chicago by Jim in the pouring rain!

During Riff’s ownership, the Short Wheelbase was often entered for concours events, and in 1985 he also raced it in a historic event at Elkhart Lake. That same year, 2177 GT appeared on the cover of Ken Gross’s book Ferrari 250 GT SWB.

2177 GT Chicago 1975

Riff sold the car in 1986 to California-based Tom Byrnes, who raced it in the Monterey Historics weekend at Laguna Seca in 1987 and 1989. Its next custodians were Phillipe Brecht and then Martin Van Doorne, who had the Short Wheelbase restored in 1994-95. Van Doorne later displayed 2177 GT at Ferrari’s 50th anniversary event in Rome and Maranello, before selling it to Dr Peter Baumberger – a Geneva-based watchmaker and co-founder of the Swiss Ferrari Club.

In 1999, the Short Wheelbase was acquired by Austrian Jean-Robert Grellet, who had it repainted yellow and went on to regularly enter it for events such as the Ennstal Classic, the Giro di Sicilia Targa Florio Revival, and the Grand Prix Montreaux. Ferrari also invited 2177 GT to be part of its 70th anniversary celebrations at its Fiorano test track.

Thanks to its incredible versatility as a competition car that can also be driven comfortably on the road, there are those who covet the Short Wheelbase above even the GTO. With its Swiss competition history, its rare ‘Semi-Comp’ specification and its fascinating cast of characters, 2177 GT was very much part of this legendary period in Ferrari history.

MODEL HISTORY

During the 1950s and early 1960s, Ferrari developed its line of 250 GT Berlinettas to the extent that the model came to dominate the Gran Turismo class of international motor racing. From the first 250 GT through to the fabled GTO, the marque undertook a near-constant process of evolution that was well suited to the demands of top-level competition, and included in that period are some of the most coveted cars ever to roll out of the Maranello factory.

The first Ferrari to use the ‘250’ designation was the 250 Sport, the model in which Giovanni Bracco won the 1952 Mille Miglia, but it was the 1954 250 Europa GT that really laid the foundations for the subsequent 250 GT.

Beneath the bonnet was a 2953cc development of the V12 engine that Gioachino Colombo had originally designed for Enzo Ferrari during the summer of 1945. It was mounted in the Tipo 508 chassis, which had a wheelbase of 2600mm and would form the basis of all 250 GT Berlinettas until 1959.

The next major development came in 1959 with the appearance at Le Mans of a model that retained the Tipo 508 chassis but which introduced a new Pinin Farina body style that would be carried over to the 1960 250 GT. It was, in effect, a hybrid – new body on old chassis – and would therefore become known as the ‘Interim’ model. Only seven were built before the definitive 1960 250 GT was introduced at the Paris Salon in October 1959.

This latest model formed another major step in that it used the new Tipo 539 chassis. Although it was outwardly similar to the Tipo 508, it was stronger and stiffer than before – and most importantly the wheelbase had been reduced from 2600mm to 2400mm. That led to it being unofficially dubbed Passo Corto: the Short Wheelbase.

Unlike earlier Berlinettas, the 250 GT Short Wheelbase was available in right- or left-hand drive and owners had the choice of either a race-ready Competizione variant – features of which included an aluminium body, sparsely trimmed interior and more highly tuned engine– or the Lusso, with its steel body, fully trimmed cockpit and a less powerful V12.

The engine itself was a further development of the outside-plug Tipo 128DF that had been used in three of the ‘Interim’ 250 GTs. The block and many of the internals were carried over, but new cylinder heads were used with larger coil-sprung valves. Called the Tipo 168B, it produced up to 275bhp; Lusso models had a lower compression ratio and about 240bhp.

In late 1960, the engine was updated into Tipo 168 form and during the following year came its ultimate development: the Tipo 168 Comp/61. This had Testa Rossa-style cylinder heads with larger valves, the manifolds lengths were altered and larger-bore exhaust pipes used. A trio of Weber 46DCF3 carburettors was employed and the sump was made of Elektron.

The Short Wheelbase continued the heady run of motorsport success that had been enjoyed by the 250 GT series since 1956. In 1960 and ’61, Stirling Moss won the Tourist Trophy at Goodwood aboard Short Wheelbases entered by his great friend Rob Walker and described it as a ‘beautiful handling car’.

Willy Mairesse and Georges Berger won the Tour de France in both of those years, while the Short Wheelbase enjoyed further success in events such as the Nürburgring 1000km, Paris 1000km and the Le Mans 24 Hours.

By 1961, the Prancing Horse was dominant in each of the top-line international disciplines. Phil Hill became Formula 1 World Champion, Ferrari won four of the five rounds of the World Sports Car Championship, and the Short Wheelbase had firmly established itself as the benchmark in GT racing – despite the best efforts of Aston Martin and Jaguar.

With its beautiful Pinin Farina styling, robust and sonorous Colombo V12, and a level of versatility that allowed it to be driven to a circuit, raced hard to victory, and then driven home again, it’s little wonder that the Short Wheelbase has become one of the most revered and sought-after Ferraris of all time.

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