One to Buy: 1 of 1 in Bianco ex-John Coombs 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO Series 1
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With the overwhelming majority of 250 GTOs having come out of the factory with Rosso paint, the opportunity to acquire a no-stories example in a different or even 1-of-1 colour comes rarely.
Set to go under the hammer at Mecum’s Kissimmee auction in Florida on January 17th is just such a beast.
Supplied new via Maranello Concessionaires during the summer of 1962 to former racing driver and team patron, John Coombs, chassis 3729 GT was the only 250 GTO originally painted Bianco.
Coombs employed Graham Hill and Roy Salvadori to race the car on its brace of outings in 1962. Hill, who was a works driver for BRM in Formula 1 at the time and en route to becoming ‘62 F1 champ, bagged second overall in the World Championship Goodwood Tourist Trophy. As for 1959 Le Mans winner Salvadori, he was runner at the Brands Hatch Peco Trophy.
1963 saw Mike Parkes, Jack Sears, Mike McDowell and Michael Salmon all take turns behind the wheel of 3729 GT. Most notably, Parkes placed second overall in the Goodwood Tourist Trophy World Championship contest while Sears won the GT class at the Brands Hatch Guards Trophy and was fourth overall (second in class) at the Snetterton 3 Hours.
Viscount Eddie Portman purchased chassis 3729 GT in 1964. He did a couple of events in the white GTO and also got Richie Ginther (Hill’s F1 team-mate at BRM) to contest the car’s third consecutive Goodwood TT. Ginther finished ninth overall (sixth in class) at what was the GTO’s final circuit race before retirement.
Having subsequently gone through the hands of two noted English owners, Jack Sears acquired 3729 GT in 1970. Sears retained it for 29 years until 1999 when this 1 of 1 GTO was sold via renowned car dealer, Adrian Hamilton, to ex-President of Microsoft, John Shirley, who since his retirement in 1990 had built one of the world’s most significant Ferrari collections.
Unrepeatable.
