As usual, InterClassics 2022 hosted a main stage that paid homage with a selection of classics and eye-candy decorations. This year’s show is dedicated to the 75th anniversary of Ferrari, and the stage featured iconic models from every decade.
The four poles of the stage featured a podium highlighting the relationship between Belgium’s Ecurie Francorchamps and the Scuderia with selected race cars. For those who are unaware, since 1952, the Belgian privateer racing organisation was there at the beginning of the Le Mans and many F1 races with its distinctive yellow Ferraris.
Or red ones, of course, like the 1953 Ferrari 250MM. The Ferrari 250 range encompassed a wide variety of cars built from 1952 to 1964. Back then, the cars were named after their engines, and they all shared the 2,953cc V12 designed by Gioacchino Colombo. The 250 MM got its name from its predecessor, the 250 S, winning the 1952 Mille Miglia. After that victory, Ferraris wore the MM name proudly.
The opposite pole was occupied by a 1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial, whose designation was a reference to the capacity per cylinder (silly, isn’t it?) as well as their first world sportscar championship title (of the 1953 season). The 500 Mondial was Ferrari’s weapon of choice in the post-war two-litre class (between 1954 and 1956). The car was powered by a 1,985 cc four-cylinder engine designed by Aurelio Lampredi, bringing the 500 Mondial to a top speed of over 230 km/h.
The car debuted at the 12 Hours of Casablanca of 1953, Ascari and Gigi Villoresi finished second, behind a Ferrari 375 MM equipped with a much larger V12 engine. In 1954 Mondial race cars were entered in the Mille Miglia race, and the best car finished second after Lancia D24. These cars raced until the ’60s, remaining competitive in private hands.
The third pillar of the Ferrari podium was occupied by a 1962 Ferrari 250 SWB, our personal favourite Ferrari of all time. SWB stands for Short Wheel Base, referring to a shortened chassis, making the car more agile and also one of the most successful GT racers of its time. But Ferrari did not stop there: the SWB was also the first Ferrari GT to feature disc brakes.
The Italians also furnished a breathtaking design. Its full aluminium bodywork is one of the most voluptuous designs, courtesy of Giotto Bizzarrini, Carlo Chiti and the young Mauro Forghieri.
The car was a major commercial success: over 170 vehicles were built with aluminium or steel bodywork. It is one of the few classics where the faithful original replicas are also cherished collector’s items, and some were even rebuilt from Ferraris of the same time. The silver SWB showcased at InterClassics wore a yellow stripe on the bonnet, referring to the 1961 Le Mans entry by team Ecurie Francorchamps.
The last car on a podium was a 1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Group 4 race car. The car competed at Le Mans in 1972 with Brussels driver Teddy Pilette and F1 driver Derek Bell behind the wheel.
The Ferrari was part of the Belgian racing stable Ecurie Francorchamps, and the yellow bodywork is a reference to Belgium’s racing colours. The team missed the podium in the GTS 5.0 class by just one lap. Nevertheless, the Daytona Group 4 was well represented. The top five consisted only of Daytonas.
Behind the corridor, the organisers showcased a fine selection of Ferraris, from the late 40s to the current SP2. The cars were separated from visitors, with no possibility of walking around the vehicles. But as long-term residents of the country, we had the opportunity to photograph most of them in the past few years.
Like the red 1949 Ferrari 166 Inter, the oldest car on the stage. This model was the very first Ferrari road car marketed to the general public, and less than 40 cars were built. Scuderia Inter was a French/Italian racing team that won the Targa Florio in 1948 with a 166 S. Next year, the road version was presented at the Paris Motor Show.
The road car inherited a lot from the race car, including chassis, suspension and the Colombo-designed 2.0-liter V12. The whopping 90 hp gave the car a top speed of 150 km per hour. Ferrari also revisited the best pre-war coachbuilding tradition, and the Ferrari chassis and powertrain could be dressed at the famous Italian coachbuilders like Ghia, Boano, Bertone, Farina and Vignale. This red one was tailored at Vignale and is an old familiar, seen at InterClassics 2019 and this year’s Antwerp Concours. So if you would like to have a better look, we suggest revisiting those articles.
