Prototype 250 LM is the latest addition to the collection of the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum.
The newly acquired Ferrari 250 LM, chassis number 5149, was the prototype of the 32 built for international competition. Prototype, above, was first shown at the Paris Salon in October 1963. It began its racing career in 1964, most notably at the 12-Hours of Sebring where it retired after catching on fire.
It is on loan from Luigi Chinetti, Jr., son of the first Ferrari distributor in the U.S. The 250 LM carries Chinetti’s North American Racing Team (NART) badging, above. After burning at Sebring, number 5149 was rebuilt using mechanical components from the original car. It went on to compete in the 1966 Daytona Continental.
“This Ferrari fills an important gap in the story we tell at the Museum,” commented Museum Executive Director, Frederick A. Simeone. “The 250 LM competed against the new Ford GT and a car just like this one won the 1965 Le Mans despite a huge Ford effort. Yet, it was a car that could be driven on the street.”
The 250 LM, above, has a coupe body mounted on the previous 250P chassis, Ferrari’s first rear/mid-engined sports racer. Although it was one of the most sophisticated racing cars of its time, in 1965 Pininfarina also created the one-off Ferrari 250 LM Berlinetta Speciale (chassis 6025 GT) as a road car. It featured fastback rear glass and cowling and a comfortable interior with road car upholstery and carpets. It was painted white with blue stripes, NART’s racing livery.
The Simeone Foundation Museum, which has been open to the public since June, 2008, differs from most other automotive collections in that the cars are used to tell a story: Competition and racing improves the breed. The central theme of the collection is “the spirit of competition.”
For more information about the Museum, please visit, www.simeonemuseum.org.