One to Buy: ex-Edwin Rufus Eyre 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta
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Launched at the Paris Motor Show in October 1959, Ferrari’s 250 GT SWB Berlinetta was arguably the last true dual purpose Grand Tourer, a machine almost equally capable of winning at international level as it was taking a trip to the shops.
Customers could order practically any combination of Competizione or Lusso equipment for their SWB Berlinetta and a perfect example of this potential to mix-and-match is the beautifully restored chassis 1995 GT which currently resides at the DK Engineering showroom in Chorleywood, Hertfordshire.
The second of nine right hand drive 250 GT SWB Berlinettas imported into the UK, 1995 GT was the first customer car supplied by Colonel Ronnie Hoare’s newly established Maranello Concessionaires organisation. Prior to Maranello Concessionaires’ inception, Hoare had simply sold Ferraris from the corner of his massive F. English Ford dealership in Bournemouth.
The 250 GT SWB was ordered by local entrepreneur, Edwin Rufus Eyre, who lived 40 miles east of Bournemouth in the south coast town of Lymington. Eyre was the proprietor of Sea Corner Garage, Hythe, where the car would be maintained during the next few years with instructions from Ferrari penned in the front of the user manual. Eyre’s workshop manager collected 1995 GT from Maranello and drove it back to the UK where it assumed the registration RU 20.
Configured in Rosso with dark red leather and red carpets, chassis 1995 GT combined Ferrari’s early-type lightweight Competizione chassis with a steel body that featured the early lowline roof with single-piece door glass. Lightweight aluminium was used for the hood, trunk lid, doors and floors.
Other Competizione parts included a gearbox with ribbed magnesium-alloy casing, a roof-mounted cockpit extraction vent, a limited-slip differential, a long-range fuel tank with external ‘Monza’ cap, un-assisted brakes with front cooling ducts, bucket seats and competition-type jacking points with a quick-lift jack.
The semi-competition 252bhp engine featured a 9.5:1 compression ratio, high-lift camshafts, triple Weber 40 DCL6 carburettors, open velocity stack intake trumpets, a cold air box and free flow Abarth exhaust system.
Soon after taking delivery, Mr Eyre also purchased a white 250 GT Pinin Farina Coupe as a more practical stablemate to his SWB Berlinetta which offered limited capacity for shopping trips!
Chassis 1995 GT was sold in December 1965 having accrued around 19,500 miles. After passing through a number of subsequent owners, in March 1976 the car was purchased from Maranello Concessionaires by Richard Colton. It remained with Colton for nearly 40 years as part of a collection that at various times included a 250 LM and 275 GTB/4.
In 2019, DK Engineering carried out an exacting restoration to original specification and in 2024 chassis 1995 GT was awarded Ferrari’s red book Classiche certification.
