THE VERY FIRST FERRARI GTO

(110 x 90 cm, olieverf op doek)

“Chassis: 3223GT

Completed late in 1961, this is the very first 250 GTO built. It was extensively tested and remained at Ferrari until the summer of 1962 when it was sold to William McKelvy of American racing team Scuderia Bear through Luigi Chinetti. After a promising debut at Bridgehampton, it was successfully campaigned at Nassau where Lorenzo Bandini won the GT class in one race and Charles Hayes in two. Its racing career continued for several more years, and in 1966 it scored a GT class win in the 24 Hours of Daytona in the hands of then owner Larry Perkins and Jack Slottag. Later that year, chassis 3223GT was retired from contemporary racing. With the exception of a decade during the 1990s and early 2000s when it was in Japanese hands, it has remained in American ownership. The current owner acquired the first GTO in 2004 and had it restored to its Daytona class winning configuration.”