Salon Privé to Celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta

One of the Concours Classes at the much-anticipated 14^th edition of Salon Privé (5^th to 8^th September) will celebrate the 60^th anniversary of the highly-acclaimed and admired Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta.

First previewed in late 1959 at the Paris Salon, with small-scale production commencing in 1960, the short-wheelbase Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta dominated GT racing in the early 1960s. The SWB proved to be unbeatable in contemporary GT class competition, claiming the 1961 Constructor’s Championship for Ferrari. The Ferrari 250 SWB also won the prestigious Tour de France Automobile endurance race in 1960, 1961 and 1962, before moving aside to make way for the Maranello marque’s equally successful, and now legendary, 250 GTO.

Developed by Ferrari’s gifted ‘dream team’ of engineers – Giotto Bizzarrini and Carlo Chiti – the 250 GT Berlinetta SWB sat on a truncated 2,400 mm (94.5 in) chassis, taken from the ‘regular’ 250 for even better handling. This shorter chassis was mated to the fabled Colombo 3-litre V12 engine, developing a healthy 237 to 276 bhp and wrapped in a brutal but beautiful Pininfarina-designed coupe body. The SWB’s coachwork was handcrafted by Scaglietti in both steel and aluminum, with both body types used in various road ‘Lusso’ and racing trims.

Just 176 examples of the stunning Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta SWB were built, 8 examples of which have been entered into the world-renowned Salon Privé Concours d’Elégance by Chubb Insurance, now one of the top 3 global Concours events alongside Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este and Pebble Beach Concours.