Ferrari Club of America National Meet Part 2

Story and photos by Robert Neary

Part 1, published last week, described some of the show stoppers at this years’s Nationals. In Part 2 Robert Neary discusses some of the 250GTs and 330s that were featured.

The 2010 FCA Annual Meet also celebrated 50 years of the 250 GTE 2+2, Ferrari’s first true production four seater. Unfortunately, due to the weather, only two of these cars came out for the Concorso. Winner of the Best 250 GTE Award was Philip Fecher with his 1963 example (S/N: 4897GT).

Philip was seen not only at the Concorso, but also having fun on the track on Saturday where the car looked spectacular. A second (black) 250 GTE was brought up from South Carolina for the Concours.

Not present for the Cconcours but spied in the paddock on Saturday was a Series III 250 GTE identified by the hood scoop. At first I thought this was a rare 330 GT America, an interim 2+2 model of which only 50 were built in 1963 to use up the last 50 250 GTE chassis and bodies after the last of the 250 GT engines were gone. Using the 4-liter 330 GT engine in the 250 GTE chassis, this car has rarity value over the 250 GTE and 330 GT 2+2 of which 950 and 1080 were built respectively.

The National Vintage Preservation Award went to Peter Markowski’s beautiful 1964 330 GT 2+2 (S/N: 5701). With only 3,200 original miles this unrestored car is the personification of Vintage Preservation. Owned from new in 1964 by John (Chick) Sconfienza an associate of Evel Knievel, the car was never registered but was driven 3,000 miles by its original owner. He kept the car in a wooden garage in big sky country and regularly changed the oil until 2008 when he sold it to Peter Markowski.

The 1964 Series I 330 GT 2+2 is easily identified by the unusual twin headlights. This model was one of very few Ferrari road cars regularly driven by Enzo Ferrari and was the first Ferrari model my father owned, so I have a special affection for this design. On a family vacation in 1965 when I was 14 years old this was the first Ferrari I ever rode in, driven by none other than John Surtees the current Formula 1 World Champion on the mountain roads surrounding the Ferrari factory in Maranello. My father, an Aston Martin DB 4 owner at the time immediately sold the DB 4 on returning from this vacation and bought the first of four Ferraris he would own in his lifetime, a 1964 330 GT 2+2 Series I.

The Series I 330 GT 2+2 was the first complete design project assigned to American designer Tom Tjaarda after he joined Pininfarina in 1961. The 330 GT 2+2 featured many improvements over the 250 GTE and 330 America models it replaced. The chassis was larger in all dimensions, having a longer wheelbase, wider track and taller roofline to accommodate four adults in relative comfort and the trunk was larger to stow their luggage. The dashboard and driver controls were updated as was the suspension for a more comfortable ride. The displacement of the V-12 engine was increased from 3 liters (250 cc x 12 cyl.) in the 250 GTE to four liters (330 cc x 12 cyl.) in the 330 GT 2+2. This resulted in a substantial increase in horsepower from 240 to 300.

The Grand Touring Award for Outstanding 2+2 Ferrari Regularly Driven went to A.J. Obara Jr. for his later 1967 330 GT 2+2 Series II. The 330 GT 2+2 underwent some design changes in 1965 and was produced until 1967. The controversial twin headlights gave way to a single headlight design. The front fender vents were updated and a five-speed gearbox replaced the four speed in the Series I cars. Lastly, standard alloy disc wheels replaced the Borrani wire wheels which became an option. The 330 GT 2+2 was a popular model which was the first Ferrari to exceed production of 1,000 units.

Tony Shooshani’s 1967 275 GTB/4 (S/N: 9337) took the Trofeo Gram Turismo Award for outstanding Pre-1968 Ferrari while the Dino Ferrari Award for Outstanding 2-Series Dino went to Bill Ebert’s 1974 246 Dino (S/N: 8118) and John Chen took the Contemporary Ferrari Award for Outstanding Ferrari 1975 or Later with his 1991 F40 (S/N: 87400).

The Forte Award for Outstanding Flat 12 Ferrari went to Michael Cangialosi’s 1986 Testarossa (S/N: 66653). In the 8-cylinder category, the Alla Vettura Pronta Per Il Salone Award for Best Prepared 8-Cylinder Ferrari was won by John Messina‘s 1989 328 GTS (S/N: 79984). John also took home the National Classic Preservation Award for Best Unrestored Ferrari 1984-1995 with his 328. Last but not least of the major awards, the NART Award went to Bob Coates with his stunning 1974 365 BB/LM (S/N: 18139).

The most prestigious award of all at the FCA Annual Meet is the Coppa GT Award. To win this award, first of all you have to score more than 95 points in the Concours to win a Premio di Platino. Next you have to have a perfect score in the Coppa Bella Macchina Award which ensures everything is working on your car and you know how to operate everything.

Five people passed these two qualifications to go onto the track portion in which three independent judges score the drivers’ ability to drive the car at greater than 80% of its potential on the track. Of the five people that were judged, only two were awarded the Prestigious Coppa GT Award: Rooky John Messina in only his first FCA Annual Meet in his 1989 328 GTS and veteran Dick York in his 1998 F355 Berlinetta (S/N: 110738).

Altogether, Pietro Castiglioni, Mike Sassaman and their team of 2010 Annual Meet organizers put on a great event. We look forward to re-convening in Savannah for Bob Snow’s 2011 Annual Meet, June 8-12, 2011.