One to Buy: ex-George Drummond / Paul Vestey 1964 Ferrari 250 LM
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Ferrari created the 250 LM as its GT class contender for the 1964 World Sportscar Championship. However, the FIA rejected Ferrari’s application on the grounds that 100 such mid-engined production cars had not been constructed.
As a consequence, the Series 2 250 GTO was quickly drafted in to take on the Shelby Cobra Daytonas.
Meanwhile, until 1966 (when it was granted Group 4 status), the 250 LM routinely had to run in the Prototype category. With no three-litre engine limit to adhere to, Ferrari fitted the 32-strong production run with 3.3-litre ‘275’ motors instead of the planned-for ‘250’ unit.
When Ferrari’s P-cars retired at Le Mans in 1965, it was a 250 LM that famously stepped up to take the chequered flag in what became Ferrari’s last outright win of the century at la Sarthe.
RM Sotheby’s will be putting an extremely fine 250 LM under the hammer at their Monterey auction on August 19th.
Chassis 6053 was delivered via Maranello Concessionaires in October 1964 to noted British collector, George Drummond. Drummond raced 6053 at club level throughout 1965 and collected four outright victories. He continued to race the car internationally until 1968 when Paul Vestey acquired it to contest that year’s Le Mans 24 Hours (where it posted a DNF).
Today, chassis 6053 is offered in superb condition throughout having been subject to a Ferrari Classiche restoration completed in 2021.
