VIN: the works / NART / Scuderia Bear Ferrari 250 P / 330 P chassis 0810
History of chassis 0810
Ferrari created the 250 P to contest the 1963 International Trophy for GT Prototypes (IPT). The IPT took place over four races as part of the wider World Sportscar Championship which, between 1962 and 1965, was organised for production-based GT cars like the Ferrari 250 GTO and Jaguar E-type.
The four IPT events in 1963 were the Sebring 12 Hours, Targa Florio, Nurburgring 1000km and Le Mans 24 Hours.
Scuderia Ferrari raced four examples of the 250 P in 1963 and chassis 0810 attended every round of that year’s IPT.
At Sebring, 0810 was driven by John Surtees and Ludovico Scarfiotti. Grid slots were decided by engine size.
After an early stop to attend to loose plug leads, 0810 recovered to hold second by quarter distance. By three-quarter distance, Surtees / Scarfiotti had assumed a lead they kept until the end despite a short delay to fix a broken battery.
Following its debut victory at Sebring, 0810 was allocated to John Surtees and Mike Parkes for round two: the Targa Florio. With lap one of ten completed, Parkes was second behind the sister car of Scarfiotti.
0810 was still second when Surtees took over at the end of lap three. However, on the fifth lap, Surtees went off the road which damaged 0810’s bodywork and fuel tank. Surtees abandoned the car as petrol was leaking everywhere.
For the Nurburgring 1000km, Scarfiotti / Parkes qualified second in 0810 behind one of the sister cars. After overhauling the fast starting Jaguar E-type of Peter Lindner, the Ferraris occupied the top two positions at the end of lap one.
With ten laps gone, the 250 P of Surtees still led from Scarfiotti in 0810. On the 15th lap, Parkes took over and a quicker pit-stop meant he left the pits at the head of the field. Unfortunately, as Parkes went through Aremberg, 0810 span and struck a bridge which tore off much of the rear suspension. Parkes retired on the spot.
Having undergone a second round of repairs back in Maranello, 0810 was wheeled out for the IPT finale four weeks later: the Le Mans 24 Hours. Mike Parkes and Umberto Maglioli qualified third in 0810 behind one of the 250 P sister cars and NART’s 330 TRI/LM which started on pole.
0810 was fifth at the end of lap one. Thereafter, Parkes / Maglioli gradually moved up the leaderboard to hold second at quarter distance. Had it not been for a ten lap overnight delay to fix a broken distributor, 0810 would likely have won the race. As it transpired, it went on to finish third behind the sister car of Bandini / Scarfiotti and an Equipe Nationale Belge 250 GTO.
After Le Mans, Enzo Ferrari sold chassis 0810 to his US distributor, Luigi Chinetti, who ran the North American Racing Team (NART).
Prior to being flown out to the USA, 0810 was equipped with revised bodywork. A new cut-down windscreen was fitted along with a rear body sections that did without Pininfarina’s original basket handle aerofoil. A small rollover bar was added behind the driver instead.
In its new ‘Lightweight Roadster’ trim, NART entered 0810 for the Bridgehampton 500km and the Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport. Pedro Rodriguez narrowly missed out on victory at Bridgehampton (where he took second and won the GTP class) but rectified things two weeks later at Mosport when he lapped everything bar Graham Hill’s Lotus 23B which claimed the runner up spot.
Chinetti then had Rodriguez drive 0810 at the end-of-season Bahamas Speed Week. The Mexican finished second overall and won his class in both the Governor’s Trophy and Nassau Trophy.
For the 1964 season, 0810 was fitted with a 330 engine and converted back to its original body style. That season it was raced by NART on three occasions.
For its first two outings, 0810 appeared with a large white delta painted on the nose. It failed to finish as a result of engine trouble at both Sebring and Le Mans. John Fulp then raced the car in ‘Lightweight Roadster’ trim at the Bridgehampton 500km where he finished fifth overall and fourth in class.
Luigi Chinetti sold 0810 to William ‘Bill’ McKelvy for 1965. McKelvy, the patron of Scuderia Bear, was a stockbroker at McKelvy and Company in Pittsburgh (a firm started by his father in 1937).
Scuderia Bear ran 0810 on five occasions between March 1965 and May 1966. Its only finish was fourth overall and third in class at the 1965 Bridgehampton 500km.
McKelvy subsequently retained 0810 until 1974, at which point it was sold to Kenneth Starbird. Two years later it passed to Atlanta Ferrari dealer, Don Fong.
In 1988, 0810 was sold to Long Island Ferrari collector, Anthony Wang, who paid $3m.
Notable History
Scuderia Ferrari
23/03/1963 WSC Sebring 12 Hours (J. Surtees / L. Scarfiotti) 1st oa, 1st P3.0 class (#30)
05/05/1963 WSC Targa Florio (M. Parkes / J. Surtees) DNF (#174)
19/05/1963 WSC Nurburgring 1000km (L. Scarfiotti / M. Parkes) DNF (#111)
16/06/1963 WSC Le Mans 24 Hours (M. Parkes / U. Maglioli) 3rd oa, 2nd P3.0 class (#22)
Converted to ‘Lightweight Roadster’ trim
Sold to Luigi Chinetti (NART), New York
15/09/1963 IND Bridgehampton 500km (P. Rodriguez) 2nd oa, 1st GTP class (#1)
28/09/1963 CSC Canadian GP, Mosport (P. Rodriguez) 1st oa, 1st S2.0+ class (#5)
06/12/1963 BSW Governor's Trophy (P. Rodriguez) 2nd oa 1st S3.0 class (#10)
08/12/1963 BSW Nassau Trophy (P. Rodriguez) 2nd oa, 1st S3.0 class (#10)
Converted back to standard bodywork and uprated to 330 P specification
21/03/1964 WSC Sebring 12 Hours (P. Rodriguez / J. Fulp) DNF engine (#25)
22/06/1964 WSC Le Mans 24 Hours (P. Rodriguez / S. Hudson) DNF head gasket (#15)
Converted to ‘Lightweight Roadster’ trim
20/09/1964 WSC Bridgehampton 500km (J. Fulp) 5th oa, 4th SR/P1.6+ class (#82)
Converted back to standard bodywork
Sold to Bill McKelvey (Scuderia Bear), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
27/03/1965 WSC Sebring 12 Hours (B. Grossman / S. Hudson) DNF (#26)
16/05/1965 SCA National Cumberland (B. Grossman) DNF (#96)
23/05/1965 USR Bridgehampton Vanderbilt Cup (B. Grossman) DNF (#96)
19/09/1965 WSC Bridgehampton 500km (B. Grossman) 4th oa, 3rd in P1.6+ class (#96)
22/05/1966 USR Bridgehampton 200 mile (B. Grossman) DNF (#??)
1974 sold to Kenneth Starbird, Northridge, California
1976 sold to Don Fong, Atlanta, Georgia
1988 sold to Anthony Wang, Long Island, New York
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: unattributed