The same is true for the white 1950 Ferrari 195 Vignale that we could thoroughly photograph inside and out at the Antwerp Concurs. The 195 was the successor to the 166 Inter, with power increased to 128 hp.
The red 1955 Ferrari 250 GT Europa with its unforgettable grill is an old familiar from InterClassics 2019. Enzo Ferrari had envisioned the 250 series as a series production car for a wider audience. This generation had a wide variety, from the racy 250 SWB to the elegant Boano versions. The 250 Europa GT was powered by a 2,963 cc V12 Colombo block engine boasting 220 hp. This car had special suspension and shorter 2.6 metres wheelbase. This allowed Ferrari to save over 100 kilograms in weight, that came in handy for its racing career.
The car also enjoyed notable racing success, finishing 3rd at the Liège-Rome-Liège in 1956 with Ferrari’s Le Mans winner Olivier Gendebien and Pierre Stasse behind the wheel. The car was in full competition mode, fitted with metal stone guards and rally lights.
The Ferrari production quickly expanded and developed, and for the Europa’s successor, Pinin Farina and Boano developed design directions at the 1956 Geneva Motor Show in Coupe and Cabriolet versions respectively. The black car is a 1956 250 GT Boano with a V12 engine producing 240 bhp.
The golden 1965 Ferrari 500 Superfast is another old favourite of ours, it was showcased at InterClassics 2019 and also at Autoworld’s latest Ferrari 75 exhibition.
The Superfast name made no empty promises: its 5-litre V12 could bring up to speeds as fast as 280 kph. The 500 Superfast was Ferrari’s flagship tourer, developed for the American market. The Ferrari chassis were sent to Pininfarina’s workshop in Turin to be fitted with bodies and interiors. Some 36 specimens were produced (a green one is in the Louwman Collection).
This golden grantourismo was delivered to Peter Sellers. The highly successful comedic actor was a recurring customer of Enzo Ferrari, and this car stood for the excess that characterised Sellers throughout his life beyond the silver screen, that was more drama and tragedy than comedy.
The 1968 Ferrari Dino 206, previously owned by Eric Clapton, was a stable member in several Ferrari exhibitions (it won the Ferrari 75 category of Antwerp Concours).
The race cars include a yellow 1977 Ferrari 512BB and a Ferrari 488 Challenge from 2017.
We are suckers for the 60s Ferraris, but we could not deny our enthusiasm when the organisers announced a complete line-up of Ferrari hypercars.
And the show delivered just that! The F40 might be one of the coolest and most iconic production cars ever conceived, but we got to see one at every major car show this year. So did InterClassics 2022, of course, and they also lined up a 1997 Ferrari F50 and a 2004 Ferrari Enzo.
They missed the LaFerrari (or any of its FXXK variants), but they hit the jackpot with the 1985 Ferrari 288GTO. According to the official Ferrari canon, the 288 GTO is the father of all modern hypercars (see their own hypercar exhibition).
Ferrari’s hypercars are all limited series models reserved for the very few, even among Ferrari customers. Each model follows Enzo Ferrari’s personal philosophy of making every new model the best car of its day. Each new, more advanced addition embodies cutting-edge research, setting the benchmark in the automobile world. The Ferrari hypercars exhibition showcased a nearly unbroken bloodline of cars from the 288 GTO to the current FXX-K.
The first car in the timeline was the 288GTO, an exotic homologation model of the 308 GTB supercar developed for the FIA Group B category.
The 288 GTO delivered outstanding performances thanks to its 2.8-litre twin-turbo V-8. What made the engine iconic were the F1-derived twin turbos from IHI and the Behr intercooler. This allowed the engine to produce 400 horsepower and 366 pound-feet of torque. Only a five-speed manual transmission was offered, and the road performance of the 288 GTO was superhuman, both in terms of acceleration and top speed.
The timeline started with the 288 GTO, but the retrospective could only be complete with a 250 GTO. This car was produced between 1962 and 1964 for homologation purposes. The race cars were to compete in FIA’s Group 3 Grand Touring Car category. Since then, these cars have been among the most expensive Ferraris of all time, so fetching one for a show is nearly impossible.
The organisers bypassed this conundrum by showcasing a 1:18 model of a Ferrari 250 GTO next to the big guys.
