Ferrari 250 LM

Vehicle Overview

The Ferrari 250 LM: In 1963 Ferrari unveiled at the Paris Motor Show what was to be the heir to the 250 GTO, the 250 LM. Derived from the 250 P prototype, the abbreviation LM stood for Le Mans, indicating that the car was intended to participate in the French endurance race. A total of 33 examples were produced (32 according to other sources), but the FIA did not consider this to be a sufficient number (100 were needed) and did not grant homologation in the Grand Touring category of the World Sport-Prototype Championship, so the 250 LM had to compete with prototypes. Despite this it managed to bring back several important achievements. But following that lack of homologation Enzo Ferrari in protest lined up in the last Grands Prix of the 1964 Formula 1 season his single-seaters entrusted to John Surtees (who would go on to win the world championship) and Lorenzo Bandini in the blue and white colors of the North American Racing Team, NART, owned by Luigi Chinetti, Ferrari’s importer for North America. The 250 LM presented at the Paris Motor Show mounted a 2953.2 cm³ displacement V12, the same one employed by the 250 GTO and Testa Rossa. But in later examples the displacement was increased to 3285.7 cm³, so that some sources incorrectly report it as 275 Le Mans, following the traditional naming code for Ferrari berlinettas, in which the number refers to the unit displacement. It was powered by six 38DCN carburetors made by Weber. The engine was mounted longitudinally and centrally, and the gearbox, with 5 gears, was also longitudinal and mounted cantilevered behind the engine itself. Power output was 320 hp. The chassis was a steel tube trellis frame. The suspension, both front and rear, was double overlapping triangles with independent wheels, and the shock absorbers were hydraulic with coil springs. The body was built by Scaglietti.