VIN: the Scuderia Filipinetti / Graber / Zitro Racing Ford GT40 chassis P/1033
History of chassis P/1033
Chassis P/1033 was one of three GT40s ordered by Georges Filipinetti in late 1965.
Filipinetti was the Swiss Ferrari distributor, but for the 1965 Le Mans 24 Hours, he had teamed up with Ford.
Filipinetti had three Le Mans grid slots which Ford wanted. As part of a deal that saw Scuderia Filipinetti enter a GT40 and Cobra Daytona at la Sarthe, Georges Filipinetti was permitted to buy cars at a preferential rate.
The trio of GT40s ordered in late 1965 comprised two in racing specification (P/1039 and P/1040) and an unpainted road car (P/1033).
P/1033 was dispatched to Geneva by Ford Advanced Vehicles (FAV) on January 14th 1966. The car was shipped unpainted as it was destined for the Graber coachworks where it was fitted out as a uniquely appointed road car.
Graber added slim chrome bumperettes, body coloured vanes for the ducts and vents, electric windows, air-conditioning, a radio and a fully upholstered interior with leather and carpet.
Silver on black was the chosen colour scheme. Graber completed their work in early 1967.
In this configuration, Filipinetti displayed P/1033 on his stand at the 1967 Geneva Motor Show (March 9th-19th). Beforehand, it was road tested by Car magazine and starred on the February 1967 edition’s cover.
After the show, Georges Filipinetti offered P/1033 through Geneva Ferrari dealer, Jean-Jacques Weber (Filipinetti’s son-in-law).
It quickly found a buyer in Swiss-domiciled Bolivian millionaire, Jaime Ortiz-Patino.
Ortiz-Patino hailed from a tin mining dynasty. His grandfather, Simon Iturri Patino, had controlled practically the entire Bolivian tin industry and was considered among the world’s five wealthiest men upon his death in 1947.
P/1033 was registered to Jaime Ortiz-Patino on May 5th 1967 and issued with Geneva licence plate, GE 136999.
For the next 18 months, the car was used frequently for trips between France and Switzerland.
In the summer of 1968, Ortiz-Patino had P/1033 prepared for his godson, Dominique Martin, to go racing. In the transformation to competition specification, all the special road trim was removed and the colour was change to light metallic blue.
Dominique Martin raced P/1033 from autumn 1968 until spring 1970 and took in some of Europe’s premier events. An appearance at the 1969 Le Mans 24 Hours was cut short when the car’s engine blew in practice.
For the 1969 season, Ortiz-Patino added a Porsche 907 to his fleet (chassis 024).
Competition highlights with the GT40 included a third in class at the 1969 Monza 1000km and a brace of second place finishes in early 1970 at the Rallye de l‘Ouest and the Montlhery Coupes de Vitesse.
In June 1970, Jaime Ortiz-Patino purchased a brand new Porsche 917 for Dominique Martin to race (chassis 025).
The now surplus-to-requirements GT40 was put up for sale via ex-Filipinetti mechanic, Michel Berney.
Unfortunately, on October 26th 1970, Berney was driving P/1033 when it caught fire. The chassis survived virtually intact, but little else could be salvaged.
In 1972, the chassis was sold to Franco Sbarro. Sbarro cleaned it up before selling it on to David Piper in 1974.
P/1033 was later owned and restored by Americans, Paul Chandler and Bud Romak.
Notable History
Sold to Georges Filipinetti, Geneva
14/01/1966 dispatched to Geneva, unpainted
Converted to high end road car by Carrosserie Graber, Wichtrach, Switzerland
Silver / Black
09-19/03/1967 Geneva Motor Show
Offered for sale via Jean-Jacques Weber, SAVAF, Geneva
Sold to Jaime Ortiz-Patino, Geneva
05/05/1967 registered GE 136999
Mid 1968 rebuilt to competition specification
Colour changed to Light Blue Metallic
ASA ESCA Racing Team Zitro (Zitro was Ortiz in reverse)
14/07/1968 IND Magny-Cours (D. Martin) 3rd oa (#??)
28/07/1968 FHC Chamrousse Hillclimb (D. Martin) ran (#159)
03/08/1968 FHC Treffort Hillclimb (D. Martin) ran (#120)
25/08/1968 FHC Beaujolais Hillclimb (D. Martin) ran (#330)
08/09/1968 FHC Faucille Hillclimb (D. Martin) ran (#134)
22/09/1968 IND Montlhery Coupes de Paris (D. Martin) DNF (#57)
30/03/1969 IND Le Mans Test (D. Martin / J.P. Hanrioud) 18th oa, 4th in S5.0 class (#58)
25/04/1969 WSC Monza 1000km (D. Martin / J.P. Hanrioud) 15th oa, 3rd S5.0 class (#34)
15/06/1969 WSC Le Mans 24 Hours (D. Martin / J.P. Hanrioud) DNS (#58)
22/06/1969 EMC Mont Ventoux Hillclimb (D. Martin) 20th oa, 9th Gr.4/6 class (#??)
12/10/1969 IND Paris 1000km, Montlhery (D. Martin / P. Maublanc) 9th oa, 5th S class (#7)
19/10/1969 IND Hockenheim 300 mile (D. Martin) 16th oa, 5th S2.0+ class (#??)
11/01/1970 TEM Buenos Aires 1000km (D. Martin / P. Forester) DNF (#48)
18/01/1970 TEM Buenos Aires 200 mile (D. Martin / P. Forester) 12th oa (#48)
21-22/03/1970 IND Rallye de l’Ouest (Martin / Chini) 2nd oa (#1)
26/04/1970 IND Montlhery Coupes de Vitesse (D. Martin) 2nd oa (#??) E.S.C.A. Zitro
Offered for sale via Michel Berney, Geneva
26/10/1970 damage in a fire
1972 sold to Franco Sbarro
1974 sold to David Piper
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Car magazine - https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/
